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Homework Statement
Consider the line perpendicular to the surface [itex]z=x^2+y^2[/itex] at the point where x = −1 and y = 2 Find a vector parametric equation for this line in terms of the parameter t.
The Attempt at a Solution
I wasn't quite sure how to go about with this problem so I just went along with the following ideas. I first took the gradient of the function at that point:
[itex]0=x^2+y^2-z[/itex]
[itex]∇F(x,y,z)= <2x,2y,-1>[/itex]
[itex]∇F(-1,2,0)= <-2,4,-1>[/itex]
Then I constructed the vector parametric equation of the line at that point:
[itex]L(t) = P + t∇F[/itex]
[itex]L(t) = <-1,2,0> + t<-2,4,-1>[/itex]
Afterwards, I submitted this equation, only finding that it was incorrect; can someone explain to me what went wrong here?