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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Pure significance of line integrals of vector fields

I can understand how the line integral of a scalar function has pure-mathematical significance, representing an area beneath a curve. But is there a pure significance to the line integral of a vector field? The only understanding I have of this is…
Mr. Chip
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Triple integral of a sphere being cut by a plane

Evaluate the triple integral of: $f(x,y,z)=z(x^2+y^2+z^2)^{-3/2}$ Over the part of the ball: $x^2+y^2+z^2\le 16$ with $z\ge 2$ So I converted to spherical coordinates and got: $$f(\rho,\phi,\theta)=\rho cos(\phi)\rho^{-3/2}$$…
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Defining a function at some given point to make it continuous

So I have a function $$ f(x,y) = \frac{xy(x^2-y^2)}{x^2+y^2} $$ I have to define the function at $(0,0)$ so that it is continuous at origin. Is there any general approach we follow in this type of problems? I am not sure but I think Sandwich…
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Domain of $\sqrt[4]{1-xy}$

I'm having hard time understanding the graph of the domain (within $\mathbb{R}^2$) of the function $$\sqrt[4]{1-xy}$$ So that function exists under the condition $1-xy\ge0$ which leads to $xy\le1$. So the domain of the function…
unnikked
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Max and min value of $f(x,y)$

$$f(x,y) = 2\cdot x\cdot y$$ $$x^2+y^2 \leq 4$$ I have no idea about this question.There is a region.How can I solve?
g3d
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Order of partial derivative in second derivative test?

This is from wikipedia for the second derivative Hessian matrix test. From the determinant it seems to assume that $f_{xy} = f_{yx}.$ Why is this valid to assume? Is the test only valid for when $f_{xy} = f_{yx}?$
green frog
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Prove equality for multivariate function

I am given that $z=f(x^2+y^2)$ and need to show that $y\frac{\partial z}{\partial x}-x\frac{\partial z}{\partial y}=0$. Listed below is my attempt. Is this correct? I feel that it seems too simplistic. $\large{ \frac{\partial z}{\partial x} =…
bryan.blackbee
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Find s in terms of p and c for certain equations

$s$, $p$ and $c$ are vectors; I need to find $s$ in terms of the other two for: (1) $| s - c | = 1$ (2) $s = \lambda p$ ( $\lambda$ is a constant ) How can I use the constant $\alpha = (p \cdot c)^2 - p^2 * (c^2 - 1)$? There may be no solution.
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Surface Area of $z = \sin(x)\sin(y)$

This seems like an easy problem, but I can't seem to get a closed form solution: What is the surface area of the surface defined by the equation $z = \sin(x)\sin(y)$, over some rectangular region bounded by the following equations: $y = -x+a$ $y =…
okj
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Relation between tensor product and wedge product

Let $V$ be a vector space, $\mathcal B=\{w_1,\dots,w_k\}$ a orthonormal basis for $V$, and let $T=w_1^\star\otimes\dots\otimes w_k^\star\in\mathcal L^k(V)$. I don't understand why is this equivalence true: $$w_1^\star\wedge\dots\wedge…
Dr. Scotti
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Find $d$ for which $f$ gets its minimal value

Let $\beta>\alpha>0$ and let $A,B,C,D$ be the vertices of the rectangle $[\alpha,\beta]\times[\alpha,\beta]$, such that $A$ is the closest one to the origin, and the path $A\to B\to C\to D\to A$ is oriented clockwise. Let $\vec{F}(x,y)=(y,x)$. A…
Amit Zach
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How would I find the integration limits for this volume integral?

If i want to integrate over the the region $R$ such that $R:={(x,y,z):z\geq x^2+y^2,z \geq 2-2x, z\leq 10 -2y}$, what will the limits be for $x, y$, more importantly how should I systematically think to find the limits for my integrals? Could…
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Implicit Function Theorem

Q: Use Implicit Function Theorem to show that there exists a unique solution of the equation $x^{e^y} + y^{e^x} = 0$ in a neighborhood of the point $(0, 0)$. I tried to satisfy three conditions of IFT. Let $F(x,y)= x^{e^y} + y^{e^x}$ then, 1:…
Faisal
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$\int_C ( 2 xz \, \vec {\mathbf i} + x^2z \, \vec {\mathbf j}+ x^2y \, \vec {\mathbf k}) \mathrm d \, \vec {\mathbf r}$ : Line Integral

Evaluate $\int_C \vec {\mathbf F} \mathrm d \, \vec {\mathbf r}$ , where $\vec {\mathbf F} (x,y,z) = 2 xz \, \vec {\mathbf i} + x^2z \, \vec {\mathbf j}+ x^2y \, \vec {\mathbf k}$ , and C is the path from (0 , 1 , 2) to (1 , 2, 3) that consists of…
sarah
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Calculation of a double integral $\int_{-1}^{1}\int_0^2 \sqrt{\left|y-x^2\right|} \,dx \,dy$

I want to calculate the following integral: $$ \int_{-1}^{1}\int_0^2 \sqrt{\left|y-x^2\right|} \,dx \,dy. $$ I tried to go first with $y$ which seems the easier of the two, but then the integral with respect to $x$ becomes quite complex. On the…