Chapter 4: Problem 3
Compute the velocity vector, the acceleration vector, the speed, and the equation of the tangent line. $$\mathbf{c}(t)=\left(e^{t}, \sin t, \cos t\right), \text { at } t=0$$
Short Answer
Expert verified
Velocity: (1, 1, 0), Acceleration: (1, 0, -1), Speed: \( \sqrt{2} \), Tangent Line: \( (1 + t, t, 1) \).
Step by step solution
01
Compute the Velocity Vector
The velocity vector, \( \mathbf{v}(t) \), is the derivative of the position vector \( \mathbf{c}(t) \). Differentiate each component of \( \mathbf{c}(t) = (e^t, \sin t, \cos t) \) with respect to \( t \). \[ \mathbf{v}(t) = \left( \frac{d}{dt}e^t, \frac{d}{dt}\sin t, \frac{d}{dt}\cos t \right) = (e^t, \cos t, -\sin t) \]Evaluate at \( t = 0: \mathbf{v}(0) = (e^0, \cos 0, -\sin 0) = (1, 1, 0) \).
02
Compute the Acceleration Vector
The acceleration vector, \( \mathbf{a}(t) \), is the derivative of the velocity vector. Differentiate each component of \( \mathbf{v}(t) = (e^t, \cos t, -\sin t) \) with respect to \( t \).\[ \mathbf{a}(t) = \left( \frac{d}{dt}e^t, \frac{d}{dt}\cos t, \frac{d}{dt}(-\sin t) \right) = (e^t, -\sin t, -\cos t) \]Evaluate at \( t = 0: \mathbf{a}(0) = (e^0, -\sin 0, -\cos 0) = (1, 0, -1) \).
03
Compute the Speed
Speed is the magnitude of the velocity vector. Calculate the magnitude of \( \mathbf{v}(t) = (e^t, \cos t, -\sin t) \).\[ \text{Speed} = \| \mathbf{v}(t) \| = \sqrt{(e^t)^2 + (\cos t)^2 + (-\sin t)^2} = \sqrt{e^{2t} + 1} \]Evaluate at \( t = 0: \text{Speed} = \sqrt{e^0 + 1} = \sqrt{2} \).
04
Equation of the Tangent Line
The equation of the tangent line can be determined using the formula: \[ \mathbf{T}(t) = \mathbf{c}(t_0) + t \cdot \mathbf{v}(t_0) \]Here, \( \mathbf{c}(0) = (e^0, \sin 0, \cos 0) = (1, 0, 1) \) and \( \mathbf{v}(0) = (1, 1, 0) \).Thus, the equation of the tangent line is:\[ \mathbf{T}(t) = (1, 0, 1) + t(1, 1, 0) = (1 + t, t, 1) \]
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Velocity Vector
The velocity vector is a crucial concept in vector calculus as it describes how a point moves through space over time. To find the velocity vector of a position vector \( \mathbf{c}(t) \), such as \( \mathbf{c}(t)=\left(e^{t}, \sin t, \cos t\right) \), we take its derivative with respect to \( t \). This involves differentiating each component:
- The derivative of \( e^t \) is \( e^t \)
- The derivative of \( \sin t \) is \( \cos t \)
- The derivative of \( \cos t \) is \( -\sin t \)
Acceleration Vector
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, so to find the acceleration vector, we differentiate the velocity vector \( \mathbf{v}(t) \) with respect to \( t \). Like with the velocity calculation, we find the derivative for each component:
- The derivative of \( e^t \) remains \( e^t \)
- The derivative of \( \cos t \) becomes \( -\sin t \)
- The derivative of \(-\sin t\) is \( -\cos t \)
Tangent Line Equation
The tangent line to a curve at a point gives us a linear approximation of the curve at that point. To compute the tangent line equation, we use the position vector \( \mathbf{c}(t) \) at the given point, and the velocity vector at the same point, \( \mathbf{v}(t_0) \). For \( \mathbf{c}(0) = (1, 0, 1) \) and \( \mathbf{v}(0) = (1, 1, 0) \), the formula is:\[ \mathbf{T}(t) = \mathbf{c}(0) + t \cdot \mathbf{v}(0) = (1, 0, 1) + t(1, 1, 0) \]Which simplifies to:\[ (1 + t, t, 1)\]This equation outlines a straight line that touches the curve exactly at \( t=0 \) and follows the instantaneous direction given by the velocity vector.
Speed Calculation
Speed is derived from the magnitude of the velocity vector and provides a scalar measure of instantaneous velocity, essentially telling us how fast something is moving regardless of direction. To find this, we calculate the magnitude of \( \mathbf{v}(t) = (e^t, \cos t, -\sin t) \):\[ \text{Speed} = \| \mathbf{v}(t) \| = \sqrt{(e^t)^2 + (\cos t)^2 + (-\sin t)^2}\]Evaluating this expression at \( t=0 \), we simplify:\[ \text{Speed} = \sqrt{(1)^2 + (1)^2 + (0)^2} = \sqrt{2}\]Thus, the speed at \( t=0 \) is \( \sqrt{2} \), describing how fast the point moves along the curve at that instant.