Calculus 1 : Calculus

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #34 : Meaning Of Functions

Evaluate the limit:

Possible Answers:

None of the other answers

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By applying L'Hôpital's rule, we can find the limit by evaluating

The function is now written as

Plugging in 0 gives us

Example Question #33 : How To Find The Meaning Of Functions

Which of the following statements is true regarding the behavior of functions with respect to its derivatives?

Possible Answers:

The second derivative tells you when the function changes from decreasing to increasing and vice versa.

An example of a point of inflection is where the function goes from increasing at a decreasing rate to increasing at an increasing rate.

The natural log  is a decreasing function because its second derivative is always negative.

If at a point, the derivative is positive and the second derivative in negative, the function is decreasing at an increasing rate.

Correct answer:

An example of a point of inflection is where the function goes from increasing at a decreasing rate to increasing at an increasing rate.

Explanation:

The statement

"An example of a point of inflection is where the function goes from increasing at a decreasing rate to increasing at an increasing rate."

is true. Point of inflection is when the function changes from concave up to concave down and vice versa. In the example above, the function changes from concave down (slopes are decreasing) to concave up (slopes are increasing). 

Example Question #41 : How To Find The Meaning Of Functions

A company found that the function 

 

describes the cost of producing  widgets at a manufacturing plant. What is the best interpretation of ?

Possible Answers:

The change in revenue from producing an additional widget.

The total cost of producing  widgets.

The average cost of producing  widgets.

The cost to produce one additional widget.

Correct answer:

The cost to produce one additional widget.

Explanation:

The derivative of a function is a new function that describes the slope of the original function. Slope can be interpreted as the change in the dependent variable per unit change in the independent variable. In this case, the dependent variable is cost and the independent variable is the number of widgets produced. Therefore, the derivative of C(x) tells us the change in cost per change of one in the number of widgets produced.

Example Question #42 : How To Find The Meaning Of Functions

Find a line that is perpendicular to  at

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find a point on the line evaluate the function at the value of interest.  

To find the slope of the perpindicular line, the derivative of the function should be evaluated at the point of interest. 

The slope of a perpindicular line  at a given point is the negative reciprocal of the derivative at the point.

Thus the slope is 

.

Using the point slope form the equation is:

 

Example Question #42 : How To Find The Meaning Of Functions

Evaluate the following limit:

Possible Answers:

The limit does not exist. 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This limit can be evaluated using L'Hopital's rule, where the derivatives of the top and bottom are taken.

Thus:

Example Question #43 : How To Find The Meaning Of Functions

Evaluate 

.

Possible Answers:

The limit does not exist. 

Correct answer:

The limit does not exist. 

Explanation:

To determine if a limit exists there are three properties it must have.

1) The limit from the left side of the point in question exists.

2) The limit from the right side of the point in question exists.

3) The limits from the left and right had side must be equal.

By factoring:

 

Therefore, the limit does not exist. 

Example Question #1764 : Functions

Find the limit

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The limit of a funtion to a certain x can be found by plugging x into the equation.

Example Question #43 : Meaning Of Functions

Find the limit

Possible Answers:

Undefined

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The limit can be evaluated by plugging the x into the limit expression. If the expression is undefined then we must use L'Hopital's rule. We can take the derivative of both the top and bottom of the fraction and take the limit of that. The derivative of the top is . The derivative of the bottom is .

Example Question #43 : How To Find The Meaning Of Functions

Find the interval where the function  is increasing.

Possible Answers:

The function is never increasing.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find where a function is increasing or decreasing, you must first identify the function's critical points. To do this, you find where the derivative of the function is greater than zero (for increasing), or less than zero (for decreasing). Convention is to include the point where the derivative equals zero in the interval.

Recall the following rule of differentiation to help solve this problem.

Power Rule: 

 

The derivative of the given function, by the power rule, is 

This derivative equals zero at 

 when 

Therefore, the function is increasing when , or on the interval 

 

 

Example Question #45 : Meaning Of Functions

Give an appropriate answer.

Let  

   and  

Find    

.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Knowing the values for and  in the limit as  approaches , we can plug them into the fraction and reduce to get a value.

 

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