Final answer:
To find the tangent line at a point on a curve, you can use the point-slope form. Steps are: Identify the point, calculate the slope using the derivative, and use point-slope form to find the equation.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the tangent line at a point on a curve, you can use the point-slope form. Here are the steps:
- Identify the point at which you want to find the tangent line.
- Calculate the slope of the curve at that point using the derivative of the function.
- Use the point-slope form of a line, y - y1 = m(x - x1), where (x1, y1) is the point and m is the slope, to find the equation of the tangent line.
For example, if you have the curve y = x^2 and you want to find the tangent line at the point (2, 4), you would calculate the derivative dy/dx = 2x and find that it equals 4 at x = 2. Then, using the point-slope form, the equation of the tangent line is y - 4 = 4(x - 2).