Math 1304 Section 2.7 Homework WebAssign Solutions

Consider the parabola  .
(a) Find the slope of the tangent line to the parabola at the point (1, 6).
Solution: The slope of the tangent line of an equation is given by the derivative evaluated at that point. The derivative is  . We wish to find  . So the slope is m=5.

(b) Find an equation of the tangent line in part (a).
Solution: Use the point-slope form   where . Thus,. By solving for y: .

(c) Graph the parabola and the tangent line.