The flight path of a surveillance drone in a vertical cross-section is modelled by the parametric equations
x=2t2−16t,y=t3−16t,t∈R x = 2t^2 - 16t, \quad y = t^3 - 16t, \quad t \in \mathbb{R} x=2t2−16t,y=t3−16t,t∈Rwhere x x\,x represents the horizontal displacement from a control tower and y y\,y represents the height relative to a safety baseline. The drone's path crosses the baseline at the origin and at the points A A\,A and BBB, where A A\,A and B B\,B are distinct points.
Find the coordinates of A A\,A and show that B B\,B has coordinates (96,0)(96, 0)(96,0).
Show that the equation of the tangent to the path at B B\,B is
x+y−96=0 x + y - 96 = 0 x+y−96=0The tangent to the path at B B\,B intersects the path again at the point PPP.
Find, using algebraic methods, the horizontal displacement of the drone at point PPP.
178 exam-style questions on OCR (MEI) A Level Maths 1.5 Coordinate Geometry, covering 1.5.1 Equation of a straight line y = mx + c, 1.5.2 Gradients of parallel and perpendicular lines, 1.5.3 Distance between two points, 1.5.4 Midpoint of a line segment, 1.5.5 Form the equation of a straight line, 1.5.6 Draw a line given its equation, 1.5.7 Point of intersection of two lines, 1.5.8 Straight line models, 1.5.9 Intersection of a line and a curve, 1.5.10 Intersection of a line and a circle, 1.5.11 Equation of a circle, 1.5.12 Circle properties, 1.5.13 Parameter and parametric equations (A-level only), 1.5.14 Convert between cartesian and parametric forms (A-level only), 1.5.15 Equation of a circle in parametric form (A-level only), 1.5.16 Gradient of a parametric curve (A-level only), 1.5.17 Parametric equations in modelling (A-level only), and 1.5 Coordinate Geometry. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.