Multivariable Calculus - Scott McCracken：多变量微积分-史葛麦克拉肯.pdf

Multivariable Calculus Geometric Representation of Functions. When we study functions from to , we find it useful to visualize functions by drawing their graphs. When we are concerned with functions of two variables, i.e. from to this technique is even more useful. As we needed two dimensions to draw the graph of a function from to , we need three dimensions to draw the graph of a function from to . When drawing graphs of unfamiliar functions from to in two dimensions, we could mark out a number of points to get an idea of what the function looks like. When we have a function from to , we can do the same, but because of the extra dimension, we need a lot more points to build up a graph of the function. One more systematic way to proceed is to draw the usual one dimensional graphs on various two-dimensional slices or cross-sections and then put these together to draw the graph. Example 1. Say we are trying to graph the function given by for all . We can take a slice at in the planes. In this plane which is a parabola shifted down by units. We draw these cross-sections for several values of . Next consider a cross-section in the plane . The restriction to this plane is the upside-down parabola . Finally attach each of your cross-sections in the plane to your cross-section in the plane and sketch the rest. Cross-Section Applet Another way to visualize a function from to is to use level curves. This technique only requires two-dimensional sketching. For each we evaluate to obtain, say . Then we draw the locus of points in the -plane for which has the same value . Definition. Let be a function and let . A level set is a s