Final answer:
Finding points on a hyperboloid where the tangent plane is parallel to a given plane involves using the gradient of the hyperboloid's equation to determine the normal vector and equating it to the normal vector of the given plane, up to a scalar multiple.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the points on the hyperboloid x^2 + 4y^2 - z^2 = 4 where the tangent plane is parallel to the plane 2x + 2y + z = 5, we need to find the normal vector of the given hyperboloid's surface. The normal vector can be found using the gradient of the hyperboloid's equation, which gives us the coefficients of the x, y, and z terms in the tangent plane's equation. In this case, we take the partial derivatives of the hyperboloid's equation with respect to x, y, and z to obtain the normal vector (2x, 8y, -2z).
Since the tangent plane must be parallel to 2x + 2y + z = 5, it must have the same normal vector except for a scalar multiple. The normal vector of the plane 2x + 2y + z is (2, 2, 1). We can set the hyperboloid's normal vector equal to this plane's normal vector, up to a scalar multiple, to find the points (x, y, z) that satisfy this condition.