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Tangent line at (a, f(a)) In mathematics, a linear approximation is an approximation of a general function using a linear function (more precisely, an affine function). They are widely used in the method of finite differences to produce first order methods for solving or approximating solutions to equations.
The tangent plane to a surface at a given point p is defined in an analogous way to the tangent line in the case of curves. It is the best approximation of the surface by a plane at p , and can be obtained as the limiting position of the planes passing through 3 distinct points on the surface close to p as these points converge to p .
Similarly, the tangent plane to a surface at a given point is the plane that "just touches" the surface at that point. The concept of a tangent is one of the most fundamental notions in differential geometry and has been extensively generalized; see Tangent space .
The linear approximation of a function is the first order Taylor expansion around the point of interest. In the study of dynamical systems , linearization is a method for assessing the local stability of an equilibrium point of a system of nonlinear differential equations or discrete dynamical systems . [ 1 ]
The tangent plane is an affine concept, because its definition is independent of the choice of a metric. In other words, any affine transformation maps the tangent plane to the surface at a point to the tangent plane to the image of the surface at the image of the point.
Local tangent plane coordinates (LTP) are part of a spatial reference system based on the tangent plane defined by the local vertical direction and the Earth's axis of rotation. They are also known as local ellipsoidal system , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] local geodetic coordinate system , [ 3 ] local vertical, local horizontal coordinates ( LVLH ), or ...
In particular, the tangent plane to a point of S can be rolled on S: this should be easy to imagine when S is a surface like the 2-sphere, which is the smooth boundary of a convex region. As the tangent plane is rolled on S, the point of contact traces out a curve on S. Conversely, given a curve on S, the tangent plane can be rolled along that ...
It follows that at least one tangent line to γ must pass through any given point in the plane. If y > x 3 and y > 0 then each point (x,y) has exactly one tangent line to γ passing through it. The same is true if y < x 3 y < 0. If y < x 3 and y > 0 then each point (x,y) has exactly three distinct