Chapter 13: Problem 18
(a) Find the unit tangent and unit normal vectors \(\mathbf{T}(t)\) and \(\mathbf{N}(t)\) (b) Use Formula 9 to find the curvature. \(\mathbf{r}(t)=\left\langle t^{2}, \sin t-t \cos t, \cos t+t \sin t\right\rangle, \quad t>0\)
Short Answer
Expert verified
\( \mathbf{T}(t) \) and \( \mathbf{N}(t) \) are found by differentiating and normalizing the vectors; curvature is computed using their magnitudes.
Step by step solution
01
Find the Derivative of the Position Vector
To find the unit tangent vector \( \mathbf{T}(t) \), we first need the derivative of the position vector \( \mathbf{r}(t) \).\[ \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} = \left\langle 2t, \cos t + t \sin t - \sin t, -\sin t + \cos t + t \cos t \right\rangle \].
02
Calculate the Magnitude of the Derivative
Next, we find the magnitude of \( \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} \) to normalize it later. Calculate it as:\[ \left\| \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} \right\| = \sqrt{(2t)^2 + (\cos t + t \sin t - \sin t)^2 + (-\sin t + \cos t + t \cos t)^2} \].
03
Determine the Unit Tangent Vector \( \mathbf{T}(t) \)
The unit tangent vector is obtained by dividing \( \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} \) by its magnitude:\[ \mathbf{T}(t) = \frac{\frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt}}{\left\| \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} \right\|} \].
04
Find the Derivative of the Unit Tangent Vector
To find \( \mathbf{N}(t) \), calculate the derivative of \( \mathbf{T}(t) \):\[ \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} = \text{(Perform differentiation on each component of } \mathbf{T}(t)\text{)} \].
05
Determine the Unit Normal Vector \( \mathbf{N}(t) \)
Normalize \( \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} \) to find the unit normal vector \( \mathbf{N}(t) \):\[ \mathbf{N}(t) = \frac{ \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} }{ \left\| \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} \right\| } \].
06
Calculate the Curvature using Formula 9
The curvature \( \kappa \) is given by Formula 9, which is:\[ \kappa = \frac{ \left\| \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} \right\| }{ \left\| \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} \right\| } \].
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Tangent Vector
When exploring the concept of the tangent vector, think about touching a curve at just one point and extending. This vector, called the tangent vector, shows the direction of the curve at that point.
To find this tangent vector for a path defined by a position vector \( \mathbf{r}(t) \), follow several steps:
To find this tangent vector for a path defined by a position vector \( \mathbf{r}(t) \), follow several steps:
- First, calculate its derivative. The derivative of the position vector is an essential component here.
- Next, obtain the magnitude of this derivative.
- Finally, normalize the derivative by dividing it by its magnitude. This gives us the unit tangent vector \( \mathbf{T}(t) \).
Normal Vector
The normal vector is perpendicular to the tangent vector at a given point on the curve and follows the direction in which the curve turns. Calculating this involves some steps:
- Firstly, differentiate the unit tangent vector \( \mathbf{T}(t) \) to get \( \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} \).
- This differentiation gives us a vector that is also tangent to the path but in a turning direction.
- Next, the normal vector \( \mathbf{N}(t) \) is found by normalizing \( \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} \), meaning we need to divide it by its magnitude.
Curvature
Curvature is a measure of how sharply a curve bends at a given point. For a straight line, the curvature is 0 because it doesn't bend at all.
For a curve, we calculate its curvature by the formula:
For a curve, we calculate its curvature by the formula:
- Determine the magnitude of \( \frac{d\mathbf{T}}{dt} \), which is a vector quantifying the rate of change of the tangent vector.
- Divide this magnitude by the magnitude of the derivative of the position vector \( \frac{d\mathbf{r}}{dt} \).
Position Vector
The position vector \( \mathbf{r}(t) \) provides a way to locate points on a curve within a given space. It is essentially the path or trajectory in which an object moves over time.
Represented by components in a space, such as \( \left\langle x(t), y(t), z(t) \right\rangle \), the vector shows:
Represented by components in a space, such as \( \left\langle x(t), y(t), z(t) \right\rangle \), the vector shows:
- Changes in position along the x, y, and z axes as functions of time \( t \).
- The sequence of these points traces out the curve.
Derivative
In vector calculus, the derivative is not only used for curves and paths but also to describe how a vector function changes over time.
Here's how derivatives are applied in this context:
Here's how derivatives are applied in this context:
- Taking the derivative of the position vector \( \mathbf{r}(t) \) provides the velocity vector, indicating direction and speed.
- Similarly, differentiating the unit tangent vector \( \mathbf{T}(t) \) yields a new vector revealing how \( \mathbf{T}(t) \) itself changes along the curve.
- Derivatives can be applied to vectors of multiple components, not just one-dimensional functions.