Partial Derivative Visualization: Tangent Plane and Directional Slopes on a Surf

Partial Derivative Visualization: Tangent Plane and Directional Slopes on a Surf
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2016-10-13 04:46
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

  1. Textfield(f) → InputBox1
  2. Derivative(f(x, y), x) → dfx
  3. Derivative(f(x, y), y) → dfy
  4. Segment(P, XYP) → p
  5. Line(P, Vector[(0, 1, dfy(X, Y))]) → l
  6. Line(P, Vector[(1, 0, dfx(X, Y))]) → h
  7. Segment(XYP, (0, Y)) → j
  8. Segment(XYP, (X, 0)) → m
  9. Plane(x + (0 * z) = X) → a
  10. Plane(y + (0 * z) = Y) → b