Calculus 1 : How to find rate of change

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #181 : How To Find Rate Of Change

The rate of change of a cylinder's radius is equal to twice the rate of change of its height. How does the rate of change of the cylinder's volume compare to the rate of change of its radius when the radius is thrice the height?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To approach this problem, begin by defining the cylinder's volume and surface area in terms of its height and radius:

Cylinderdimensions

Rates of change can be found by deriving, then, with respect to time:

We're told two things:

The rate of change of a cylinder's radius is equal to twice the rate of change of its height: 

The radius is thrice the height: 

Using these properties, rewrite the rate equatios:

 

Example Question #182 : How To Find Rate Of Change

A cube is growing in size. What is the length of the sides of the cube at the time that the rate of growth of the cube's volume matches the rate of growth of its surface area?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Begin by writing the equations for a cube's dimensions. Namely its volume and surface area in terms of the length of its sides:

The rates of change of these can be found by taking the derivative of each side of the equations with respect to time:

Now, solve for the length of the side of the cube to satisfy the problem condition,

 

Example Question #183 : How To Find Rate Of Change

The width of a rectangular prism increases three times as fast as its length and twice as fast as its height. How does the rate of change of the prism's volume compare to that of the rate of change of the width when the length, height, and width are equal?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Begin by writing the expression for the volume of a rectangular prism:

The rate of change of the volume can be found by taking the derivative of the equation with respect to time:

Now, we're given some information:

The width of a rectangular prism increases three times as fast as its length and twice as fast as its height:

The length, height, and width are equal: 

Using this, rewrite the volume equation in terms of width:

The rate of change of the volume is  times the rate of change of the rate of change of the width.

 

Example Question #181 : How To Find Rate Of Change

Say signifies the change in  within the interval  ,

and   signifies the change   on some interval .

In this problem we will use the definition of the derrivative

to compute the instantanious rate of change of the function.

Compute the instantaneous rate of change at  when  using the definition of a derrivative: 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Using  ,

We have that:

 Which will give us the general derrivative of the function. Expanding, we have:

Simplifying:

Factoring out a d:

canceling out the 's

Applying the limit, we have:

Now, to find the instantaneous rate of change at  we evaluate the derrivative at :

, which is our answer.

 

Example Question #181 : How To Find Rate Of Change

Using normal rules of differentiation, find  where 

  

Possible Answers:

Function is not differentiable at .

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We'll try to find the derivative:

:

This is a sum of three distinct terms, so we can apply the derivative to each term seperately:

We apply our knowledge of derivatives of the various functions:

 ;  ; 

So, we have:

Simplifying:

.

Evaluating this at , we get:

Equivalently:

  which is our answer.

 

Example Question #181 : How To Find Rate Of Change

Using normal rules of differentiation, find  (the derrivative of  with respect to y)

where 

Possible Answers:

This function is not differentiable on its domain.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We find the derivative with respect to .

As a sum of different functions, the derrivative can be applied to each of the different terms separately. 

Now, to simplify, we can move the coeficient out of the braces.

We use the facts

 ;  and 

to differentiate the function:

 giving us the answer.

Example Question #187 : How To Find Rate Of Change

find the derrivative  of the function

Possible Answers:

Function not differentiable at .

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Taking the derrivative

We can differentiate each term separately.

Factoring out the coeficients

We use the normal derivative rules:

Simplifying:

Evaluating at 

Simplifying

Which is our answer.

Example Question #188 : How To Find Rate Of Change

Use normal rules of differentiation to find the derivative of the function .

Possible Answers:

This function is differentiable at no point in its domain.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We take the derivative of the function:

We notice that this function is the product of two functions, so we use the product rule:

Simplifying, we get:

.

Which is equivalent to:

, our answer

Example Question #181 : How To Find Rate Of Change

Using normal rules of differentiation, find the derrivative of the function, 

 with respect to 

Possible Answers:

This function is not differentiable at any point on its domain.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

taking the derivative

we notice we can factor out a coeficient:

 then, we apply the quotient rule:

 

taking out a common factor:

and simplifying,

we have our answer.

 

Example Question #190 : How To Find Rate Of Change

The radius of a sphere and the sides of a cube begin to grow at the same rate. What must the ratio of the radius' length to the sides' length be such that the rate of growth of the two shapes' volumes is equal?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Begin by writing the volume equations for a sphere and a cube:

The rate of change of these volumes can be found by taking the derivatives of these equation with respect to time:

We're given the relationship between the rate of expansion of the pertinent lengths for these shapes, namely .

To find the necessary ratios of lengths for the volumes to have equal rates of expansion, set the volume rate expressions equal to each other:

 

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