Final answer:
To find the equation of a tangent line to a trigonometric function, you can use the derivative of the function. The correct answer is option A .
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the equation of a tangent line to a trigonometric function, you can use the derivative of the function. Let's take the example of finding the equation of a tangent line to the sine function, y = sin(x).
- Take the derivative of the sine function, which is cos(x).
- Select a point on the curve, for example, (0, sin(0)) = (0, 0).
- Use the point-slope form of a line, y - y1 = m(x - x1), where m is the derivative and (x1, y1) is the point on the curve.
- Substitute the values and simplify the equation to get the equation of the tangent line.
For the sine function, the equation of the tangent line at (0,0) would be y = x.
To find the equation of a tangent line to the sine function, one calculates the derivative to obtain the slope and applies the point-slope formula. Alternatively, a TI-83, 83+, or 84 calculator can be used to compute this efficiently. Understanding these processes is critical for trigonometry and geometry.