(a) Find the equation of the normal to the curve y = (x\(^2\) - x + 1)(x - 2) at the point where the curve cuts the X - axis. (b) The coordinates of the pin...

Answer Details

(a) To find the equation of the normal to the curve y = (x² - x + 1)(x - 2) at the point where the curve cuts the X-axis, we first need to find the x-coordinate of the point where the curve intersects the X-axis. This is where y = 0, so we can solve the equation (x² - x + 1)(x - 2) = 0 to find the roots of the equation. The roots are x = 1 ± i√3 and x = 2, but since we want the point where the curve intersects the X-axis, we take x = 2.

Next, we need to find the gradient of the curve at this point. We can do this by differentiating the equation y = (x² - x + 1)(x - 2) with respect to x, giving:

dy/dx = 3x² - 8x + 1

Substituting x = 2, we get:

dy/dx = 3(2)² - 8(2) + 1 = -7

Therefore, the gradient of the curve at the point where it intersects the X-axis is -7.

Since the normal to the curve is perpendicular to the tangent at the point of intersection, we know that the gradient of the normal is the negative reciprocal of the gradient of the tangent. So the gradient of the normal is 1/7.

Finally, we can find the equation of the normal using the point-slope form of the equation of a straight line:

y - 0 = (1/7)(x - 2)

Simplifying this equation gives:

y = (1/7)x - 2/7

So the equation of the normal to the curve y = (x² - x + 1)(x - 2) at the point where the curve cuts the X-axis is y = (1/7)x - 2/7.

(b) To find the equation of the line joining Q and the midpoint of PR, we first need to find the coordinates of the midpoint of PR. The midpoint of a line segment with endpoints (x₁, y₁) and (x₂, y₂) is ((x₁ + x₂)/2, (y₁ + y₂)/2). So the midpoint of PR is ((-1 + 3)/2, (2 - 4)/2), which simplifies to (1, -1).

Next, we need to find the gradient of the line joining Q and the midpoint of PR. We can use the gradient formula, which gives:

m = (y₂ - y₁)/(x₂ - x₁)

Substituting the coordinates of Q and the midpoint of PR gives:

m = (1 - (-1))/(5 - 1) = 1/2