Questions tagged [multivariable-calculus]

Use this tag for questions about differential and integral calculus with more than one independent variable. Some related tags are (differential-geometry), (real-analysis), and (differential-equations).

Multivariable functions are functions like $f(x,y)=xy^2$, functions that have two or more inputs but still only one output.

There exist multivariable limits, where $x$ and $y$ approach a value instead of just $x$.

In multivariable calculus, when writing $\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}x} \ f(x,y)$, one does not assume $y$ to be a constant, instead it is assumed that $y$ is a function of $x$.

To indicate that $y$ is a constant, one should use $\frac{\partial}{\partial x} f(x,y)$. These are called partial derivatives.

One also has integrals of multivariable functions. We say that we integrate over a surface in case of a two-variable function. We write this as $$\iint_S f(x,y)$$

If the surface is a rectangle $S: [a,b] \times [c,d]$, and the function is continuous on this rectangle, then Fubini's theorem says that $$\iint_S f(x,y) = \int^b_a\int^d_c f(x,y) \mathrm{d}y \mathrm{d}x$$

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Un-curl operator?

I would like to use Stokes' Theorem to find the area of a surface over a given region. This is given by: $A = \oint\vec{F}\centerdot d\vec{r}$ but only if the following condition holds: $(\vec{\triangledown}\times\vec{F})\centerdot \vec{n} = 1$ …
okj
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Can a vector field always be written as a cross-product of two other vector fields?

As the title suggests, can any arbitrary conservative vector field, $\bf{F}$ $= \langle P,Q,R \rangle$, where the component functions are functions of $(x,y,z)$, always be written as a cross-product of two other vector fields, namely $\bf{A} \times…
kvmu
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How do you graph $x + y + z = 1$ without using graphing devices?

How can I graph $x + y + z = 1$ without using graphing devices? I equal $z = 0$ to find the graph on the xy plane. So I got a line, $y = 1-x$ But when I equal 0 for either the $x$ or the $y,$ I get $z = 1-y$ or $z = 1-x$ , and those are two…
Walter
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Jacobian or No Jacobian - Surface Integrals

I've read http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=310220 and http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=458840, but I'm still confused whether we need the Jacobian or not in computing surface integrals. The following examples are from P1091…
user53259
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Gradient And Hessian Of General 2-Norm

Given $f(\mathbf{x}) = \|\mathbf{Ax}\|_2 = (\mathbf{x}^\mathrm{T} \mathbf{A}^\mathrm{T} \mathbf{Ax} )^{1/2}$, $\nabla f(\mathbf{x}) = \frac {\mathbf{A}^\mathrm{T} \mathbf{Ax}} {\|\mathbf{Ax}\|_2} = \frac {\mathbf{A}^\mathrm{T} \mathbf{Ax}}…
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Geometric or intuitive proof of the symmetry of second partial derivatives

What was given in my calc book is a "consider the function" proof. That is, the author gives a function out of the blue and would deduce all the nice properties from it. I'd prefer a proof which is motivated (perhaps, intuitive) - you see how the…
Ron
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Is the total differential the same as the directional derivative?

The way I understand it, the total differential and the directional derivative are both linear approximations of the change in a function at a certain point. So if I know the change in $x$ and $y$ from the initial point, then I plug those into the…
Fgilan
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Can you approximate a vector field?

Say you have a physical simulation, there are "wind current" vectors stored in a 2d space. So you know that the vectors near each other will likely be similar in direction. Can we capitalize on the "similarity" across the vector field, and use it…
bobobobo
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a function with differentiable partial derivatives but unequal mixed derivatives

I am looking for an example of a function $f:\mathbb{R}^2\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ such that $\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}$ and $\frac{\partial f}{\partial y}$ are both differentiable at some point, say the origin, but $\frac{\partial^2 f}{\partial…
tipshoni
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Normal Vector to a Sphere

I'm having kind of a problem on calculating the normal vector to a sphere using a parameterization. Consider a unit-radius sphere centered at the origin. One can parameterize it using the following: $$P(\phi,…
Thiago
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Is the curl of every non-conservative vector field nonzero at some point?

Counterexamples? Intuitively, why? Thanks for any answers. As a side note, in what math class are gradient, divergence and curl taught typically?
Eric Thoma
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Parametric curve for a tennis ball seam

I hadn't noticed until now tennis balls were symmetric about more than one axis. Which lead me to think there could be an elegant way of expressing the seam as a parametric curve, but I haven't found any yet. I've tried using products of sines and…
user1002327
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Why is a gradient field a special case of a vector field?

My calculus manual suggests a gradient field is just a special case of a vector field. That implies that there are vector fields that there are not gradient fields. The gradient field is composted of a vector and each $\mathbf{i}$, $\mathbf{j}$,…
Sedumjoy
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Multivariable limit - perhaps a trickier problem I am stuck on.

I am trying to solve the following limit: $\lim_{(x,y) \to (0,0)} \frac{x^4y^4}{(x^2 + y^4)^3}$ (This is a more challenging problem from Folland Calculus, it seems). I am pretty sure this limit does not exist (however, this is just a guess, and I am…
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Prove that a non-zero acceleration is perpendicular to a constant speed

Take the differentiable vector function $\vec{v}(t)$ (a velocity vector). If its speed, $|\vec{v}(t)|=constant$, then prove that at any point which $\frac{d\vec{v}}{dt}$ is non-zero, $\frac{d\vec{v}}{dt}$ is perpendicular to $\vec{v}(t)$. In other…
Justin
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