MIT online lecture: Algebra error?

Reagan0mics
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Okay so I was watching this lecture.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathemat...ll-2006/video-lectures/lecture-1-derivatives/

Skip to 41 minutes

He's solving the area for a triangle, and I think he got the answer wrong.

The equation he got was

1/2 times (2x0)(2y0)

Some how he got this equation to = 2

However when I do it, the answer I get is 2x0y0

Because I do this:

1/2 times (2x0)(2y0)

4x0y0/2

which then is the same as 2x0y0
Some how he got 2 though as his answer. Am I missing some piece of information or something? I have no clue how he got the x0 and y0 to cancel out.
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
The clue lies in the equation of the curve. We have y=1/x, so then what does xy equal?
 

Thread 'What Exactly is Dirac’s Delta Function? - Insight'

Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
View full post »

Thread 'Fermat's Last Theorem'

Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
View full post »

Thread 'Useless continued fraction for 1'

I'm interested to know whether the equation $$1 = 2 - \frac{1}{2 - \frac{1}{2 - \cdots}}$$ is true or not. It can be shown easily that if the continued fraction converges, it cannot converge to anything else than 1. It seems that if the continued fraction converges, the convergence is very slow. The apparent slowness of the convergence makes it difficult to estimate the presence of true convergence numerically. At the moment I don't know whether this converges or not.
View full post »

Similar threads

Calculus Following Prof. Mattuck's lectures on Ordinary Differential Equations....
Replies
1
Views
2K
Applied Lectures on the geometric anatomy of theoretical physics
Replies
2
Views
3K
I Feynman's probability lecture -- a few questions
Replies
17
Views
3K
I The Price of Beer - Linear Algebra Problem
Replies
44
Views
5K
I Method for finding a complex series?
Replies
10
Views
2K
Insights Corrections to MIT Open Courseware: Systems of Varying Mass
Replies
1
Views
2K
Admissions Do I have a good shot at CalTech/MIT's graduate program for physics?
Replies
8
Views
5K
I The “philosophical cornerstone” of the Moller-Plesset perturbation theory
Replies
1
Views
1K
I What is meant by "convergent just preceding ##\frac{a}{b}##" ?
Replies
2
Views
1K
I Derive the probability of spin at arbitrary angle is cos( )
Replies
6
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top