Calculus MTS 3100
Chapter 5 :Application of Differentiation
CHAPTER 5: APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION
RELATED RATES
In many real-life settings, quantities change in time, or are functions of time. Often two or
more such functions are related by an equation. If the rates of change of all but one of them
are known, it is usually possible to determine the rate of change of the remaining function.
Problems asking for the rate of change of one function, when the rates of change of related
functions are given, are called related rates problems.
Related Rate Problem Strategy
1. Draw a sketch (picture) and name the variables and constants. Use t for time.
Assume that all variables are differentiable functions of t.
2. Write down the numerical information (in terms of the symbols you have chosen)
3. Write down what you are asked to find (usually a rate expressed as a derivative).
4. Write an equation that relates the variables. You may have to combine two or more
equations to get a single equation that relates the variable whose rate you want to the
variables whose rate you know.
5. Differentiate with respect to t. Then express the rate you want in terms of the rate and
variables whose rate you know.
6. Evaluate. Use known values to find the unknown rate.
Consider the following example.
Example :
A man 6 feet tall walks directly away from a lamp post whose light is situated 20 feet above
the ground. If the man walks at the rate of 7 feet per second, at what rate does his shadow
grow?
Solution :
We have represented in Figure 1 the situation described; the light at L casts a shadow FS of
the man FH. Let x be the distance from the lamp post to the man, and let s be the length of the
shadow. We need to find the rate at which the shadow grows, which is ds/dt, and we are
given that PL = 20, FH = 6, and dx/dt = 7. We first find out how s and x are related. Since the
triangles SPL and SFH are similar, we have
Calculus MTS 3100
Chapter 5 :Application of Differentiation
20 ft
H
6 ft
P F S
x s
Figure 1
or
Solving for s, we get
Now we differentiate this equation implicitly with respect to time t, getting
Substituting 7 feet per second for dx/dt, we get
feet per second
This is the rate at which the shadow grows.
Calculus MTS 3100
Chapter 5 :Application of Differentiation
Example: A Rising Balloon
A hot air balloon rising straight up from a level field is tracked by a range finder 500 ft from
the liftoff point. At the moment the range finder’s elevation angle is , the angle is
increasing at the rate of 0.14 rad/min. How fast is the balloon rising at that moment?
Balloon
when y
When
Range
Finder
500 ft
Figure 2
Solution:
1. Draw a picture and name the variables and constants (as in Figure 2) . The variables
in the picture are
= the angle in radians the range finder makes with the ground
y = the height in feet of the balloon.
where t = time
2. Write down the numerical information.
when
3. Write down what you are to find. We want when .
4. Write an equation that relates the variables y and .
5. Differentiate with respect to t using the Chain Rule. The result tells how (which
we want) is related to (which we know).
Calculus MTS 3100
Chapter 5 :Application of Differentiation
6. Evaluate with and to find .
At the moment in question, the balloon is rising at the rate of 140 ft/min.
Example :
A certain water tank is an inverted cone with height 12 feet and top diameter 8 feet (see
Figure 3). Water is being pumped into the tank at the rate of 50 cubic feet per minute. How
fast is the water level rising when the water in the tank is 6 feet deep?
4 ft
B A
12
Figure 3
Solution :
Since the depth of the water changes, we let the variable h represent its depth. Since the
radius of the “ cone of water “ in the tank changes, we will denote the radius by r. The
problem asks us to find . We are given, in addition to the dimensions of the tank,
the rate at which water enters the tank. That is, we are given the rate of change of the volume
V of water in the tank. Thus, we seek an equation that relates the depth h to the volume V.
One obvious equation is the formula for the volume of water in the tank, namely
. (1)
Another equation, which relates r and h to the dimensions of the tank, is obtained from the
similar triangles ABE and CDE, namely
or
Calculus MTS 3100
Chapter 5 :Application of Differentiation
Putting this expression for r into equation (1), we get
Now we differentiate this equation with respect to t, getting
Finally, we substitute the values given corresponding to h = 6, and solve for . We
get
so that
feet per minute.
This is the rate at which the water level is rising at that moment.
Example :
A small rock is dropped into a lake. Circular ripples spread over the surface of the water, with
the radius of each circle increasing at the rate of 3/2 ft per second. Find the rate of change of
the area inside the circle formed by a ripple at the instant the radius is 4 ft.
Solution :
As shown in Figure 4, the area A and the radius r are related by
Rock
droppe r
Figure 4
Since the radius is increasing at the rate of 3/2 ft per second,
We want at r = 4.
Take the derivative of both sides with respect to time.
Calculus MTS 3100
Chapter 5 :Application of Differentiation
The rate of change of area at the instant r =4 is given by