Stumped on a Calc 1 Problem
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- CaptHayfever
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Stumped on a Calc 1 Problem
One of my tutoring clients was assigned a packet of AP practice problems. We were working through it with no trouble until this happened:
As you can see, we got the general solution just fine, but hit a road-block when a power of a positive number (e) somehow was negative. I had the kid talk to the teacher about it, & the teacher's work to find the constant is shown. I'd like to know, though, how on earth does e^C = C ?
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"
As you can see, we got the general solution just fine, but hit a road-block when a power of a positive number (e) somehow was negative. I had the kid talk to the teacher about it, & the teacher's work to find the constant is shown. I'd like to know, though, how on earth does e^C = C ?
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"
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That's exactly the thing: I've taken freaking graduate-level complex analysis, & I've NEVER learned how to find imaginary logs; how the hell is it on the calc 1 AP test?
The teacher never actually wrote out her particular solution (she stopped at C=-2), but since she got the same general solution as I did before her bizarre e^C=C trick, I just plugged her C value.
The important thing here is her bizarre e^C=C trick. What the crap happened?
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"
The teacher never actually wrote out her particular solution (she stopped at C=-2), but since she got the same general solution as I did before her bizarre e^C=C trick, I just plugged her C value.
The important thing here is her bizarre e^C=C trick. What the crap happened?
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"
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Ok, I know this is a bit of a bump, but I just want to clarify that even if your teacher was trying to use the argument that e^c is still equal to a constant, she still did it wrong.
It's completely mathematically sound to say that e^c is equal to some constant, but you have to distinguish the new constant from the one to whose power e is being raised. My professors usually call the new constant, which is equal to e^c, c'. So c'=e^c
Obviously, this is just to show they are both constants. THEY ARE NEVER EQUAL FOR ANY REAL C. So you have c' =/= c, but they are both constants.
Now let's look at your teacher's completely incorrect work.
As you can see, her original statement was just, in that y=(some constant, we call it c', she calls it c)*x - 1. She ends up with 2=-(constant we call c' she calls c).
The PROBLEM is that she goes back and says THAT c, the one we call c', is EQUAL to the c in e^c. Which is horse****.
So actually her work, if she hadn't gotten constants confused, is saying the exact same thing yours is.
So you were right all along; the e^c MUST equal -2. She just went ahead and said that -2=e^(-2) which makes no sense.
tl;dr you were right, the problem doesn't have a real solution, your teacher's solution implies that -2=e^-2 which is dumb
Just thought I'd clarify that you are right
It's completely mathematically sound to say that e^c is equal to some constant, but you have to distinguish the new constant from the one to whose power e is being raised. My professors usually call the new constant, which is equal to e^c, c'. So c'=e^c
Obviously, this is just to show they are both constants. THEY ARE NEVER EQUAL FOR ANY REAL C. So you have c' =/= c, but they are both constants.
Now let's look at your teacher's completely incorrect work.
As you can see, her original statement was just, in that y=(some constant, we call it c', she calls it c)*x - 1. She ends up with 2=-(constant we call c' she calls c).
The PROBLEM is that she goes back and says THAT c, the one we call c', is EQUAL to the c in e^c. Which is horse****.
So actually her work, if she hadn't gotten constants confused, is saying the exact same thing yours is.
So you were right all along; the e^c MUST equal -2. She just went ahead and said that -2=e^(-2) which makes no sense.
tl;dr you were right, the problem doesn't have a real solution, your teacher's solution implies that -2=e^-2 which is dumb
Just thought I'd clarify that you are right
I believe in second chances, and that's why I believe in you.
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