Assignment no 1

Q no 1
Suppose that a circle of radius a roll around the outside of another circle of radius a. The curve
traced out by a point on the first circle is known as a cardioid.
(a) Suppose that the stationary circle has its center at the origin, and that the leftmost point of the
rolling circle begins in contact with the rightmost point of the stationary circle. Show that the
cardioid traced out by this point on the rolling circle has parametric equations
x = a (2 cos(t) - cos(2t))
y = a (2 sin(t) - sin(2t)):
Solution
The rolling circle's center, point C, travels in a circle with radius "a." The parameter "t" will be
used to denote the angle of rotation.
The x-coordinate of point C is "a * cos(t)" because it draws a circle with radius "a." The motion
of the rolling circle adds another component to the x-coordinate. The rolling action causes it to
travel horizontally from right to left, reaching an additional distance of "a * (cos(t) – cos (2t).
The x-coordinate of point C is correctly given as "a * cos(t)," and the additional horizontal
motion due to the rolling circle is also correctly expressed as "a * (cos(t) - cos(2t))." So, the x-
coordinate of point P is indeed:
x = a * cos(t) + a * (cos(t) - cos(2t))
x = a * cos(t) + a * cos(t) - a * cos(2t)
x = 2a * cos(t) - a * cos(2t)
Now, let's correctly derive the y-coordinate of point P. Point C's y-coordinate is "a * sin(t)," and
the additional vertical motion due to the rolling circle is "a * (sin(t) - sin(2t))." So, the y-
coordinate of point P is:
y = a * sin(t) + a * (sin(t) - sin(2t))
y = a * sin(t) + a * sin(t) - a * sin(2t)
y = 2a * sin(t) - a * sin(2t)
So, the correct parametric equations for the cardioid traced out by the point on the rolling circle
are:

x = 2a * cos(t) - a * cos(2t)
y = 2a * sin(t) - a * sin(2t)
These equations correctly describe the path of the rolling circle point as it travels around the
stationary circle, generating a cardioid.

b)
Use a compass to draw a circle and mark 24 evenly-spaced points around it. Number the points
in order from 0 to 23. For each point i = 1; 2;: : : ; 23, draw the straight line connecting point i to
the point 2i (mod 24). (The resulting lines form a set of tangents to a cardioid.)
Solution:

Q no 2
a) A lifeguard is on duty, standing 8 meters from the shoreline. She sees a swimmer in
trouble 40 meters further along the shoreline. In this case it turns out that when taking the
shortest possible time to reach the swimmer, the distance that she runs is equal to the
distance that she swims. If her running speed is four times her swimming speed, how far
from the shoreline is the swimmer?
Solution:
Let:

d be the distance the lifeguard swims (in meters).

vs be the swimming speed (in meters per second).
vr be the running speed (in meters per second).
Given information:

The lifeguard is 8 meters from the shoreline.

The lifeguard's running speed is four times her swimming speed, so vr = 4 * vs.
The swimmer is 40 meters further along the shoreline, so the total distance the lifeguard
needs to travel along the shoreline is d + 8 meters.
The total time it takes to reach the swimmer is the sum of the time spent swimming and the
time spent running:

Total time (T) = (d / vs) + (8 / vr)

Since vr = 4 * vs, we can substitute it into the equation:

T = (d / vs) + (8 / (4 * vs))

Now, we want to minimize the total time, which means we need to minimize T. To do this,
we need to find the value of d that minimizes T.

Let's simplify T:

T = (d / vs) + (2 / vs)

To minimize T, we need to make the first term (d / vs) as small as possible. This means d
should be minimized.
The total distance along the shoreline is d + 8 meters, which is given as 40 meters:

d + 8 = 40

Now, solve for d:

d = 40 - 8 = 32 meters

So, the swimmer is 32 meters from the shoreline.

b)
Suppose that a candle is placed 4 meters from a mirror, and that you are standing 20 meters
from the mirror and 12 meters to the right of the candle. Use Fermat's principle of least time
to and the path taken by the candlelight that allows you to see the candle's reflection in the
mirror.
Solution:
Step 1: Fermat’s Principle

Fermat’s principle states that light follows the path that minimizes the time of travel. In this
case, our goal is to minimize the time it takes for the candlelight to reach your eyes after
reflecting off the mirror.

Step 2: Defining Distances

(d_1) is the distance from the candle to the mirror, which is 4 meters.
(d_2) is the distance from your eyes to the mirror, which is 20 meters.
We seek (d_3), the distance from your eyes to the candle (via the reflected path).
Step 3: Minimizing Total Time

The total time (T) for light to travel from the candle to your eyes is given by:
 [T = {d_1}/{v} + {d_2}/{v} + {d_3}/{v}

where (v) represents the speed of light. To minimize (T), we differentiate it with respect to
(d_3) and set the derivative equal to zero:
{dT}/{dd_3} = 0

Solving for (d_3), we find:

[ d_3 = 3.33) meters (approximately).

Q no 3
a)
To find an expression for the arclength of the path f between points P and Q in ℝ2, we can use
the arclength formula. The arclength S (f) is calculated by integrating the magnitude of the
derivative of the path f(t) with respect to t over the given interval [ 0, 1].
Here's the integral that gives an expression for S(f)

√
1
dx 2 dy 2
S(f) = ∫ ( ) +( )
0 dt dt

In this integral, dx /dt and dy /dt are the derivatives of the path f(t) with respect to t,
representing the rates of change of the x and y coordinates, respectively. The integral calculates
the length of the path as it varies over the interval [ 0, 1].
b)
The functional to be minimized is given as:

√
1
dx 2 dy 2
S(f) = ∫ ( ) +( )
0 dt dt

Using the Euler-Lagrange equations, we introduce a Lagrangian L defined as:

L (x, y, x˙ , ẏ , t ) = √ ẋ 2+ ẏ2

Where:
 x and y are the coordinates of the path f(t).
 ẋ∧ ẏ are the first derivatives of x and y with respect to t.
 t is the parameter within the interval [0,1]
The Euler-Lagrange equation for this problem is as follows:

( )( )
d ∂L
dt ∂ ẋ
−
∂L
∂x
=0

(
d ∂L
dt ∂ ẏ )−(
∂ y)
∂L
=0

Now, applying this to our Lagrangian:

For x,

( )( )
d ∂L
dt ∂ ẋ
−
∂L d
= ¿=0
∂ x dt

For y,

( )( )
d ∂L
dt ∂ ẏ
−
∂L d
= ¿=0
∂ y dt

These equations represent the Euler-Lagrange differential equations for the path that minimizes
the arclength S(f). They are a pair of first-order differential equations that describe the path from
P to Q that minimizes the arclength.
c)
To prove that the shortest path between points P and Q is a straight line, we can use the result
obtained from the Euler-Lagrange equations. The Euler-Lagrange equations provided the
differential equations for the path that minimizes the arclength S(f).
The Euler-Lagrange equations for the minimization problem were as follows:

For x:
d
¿=0
dt
For y,
d
¿=0
dt
Now, let's analyse these equations.
For the path between P and Q to be a straight line, both x˙ and y˙ must be constant (not varying
with respect to t) because in a straight line, the rates of change of x and y should be constant.
The equations state that the derivatives of x˙ and y˙ with respect to t must be zero. In other
words, x˙ and y˙ are constants.
When x˙ and y˙ are constants, the path is a straight line. Therefore, the shortest path between P
and Q is indeed a straight line.
the Euler-Lagrange equations ensure that the shortest path has constant values for x˙ and y˙,
making it a straight line.