We are going to need
the first order derivatives of f(x,y) at (x,y)=(−1,1).
So we find them first.
fx(x,y)fy(x,y)=x4+2y22xy−(x4+2y2)2x2y(4x3)=x4+2y2x2−(x4+2y2)2x2y(4y)fx(−1,1)fy(−1,1)=−32+324=−92=31−324=−91
The linear approximation to f(x,y) about (−1,1) is
f(x,y)≈=f(−1,1)+fx(−1,1)(x+1)+fy(−1,1)(y−1)=31−92(x+1)−91(y−1)
In particular
f(−0.9,1.1)≈31−92(0.1)−91(0.1)=9027=0.3