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  • Mathematics GR 12

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    reacharunk
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    This document discusses calculating the gradient of a curve at a point. The gradient is defined as the slope of the tangent line to the curve at that point. It is calculated by taking the limit as h approaches 0 of the difference quotient (f(a+h)-f(a))/h, where a is the x-coordinate of the point and h is the distance to another nearby point Q along the x-axis. As the distance h between the points gets smaller, the secant line joining them approaches the tangent line at the point P.

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    228403049-Mathematics-Gr-12(223)

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    This document discusses calculating the gradient of a curve at a point. The gradient is defined as the slope of the tangent line to the curve at that point. It is calculated by taking the limit as h approaches 0 of the difference quotient (f(a+h)-f(a))/h, where a is the x-coordinate of the point and h is the distance to another nearby point Q along the x-axis. As the distance h between the points gets smaller, the secant line joining them approaches the tangent line at the point P.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    3 views1 page

    Mathematics GR 12

    Uploaded by

    reacharunk
    This document discusses calculating the gradient of a curve at a point. The gradient is defined as the slope of the tangent line to the curve at that point. It is calculated by taking the limit as h approaches 0 of the difference quotient (f(a+h)-f(a))/h, where a is the x-coordinate of the point and h is the distance to another nearby point Q along the x-axis. As the distance h between the points gets smaller, the secant line joining them approaches the tangent line at the point P.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 1

    y

    secant
    f (a + h)

    f (a)

    P
    f (x)

    a+h

    If we let the x-coordinate of P be a, then the y-coordinate is f (a). Similarly, if the


    x-coordinate of Q is (a + h), then the y-coordinate is f (a + h).
    We can now calculate the average gradient as:
    yQ yP
    f (a + h) f (a)
    =
    xQ xP
    (a + h) a
    f (a + h) f (a)
    =
    h
    Gradient at a point
    Imagine that Q moves along the curve, getting closer and closer to P . The secant
    line approaches the tangent line as its limiting position. This means that the average
    gradient of the secant approaches the gradient of the tangent to the curve at P .
    tangent
    y
    secant
    Q
    P

    We see that as point Q approaches point P , h gets closer to 0. If point Q lies on


    point P , then h = 0 and the formula for average gradient is undefined. We use our
    knowledge of limits to let h tend towards 0 to determine the gradient of the tangent to
    the curve at point P :
    Gradient at point P = lim

    h0

    212

    6.1. Limits

    f (a + h) f (a)
    h

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