Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ia/paper-3/3a/ii/solution

Write the surface as the level set . The gradient is normal to a regular level surface because differentiating along any surface curve gives for its tangent vector. At the specified point,
Thus a normal vector and a unit normal are and , respectively. The tangent-plane displacement is perpendicular to that normal, giving
Reversing the normal's sign gives the same plane.

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