Question

Ind the equation of the tangent line to 9x^2+16y^2=52 through (2, -1)

Answer 1

Here are the steps.

In order to get the answer, first we need to get the x and y value of the center of the circle by using the equation of a circle (x^2 + y^2 = r^2)

The center is (-9, -4)

Once you get the center point, find the equation of the line (in a form of a radius) from the center point to point (2, -1). Get the slope.

The slope from center to point (2, -1) is 11/3

Finally, get the negative reciprocal of the slope from the previous step and form the equation using slope-intercept form ( y=mx + b). Then, that's the equation of the tangent line.

The slope of the tangent line is -3/11
The equation is y = -3/11x - 5/11