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Use the linear approximation of f(x)= √x + 1 at x = 0 to estimate √0.95

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Final answer:

To estimate √0.95 using the linear approximation of f(x) = √x + 1 at x = 0, we find the derivative of f(x), which is 1/(2√x). Then we use the linear approximation formula to calculate the estimate.

Step-by-step explanation:

To estimate the value of √0.95 using the linear approximation of f(x) = √x + 1 at x = 0, we first need to find the derivative of f(x). The derivative of f(x) = √x + 1 with respect to x is 1/(2√x). Evaluating the derivative at x = 0 gives us 1/(2√0) = 1/2. Now we can use the linear approximation formula: f(x) ≈ f(a) + f'(a)(x - a), where a = 0. Plugging in the values, we get f(x) ≈ f(0) + f'(0)(x - 0) = √0 + (1/2)(x - 0) = 1/2x.

Next, we substitute x = 0.95 into the linear approximation: f(0.95) ≈ 1/2(0.95) = 0.475.

Therefore, the estimate for √0.95 using the linear approximation is approximately 0.475.

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