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Why is the tangent line to a curve is defined as the limiting position of the secant lines and not the final,actual position of the secant lines when the two points actually coincide?

a_i_r
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  • There is no difference. –  Nov 12 '20 at 13:19
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    That would be because the final position is not a secant, having only one intersection point with the curve, generally. –  Nov 12 '20 at 13:23
  • Yves Daoust I saw people posting that it is the limiting position,but I dont know why – a_i_r Nov 12 '20 at 13:27
  • As a general practice, if you are asking about something someone posted, edit the question so it includes a link to the post. You can include multiple links if you have seen this in multiple places. Then someone may be able to explain what those other people said. – David K Nov 12 '20 at 13:48
  • One reason people like to talk about the limiting position is because it lets us answer questions like Problem with basic definition of a tangent line. – David K Nov 12 '20 at 13:52
  • David in your link,i went through the answers and people have mentioned that it is the limiting position when a point approaches the other?But why limit?Why not the scenario where two points actually co incide? – a_i_r Nov 12 '20 at 14:08

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