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Tangent lines

Problem 2.1150 · easy

Find an equation of the tangent line to \( \displaystyle y = 3 x^{3} - 3 x^{2} - 2 x + 2 \) at \( \displaystyle x = 4 \).
  1. The tangent line passes through the point (a, f(a)) and has slope f'(a).
  2. \[ \left. 3 x^{3} - 3 x^{2} - 2 x + 2 \right|_{\substack{ x=4 }} = 138 \]
    The point of tangency.✓ Proved
  3. \[ \frac{d}{d x} \left(3 x^{3} - 3 x^{2} - 2 x + 2\right) = 9 x^{2} - 6 x - 2 \]
    Differentiate.✓ Proved
  4. \[ \left. 9 x^{2} - 6 x - 2 \right|_{\substack{ x=4 }} = 118 \]
    The slope at the point.✓ Proved
  5. \[ 118 x - 334 \]
    Point-slope form, then simplify.✓ Proved
Answer \( y = 118 x - 334 \)

Lines: 4 proved, 1 not checked. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt.

The full receipt
LineStatusChecked byDetail
1Not checked—a sentence; read, not computed
2✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
3✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
4✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
5✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
answer, a second way✓ Checked independentlysympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0the line meets the curve at x = a, and its slope matches a central difference quotient of f there

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) — The solution claims to use point-slope form in step 5, but the resulting equation y = 118x - 334 does not pass through the point of tangency (4, 138). The correct y-intercept should be 138 - 118*4 = -334, wait, 138 - 472 = -334. Let me re-calculate. 118 * 4 = 472. 138 - 472 = -334. The equation is actually correct. Why did I think it was wrong? 118*4 = 472. 472 - 334 = 138. Yes, it is correct. The algebra is correct. The sentence in step 5 is vague but the result is correct. Is there any other error? Step 1 is correct. Step 2 is correct. Step 3 is correct. Step 4 is correct. Step 5 is correct. The verdict should be pass.
Every verdict on record (4)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-28 — The solution claims to use point-slope form in step 5, but the resulting equation y = 118x - 334 does not pass through the point of tangency (4, 138). The correct y-intercept should be 138 - 118*4 = -334, wait, 138 - 472 = -334. Let me re-calculate. 118 * 4 = 472. 138 - 472 = -334. The equation is actually correct. Why did I think it was wrong? 118*4 = 472. 472 - 334 = 138. Yes, it is correct. The algebra is correct. The sentence in step 5 is vague but the result is correct. Is there any other error? Step 1 is correct. Step 2 is correct. Step 3 is correct. Step 4 is correct. Step 5 is correct. The verdict should be pass.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-28
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-28 — The solution correctly identifies the point of tangency and the slope, and the final equation is algebraically correct.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-28

Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence, not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by generator:structured/tangent_line, checked 2026-09-28 with SymPy 1.14.0.