MATH 115: Linear Function Tangent Line Bonus

Dylan C. Beck
7 February 2018

Bonus. Prove that the line y = mx + b is tangent to itself at every real number.

(Hint: Compute the derivative y 0 . Use the fact that the slope of the line tangent to y at a point
(x, f (x)) is given by f 0 (x) to find the slope of the line tangent to y = mx + b at a real number
x. Use the point slope form y − y1 = f 0 (x) · (x − x1 ) to find the equation of the tangent line.
Ultimately, you should end up with the equation of the tangent line y = mx + b.)