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I've been provided with this problem to solve:

Find the equation of the line tangent to the surface $ z = f(x, y) = x^2 - y^2 $ at the point $ (2, 3) $ and in the direction of the unit vector $ {\mathbf u} = {\langle \frac{\sqrt 2}{2}}, \frac{\sqrt 2}{2} \rangle $.

So far, I've already determined the plane tangent to $ (2, 3) $ using the equation $ f_x(2, 3) + f_y(2, 3) = z - f(2, 3) $.

$$ f(2, 3) = 2^2 - 3^2 = -5 $$

$$ f_x(x, y) = \frac{\partial}{\partial x}(x^2 - y^2) = 2x \to f_x(2, 3) = 2 \times 2 = 4 $$

$$ f_y(x, y) = \frac{\partial}{\partial y}(x^2 - y^2) = -2y \to f_y(2, 3) = -2 \times 3 = -6 $$

The plane is

$$ 4(x - 2) - 6(y - 3) - (z + 5) = 0 $$

I also determined the directional derivative using the equation $ D_{\mathbf u}f(2, 3) = \nabla f(2, 3) \cdot {\mathbf u} = \langle f_x(2, 3), f_y(2, 3) \rangle \cdot {\mathbf u} $.

$$ D_{\mathbf u}f(2, 3) = \langle 4, -6 \rangle \cdot \langle \frac{\sqrt 2}{2}, \frac{\sqrt 2}{2} \rangle = -\sqrt 2 $$

From the equation of the plane tangent to $ (2, 3) $, the parametric equations for the normal line to the plane are

$$ x(t) = 2 + 4t $$ $$ y(t) = 3 + 6t $$ $$ z(t) = -5 - t $$

Is there a way to yield the parametric equations for the particular line based on $ D_{\mathbf u}f(2, 3) $?

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    You have a point $\;(2,3,-5)\;$, you have a direction $\;\vec u\;$ , so I think the wanted line is simply $\;(2,3,-5)+t\vec u\;,\;\;t\in\Bbb R\;$ ...did I miss something?2017-02-08
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    I don't think so. How did you come to that? Why use the equation $ (2, 3, -5) + t {\vec u} $?2017-02-08
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    @K A point on the line + a direction.2017-02-08
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    @DonAntonio Hmm...might take a bit for me to fully comprehend. Thanks anyway!2017-02-08
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    @Ks You may want to take a peek at http://www.vitutor.com/geometry/space/line_space.html2017-02-08

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