Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A slab is cut along the plane , with coordinates in metres. A guide rail passes through the point in the direction , so its equation is . A technician must fix sensors on the rail at exactly metres from the slab. She notes that the distance of a point of the rail from the slab changes at a steady rate along the rail, so there are two places for the sensors. One is on each side of the slab. Find the values of the parameter of the points at which this happens. Find the -coordinates of the two points, and the distance between the two points.
The distance of from is . Two planes meet in a line with direction .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The value on the rail. .
Step 2. The distance. The length of the normal is . So the distance is .
Step 3. Set it equal to . gives . gives .
Step 4. The points. For the point is . For it is .
Step 5. The gap. The two points are steps of apart, and . The distance is metres.
Check. At the value is , and . At it is , and .
Answer: and , with and , and a distance of about metres between the sensors.
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