Partial Derivative Visualization: Tangent Plane and Directional Slopes on a Surf
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① This example demonstrates the geometric meaning of partial derivatives of a multivariable function at a point by showing a 3D surface with its tangent plane and directional line segments. ② The core mathematical concept is the partial derivative, representing the rate of change with respect to one variable while holding others fixed, along with tangent planes and directional derivatives. ③ Construction highlights: using GeoGebra commands such as Derivative to compute partial derivatives, Plane to create the tangent plane, Segment and Line for direction indicators, and Textfield/InputBox for interactive input; objects include surface f, partial derivatives dfx and dfy, point P, tangent plane XYP, and multiple text labels. ④ Suitable for university-level calculus or multivariable calculus courses, as well as advanced high school enrichment or teacher demonstrations, to bridge geometric intuition with formal definitions.
GeoGebra Commands & Parameters
Textfield(f) → InputBox1Derivative(f(x, y), x) → dfxDerivative(f(x, y), y) → dfySegment(P, XYP) → pLine(P, Vector[(0, 1, dfy(X, Y))]) → lLine(P, Vector[(1, 0, dfx(X, Y))]) → hSegment(XYP, (0, Y)) → jSegment(XYP, (X, 0)) → mPlane(x + (0 * z) = X) → aPlane(y + (0 * z) = Y) → b