MATH 115: Curvature of the Circle Bonus

Dylan C. Beck
21 March 2018

Bonus. (5 points) Consider the equation x2 + y 2 = r2 for some positive real number r. Observe
that this defines a circle of radius r centered at the origin. We define the curvature — denoted by
the lowercase Greek letter kappa — of a curve f (x, y) in the Cartesian place by
 2    2 −3/2
d y dy
κ =  2  · 1 + .
dx dx

Prove that the curvature of a circle is inversely proportional to its radius.

dy
(Hint: We already know dx from the previous bonus involving the circle. Compute the second
d2 y
derivative dx2 by the Quotient Rule. Use the identity x2 + y 2 = r2 to simplify the numerator. Cu-
d2 y
riously, it turns out that dx 2 depends on the radius! Plug everything into the formula κ. Convince
2 3/2
yourself that y 3 1 + xy2 = r3 . Cancel the numerator and the denominator to obtain κ = 1r .)