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(Ebook - Math) - Calculus - Challenging Problems

This document presents 7 challenging calculus problems for students to solve with proofs. The problems cover a range of calculus topics including inequalities, existence of solutions to polynomial equations, volumes of intersections of cylinders, properties of monotonic functions, integrals involving factorization, and convergence of improper integrals. Finding exact solutions for some of the problems, like determining all pairs of numbers satisfying a particular property, is noted to be difficult.

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208 views2 pages

(Ebook - Math) - Calculus - Challenging Problems

This document presents 7 challenging calculus problems for students to solve with proofs. The problems cover a range of calculus topics including inequalities, existence of solutions to polynomial equations, volumes of intersections of cylinders, properties of monotonic functions, integrals involving factorization, and convergence of improper integrals. Finding exact solutions for some of the problems, like determining all pairs of numbers satisfying a particular property, is noted to be difficult.

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api-19523062
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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CHALLENGING PROBLEMS FOR CALCULUS STUDENTS

MOHAMMAD A. RAMMAHA

1. Introduction
In what follows I will post some challenging problems for students who have had
some calculus, preferably at least one calculus course. All problems require a proof.
They are not easy but not impossible. I hope you will find them stimulating and
challenging.

2. Problems
(1) Prove that

eπ > π e . (2.1)
Hint: Take the natural log of both sides and try to define a suitable function
that has the essential properties that yield inequality 2.1.
’ “ 14 ’ “ 21
1 1 1 1
(2) Note that 6= but
4 2
; = . Prove that there exists infinitely many
4 2
pairs of positive real numbers α and β such that α 6= β; but αα = β β . Also,
find all such pairs.
Hint: Consider the function f (x) = xx for x > 0. In particular, focus your
attention on the interval (0, 1]. Proving the existence of such pairs is fairly
easy. But finding all such pairs is not so easy. Although such solution pairs
are well known in the literature, here is a neat way of finding them: look at
an article written by Jeff Bomberger1, who was a freshman at UNL enrolled
in my calculus courses 106 and 107, during the academic year 1991-92.

(3) Let a0 , a1 , ..., an be real numbers with the property that


a1 a2 an
a0 + + + ... + = 0.
2 3 n+1
Prove that the equation
a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + ...an xn = 0
1Jeffrey Bomberger, On the solutions of aa = bb , Pi Mu Epsilon Journal, Volume 9(9)(1993),
571-572.
1
2 M. A. RAMMAHA

has at least one solution in the interval (0, 1).

(4) The axes of two right circular cylinders of radius a intersect at a right angle.
Find the volume of the solid of intersection of the cylinders.

(5) Let f be a real-valued function defined on [0, ∞), with the properties: f is
continuous on [0, ∞), f (0) = 0, f 0 exists on (0, ∞), and f 0 is monotone in-
creasing on (0, ∞).
Let g be the function given by: g(x) = f (x)
x
for x ∈ (0, ∞).

a) Prove that g is monotone increasing on (0, ∞).

b) Prove that, if f 0 (c) = 0 for some c > 0, and if f (x) ≥ 0, for all x ≥ 0,
then f (x) = 0 on the Z interval [0, c].
1
(6) Evaluate the integral 4
dx.
x +1
Hint: write x4 + 1 as (x2 + 1)2 − 2x2 . Factorize and do a partial fraction
decomposition. Z ∞
(7) Determine whether the improper integral sin(x) sin(x2 )dx is convergent
0
or divergent.
Hint: the integral is convergent.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lin-
coln, NE 68588-0323, USA
E-mail address: [email protected]

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