Using Derivatives to solve a word problem
Author: John Maharry
Date: 12/16/2008

Drag the point A to move the car along the road. When do the headlights shine on the point C?

Right click on the curve to edit the function.

As a car drives along a curvy road, the headlights 
shine straight ahead. Determine where the headlights 
will shine on the point C.

A = Point(xAxis)
f(x) = x²
B: (x(A), f(x(A)))
g(x) = f'(x)
E: (x(A) + 3, 3 g(x(A)) + y(A))
a = Ray(B, E)
C = (3, 2)