Finding the equation of a tangent line in polar coordinates?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on finding the equation of a tangent line in polar coordinates for the curve defined by the equation \( r = 8\sin\theta \) at the point \( (4, \frac{5\pi}{6}) \). The slope of the tangent line is calculated using the formula \( \frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{8\sin2\theta}{8\cos2\theta} \), resulting in a slope of \( -\sqrt{3} \). To find the polar equation of the tangent line at the origin, the equation is set to zero, leading to the conclusion that \( r = 0 \) corresponds to an angle of 0 radians at the intersection with the pole.

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  • Understanding of polar coordinates and their equations
  • Knowledge of derivatives and slope calculations
  • Familiarity with trigonometric identities, specifically sine and cosine
  • Ability to manipulate polar equations
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  • Learn about the implications of polar curves intersecting the origin
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Students studying calculus, particularly those focusing on polar coordinates and tangent line concepts, as well as educators looking for examples of polar curve analysis.

Eclair_de_XII
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Homework Statement


"Slopes of tangent lines Find the slope of the line tangent to the following polar curves at the given points. At the points where the curve intersects the origin (when this occurs), find the equation of the tangent line in polar coordinates."

##7.## ##r=8sinθ;(4,\frac{5π}{6})##

Homework Equations


##\frac{dy}{dx}=\frac{f'(θ_0)sinθ_0+f(θ_0)cosθ_0}{f'θ_0)cosθ_0-f(θ_0)sinθ_0}##
Answers: ##-\sqrt{3};θ=0##

The Attempt at a Solution


##r=f(θ)=8sinθ##
##\frac{dy}{dx}=\frac{8cosθsinθ+8sinθcosθ}{8cos^2θ-8sin^2θ}=\frac{16cosθsinθ}{8(cos^2θ-sin^2θ)}=\frac{8sin2θ}{8cos2θ}=tan2θ##
##f'(\frac{5π}{6})=tan(\frac{5π}{3})=-\sqrt{3}##

So I got the first part down; I just need to know what they're asking when they say "polar equation of tangent line at origin." I could always graph this, but how would you go about solving for this polar equation of the tangent line without doing so? It doesn't really have a radius, since it has an arbitrarily long length, right? But it has an angle at which it touches ##(4,\frac{5π}{6})##. It's asking for when it touches the pole of the graph, though.
 
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Wait, I think I just figured this out. When it intersects the origin, ##r=0##. So all I had to do was just set the initial equation ##r=8sinθ## to ##0=8sinθ## and the angle of the tangent line at ##r=0## is 0 radians. ##r## denotes the distance of the function from the pole, I think. Could someone check these statements for me? Thanks.
 
Question: A clock's minute hand has length 4 and its hour hand has length 3. What is the distance between the tips at the moment when it is increasing most rapidly?(Putnam Exam Question) Answer: Making assumption that both the hands moves at constant angular velocities, the answer is ## \sqrt{7} .## But don't you think this assumption is somewhat doubtful and wrong?

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