∫Calc Practice

Linear approximation

Problem 3.118 · easy

Use the linear approximation of \( \displaystyle f(x) = \sin{\left(x \right)} \) at \( \displaystyle x = 0 \) to estimate \( \displaystyle f(\frac{3}{100}) \).
  1. The linearization at a is L(x) = f(a) + f'(a)(x − a).
  2. \[ \left. \sin{\left(x \right)} \right|_{\substack{ x=0 }} = 0 \]
    f(a).✓ Proved
  3. \[ \left. \frac{d}{d x} \sin{\left(x \right)} \right|_{\substack{ x=0 }} = 1 \]
    f'(a).✓ Proved
  4. \[ x \]
    The linearization.
  5. \[ \frac{3}{100} \]
    Evaluate at x = \frac{3}{100}.
Answer \( L(\frac{3}{100}) = \frac{3}{100} \approx 0.03 \)

Lines: 2 proved, 3 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. How we verify

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
4Not checked—both sides are the same expression: the line states a value, and the working that produced it is not on the line
5Not checked—both sides are the same expression: the line states a value, and the working that produced it is not on the line
answer, a second way✓ Checked independentlysympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0the estimate is within Taylor's error bound of the true value

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) — Step 4 is labeled as 'The linearization' but contains the equation 'x, x', which is not the linearization formula L(x) = x. The solution fails to explicitly construct L(x) = 0 + 1*(x-0) = x before evaluating it, making the derivation logically incomplete and confusing.
Every verdict on record (6)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-28 — Step 4 is labeled as 'The linearization' but contains the equation 'x, x', which is not the linearization formula L(x) = x. The solution fails to explicitly construct L(x) = 0 + 1*(x-0) = x before evaluating it, making the derivation logically incomplete and confusing.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-28
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-27 — Line 4 is labeled as 'The linearization' but contains the identity 'x, x', which is not the linearization formula L(x) = x. The solution fails to explicitly construct L(x) = f(a) + f'(a)(x-a) using the values from lines 2 and 3, jumping directly to the result without showing the substitution step.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-27
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-26 — Step 4 is labeled 'The linearization' but contains the equation 'x, x', which is an identity rather than the derived formula L(x) = x. The solution fails to explicitly state the linearization function L(x) = x before evaluating it, making the logical jump from steps 2 and 3 to step 5 opaque and technically incorrect as a derivation.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-26

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/linear_approximation, checked 2026-10-13 with SymPy 1.14.0.