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Old July 3rd, 2009, 09:30 PM
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Originally Posted by fadeer View Post
Would someone be so smart and so kind to find the Tangent lineS to the curve y=x^2 that pass through (0,-a^2), a>0 ????

Thanks in advance.
Consider the tangent to the parabola at (b, b^2). If this tangent is to pass through the point (0, -a^2) then the gradient of the tangent is \frac{b^2 + a^2}{b}. But the gradient of the tangent is also 2b.

Equate the two expressions and solve for b (in terms of a).

Knowing the gradient of the tangent and a point lying on the tangent, you shuld be able to write down the equation of the tangent.
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Last edited by mr fantastic; July 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 PM. Reason: Corrected a typo
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