Implicit Differentiation: Quiz


Problem 3

Kepler's first law of planetary motion states that each planet revolves around the Sun in an elliptical path, with the Sun occupying one of the foci of the ellipse.

Let a planet P be in an elliptical orbit around the sun. Assume the ellipse is centered at the origin. Then the position (x, y) of the planet satisfies the equation

where a and b are the lengths of the semimajor and semiminor axes of the ellipse.

Find dy/dx when P is at the point

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