Implicit Differentiation and Tangent Lines

By Bruce Bordwell

Objective: To graph implicitly defined functions and use implicit differentiation to find tangent lines.

Narrative: Implicitly defined functions offer a wide variety of creative graphs when plotted. This lab will explore
the graphs of some implicit functions and use implicit differentiation to find equations of tangent lines to the graphs of
these functions.

Part 1: Use implicit differentiation to find the equation of the tangent line to the Devils Curve defined as


( ) ( )
2 2 2 2
4 4 y y x x = .
Task:

1. Type the command lines in the left-hand column below into Mathematica in the order in which they are listed. The
effect of each command is described in the right-hand column for your reference.

In[1] := (* Your Name Todays date *)

In[2] := (* Ch 3 Computer Lab Implicit Differentiation *)


In[3] := <<Graphics` (Loads the Graphics package to
enable the use of ImplicitPlot
function.)



In[4] := ImplicitPlot[y^2 (y^2-4)==x^2(x^2-5),{x,-4,4}] (Plots the implicitly
defined function)



In[5] := D[y[x]^2 (y[x]^2-4)==x^2(x^2-5),x] (Performs implicit differenction.
Notice, that y is defined using y[x] to
tell Mathematica to treat y as a function
of x when differentiating.)



In[6] := Solve[%,y'[x]] (Solves the result from the implict
differention for y[x])



In[7] := % /.{x0,y[x]-2} (Evaluates y when x = 0 and y = -2)











Part 2: Use Mathematica to answer question #24 from Sec 3.4 in your textbook that refers to the Bouncing
Wagon curve implicitly defined by


3 2 5 4 3 2
2 2 y y y x x x + = +

2. Type the command lines in the left-hand column below into Mathematica in the order in which they are listed. The
effect of each command is described in the right-hand column for your reference.

In[8] := ImplicitPlot[2 y^3+y^2-y^5x^4-2 x^3+x^2,{x,-2,3}]

In[9] := D[2 y[x]^3+y[x]^2-y[x]^5x^4-2 x^3+x^2,x]

In[10] := Solve[%,y'[x]]

In[11] :=
SolveA
2Hx 3x
2
+ 2x
3
L
y@xD H2 6y@xD + 5y@xD
3
L
0, xE
(Solves y[x] = 0, to find
horizontal tangents. Cut and paste
the expression you found for y[x]
in the Solve function.)

At this time make a hard-copy of your input and Mathematicas responses.

3. On the graphic you created in Part 1, draw by hand the tangent line at the point (0, 2) and label the tangent line
with its equation.

4. On the graphic you created in Part 2, draw by hand the points on the graph where the tangent is horizontal and label
the points with their x - coordinate.

If you have extra time, you can explore these other functions with the methods you learned from this Lab.

a)
2 3 2
3 y x x = + (Tschirnhausen Cubic) analyzed in #22, Sec 3.6 in your textbook

b)
( )( ) ( )( )
2
1 2 1 2 y y y x x x = analyzed in #23, Sec 3.6 in your textbook

c)
( ) ( )
2
2 2 2 2
2 25 x y x y + = (Lemniscates) - analyzed in #19, Sec 3.6 in your textbook

d)
2 4 2
5 y x x = (Kampyle of Eudoxus) - analyzed in #21, Sec 3.6 in your textbook