Chapter 12: Problem 1
Explain what \(\lim _{(x, y) \rightarrow(a, b)} f(x, y)=L\) means.
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Chapter 12: Problem 1
Explain what \(\lim _{(x, y) \rightarrow(a, b)} f(x, y)=L\) means.
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In its many guises, the least squares approximation arises in numerous areas of mathematics and statistics. Suppose you collect data for two variables (for example, height and shoe size) in the form of pairs \(\left(x_{1}, y_{1}\right),\left(x_{2}, y_{2}\right), \ldots,\left(x_{n}, y_{n}\right)\) The data may be plotted as a scatterplot in the \(x y\) -plane, as shown in the figure. The technique known as linear regression asks the question: What is the equation of the line that "best fits" the data? The least squares criterion for best fit requires that the sum of the squares of the vertical distances between the line and the data points is a minimum. Let the equation of the best-fit line be \(y=m x+b,\) where the slope \(m\) and the \(y\) -intercept \(b\) must be determined using the least squares condition. First assume that there are three data points \((1,2),(3,5),\) and \((4,6) .\) Show that the function of \(m\) and \(b\) that gives the sum of the squares of the vertical distances between the line and the three data points is $$ \begin{aligned} E(m, b)=&((m+b)-2)^{2}+((3 m+b)-5)^{2} \\ &+((4 m+b)-6)^{2} \end{aligned}. $$ Find the critical points of \(E\) and find the values of \(m\) and \(b\) that minimize \(E\). Graph the three data points and the best-fit line.
The flow of heat along a thin conducting bar is governed by the one- dimensional heat equation (with analogs for thin plates in two dimensions and for solids in three dimensions) $$\frac{\partial u}{\partial t}=k \frac{\partial^{2} u}{\partial x^{2}},$$ where \(u\) is a measure of the temperature at a location \(x\) on the bar at time t and the positive constant \(k\) is related to the conductivity of the material. Show that the following functions satisfy the heat equation with \(k=1\). $$u(x, t)=e^{-t}(2 \sin x+3 \cos x)$$
Use the gradient rules of Exercise 81 to find the gradient of the following functions. $$f(x, y, z)=(x+y+z) e^{x y z}$$
Batting averages in baseball are defined by \(A=x / y,\) where \(x \geq 0\) is the total number of hits and \(y>0\) is the total number of at bats. Treat \(x\) and \(y\) as positive real numbers and note that \(0 \leq A \leq 1.\) a. Use differentials to estimate the change in the batting average if the number of hits increases from 60 to 62 and the number of at bats increases from 175 to 180 . b. If a batter currently has a batting average of \(A=0.350,\) does the average decrease if the batter fails to get a hit more than it increases if the batter gets a hit? c. Does the answer to part (b) depend on the current batting average? Explain.
A classical equation of mathematics is Laplace's equation, which arises in both theory and applications. It governs ideal fluid flow, electrostatic potentials, and the steadystate distribution of heat in a conducting medium. In two dimensions, Laplace's equation is $$\frac{\partial^{2} u}{\partial x^{2}}+\frac{\partial^{2} u}{\partial y^{2}}=0.$$ Show that the following functions are harmonic; that is, they satisfy Laplace's equation. $$u(x, y)=x\left(x^{2}-3 y^{2}\right)$$
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