Find two lines of symmetry of the graph of the function y=x+x1. Express your answer as two equations of the form y=ax+b.
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Solution
The graph of the function y=x+x1 is a hyperbola. We can see this more clearly by writing it out in the standard form x2−xy+1=0 or (2y)2−(x−21y)2=1. The hyperbola has asymptotes given by x=0 and y=x, so the lines of symmetry will be the (interior and exterior) angle bisectors of these two lines. This means that they will be y=tan(67.5∘)x and y=−cot(67.5∘)x, which, using the tangent half-angle formula tan(2x)=1−cos(x)1+cos(x), gives the two lines y=(1+2)x and y=(1−2)x.
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