In: Advanced Math
Cycloid is the curve traced by a point P on the circumference of a circle of radius a rolling along a straight line in a plane. See the figure. The parametric equation of the cycloid is
(a) Find the tangent to the cycloid at the point where \theta=\pi / 3
(b) At what points is the tangent horizontal? When is it vertical?
(c) Find the length and area under one arch of the cycloid.
(a) Find the tangent to the cycloid at the point where \theta=\pi / 3
To find the tangent of the cyloid, consider equation of tangent as:
where m=dy/dx
Therefore, we can find the slop m=\frac{d y}{d x} at point of \theta=\frac{\pi}{3} as following
After that, we can find the tangent of the cyloid as following:
(b) At what points is the tangent horizontal? When is it vertical?
(c) Find the length and area under one arch of the cycloid.
Therefore, the length of one arch of the cyloid is L=8a (unit of length)
Therefore, the area of one arch of the cyloid is A=3 a^{2} \pi (unit of square length)