All AP Calculus AB Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Slope Of A Curve At A Point
Find the slope at the point (1,2) of the function
Derivatives are slope finders. Therefore to find the slope at the given point, we need to find the derivative of the function using power rule. Power rule says that we take the exponent of the “x” value and bring it to the front. Then we subtract one from the exponent.
So, we get
From there we plug in our x value.
Example Question #1 : Slope Of A Curve At A Point
Find the slope of the function at the point
None of the other answers
To find the slope at a point of our function, we need to find its derivative first.
Using the product rule (and the chain rule within this product rule application), we have
.
Plugging the -value of our point into this equation, we get our desired slope of
.
Example Question #1 : Slope Of A Curve At A Point
If , what is the slope of the curve at the point ?
To find the slope at a point, we first find the derivative of our function, and then substitute in the -value of our point.
, so , and plugging in our -value gives .
Example Question #1 : Slope Of A Curve At A Point
Find the rate of change of f(x) at the point (4,12).
Find the rate of change of f(x) at the point (4,12)
We are asked to find a rate of change, so begin by finding the first derivative.
Now, we need the rate of change at (4,12). What matters most is the x value, simply plug it into our derivative and solve for y
So, our answer is 1271
Example Question #1 : Slope Of A Curve At A Point
Find the slope of the line tangent to f(x) at the point x=0.
Find the slope of the line tangent to f(x) at the point x=0
To find the slope of a tangent line, we must first find the derivative of our function.
Let's recall a few rules to help us out.
1) The derivative of a monomial can be found by multiplying the coefficient by the exponent, and then decreasing the exponent by 1.
2) The derivative of e to the x is e to the x
3) The derivative of cosine is negative sine
Now, put it all together to get:
Lastly, we need to plug in 0 for x and solve our equation.
So, our answer is 0