Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2008 Paper 1 6 Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
The point on the parabola is . Implicit differentiation gives , so the tangent line has slope one there. Its perpendicular normal line to a plane curve therefore has slope . The required line is
The derivative of the parabola is , giving tangent line slope at . A normal line to a plane curve has the negative reciprocal slope, since its direction is orthogonal to a tangent vector. HenceThe point satisfies the equation, and the product of the two slopes is .
At , the point on the parabola is and the tangent line has slope . The normal line to a plane curve therefore has slope . Its equation isThus the requested results are
The normal line to a plane curve is perpendicular to the tangent line, so its slope is the negative reciprocal . The required equation isThe normal direction also agrees with the gradient of the defining level function.