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Find the point on the plane z = x + y + 1 closest to the point P = (1, 0, 0). Hint: Minimize the square of the distance

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User HeyHeyJC
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1 Answer

4 votes

Answer: Q = (2/3, 4/3, 7/3)

Explanation:

To find the point of intersection, we can solve these two equations simultaneously:

x + y - z = 1

x + y - z = -1

Subtracting the second equation from the first, we get:

2z = 2

z = 1

Substituting this into either equation, we get:

x + y = 2

There are infinitely many solutions to this equation, but we want the one that is closest to P = (1, 0, 0). This means we want to minimize the distance |PQ|, which is given by:

|PQ| = sqrt((x-1)^2 + y^2 + 1)

We can use Lagrange multipliers to find the minimum of this distance subject to the constraint x + y = 2:

L(x, y, λ) = (x-1)^2 + y^2 + 1 + λ(x + y - 2)

Taking the partial derivatives and setting them equal to zero, we get:

∂L/∂x = 2(x-1) + λ = 0

∂L/∂y = 2y + λ = 0

∂L/∂λ = x + y - 2 = 0

Solving these equations, we get:

x = 2/3

y = 4/3

Substituting these values into z = x + y + 1, we get:

z = 7/3

So the point Q on the plane closest to P = (1, 0, 0) is Q = (2/3, 4/3, 7/3).

answered
User Nabheet
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