PAST EXAM QUESTIONS + ANSWERS

Question 1,.
(a)

Find

dy
for each of the following :
dx

(i)

2 x3 3x5
3x

(iv)
(b)

y ln 3 x 4 2 ,

2x 3
,
x2 - 1

(ii)

(v)

y x3 2 - 5 x 2 1/3 .

(iii)

y ( x3 x)sin x ,

For the curve given by x 2 y 3 2 x - 4 y 2 ,

dy
,
dx

(i)

find

(ii)

find the slope of the curve at the point (1, 2).

Question 2.,
Consider the function y x 4 - 4 x3 10 .
(a)

Find where this curve crosses the y-axis.

(b)

What happens to this curve as x and as x .

(c)

Find the first and second derivatives of y with respect to x

(d)

Find all the turning points and determine whether each turning point is a local maximum or a
local minimum.

(e)

Find all points of inflection and determine where the curve is concave up and where it is
concave down.

(f)

Sketch the curve.

Past exam + answers

page 1 of 17

Question 3,
1 2
r h
3
Water is flowing out at a rate of 50 m3/min from a shallow concrete conical tank,
with a base radius of 30 m and a height of 6 m. (as shown below)

The volume of a cone with height h and radius r is given by V

(a)

(b)

(i)

Find a formula for the shaded volume of water in the cone.

(ii)

How fast is the water level falling when the water is 5 m deep ?

(ii)

How fast is the radius of the waters surface changing at this time ?

A metal works company has been contracted to design and build an open metal tank that will
hold 500 m3.
The box will have a square base, rectangular vertical sides and no top.

Find the dimensions for the base and height of the tank so that the minimum amount of material
is used.
(c)

The edge of a cube is measured as 10 0.1 cm. Using calculus, calculate the volume of the
cube along with the associated error in this volume.

Past exam + answers

page 2 of 17

Question 4,
(a)

(i)

Find the second order Taylor series approximation of the function f ( x) ln( x)
about x = 2.

(ii)

Hence find an approximate value for ln(2.1) .

2 - e x - e x
Use LHopitals rule to find lim
.
x 0
2x 2

(b)
(c)

(i)

Find the third order Taylor series approximation of the function f ( x) cos( x)
about x / 2 .

(ii)

Use this approximation to evaluate

lim

x / 2

cos( x)
.
x - / 2

The nth order Taylor series approximation of f ( x) about x a is given by

Note :

f ''(a)
f ( n ) (a )
2
Pn ( x) f (a) f '(a) ( x - a)
( x - a) .....
( x - a) n .
2!
n!
Question 5,
(a)

(b)

Evaluate the following indefinite integrals

(i)

sin(3x) dx

(iii)

3
e6 x dx

(iv)

3t 2 2
2t 3 4t 7 dt

t dt

Evaluate the definite integrals

2

(i)

2
x dx
1

(c)

(ii)

(ii)

t
t 2 1

dt

iii)

1/ 4

dx

Draw the graphs of y 2 x and y x 2 on the same diagram. These graphs intersect at two
points. Find the two points where the curves y 2 x and y x 2 meet.
Then find the area bounded by these two curves.

Past exam + answers

page 3 of 17

Question 6,
(a)

(b)

(c)

Consider the function z f ( x, y ) where f ( x, y) x3 y 2 2 x e y

f
f
and
x
y

(i)

Calculate the partial derivatives

(ii)

Use the small change formula to approximate the change in f when (x, y)
changes from (2, 0) to (2.01, -0.02)

(iii)

Compare this approximation to the actual change in f

Consider the surface described by the function h( x, y) ( x y)2

(i)

Find the slope in the x direction of the surface at the point (3, 2 )
Is the function h( x, y) increasing, decreasing or neither as x increases at this point ?

(ii)

Find the slope in the x direction of the surface at the point (1, 1 )
Is the function h( x, y) increasing, decreasing or neither as x increases at this point ?

If g ( x, y) sin( x 2 y 2 ) calculate the 2nd order partial derivatives

Past exam + answers

2g
2g
and
x2
y x

page 4 of 17

Answers for exam

Answer for question 1,
(a.i) Need to simplify the formula first using power rules. The will lead to a single power of x and
the derivative will be easy to get

So

2 x3 3x5

3x 4 x3

2 x3.(3x5 )1/ 2
2 x3. (31/ 2.x5/ 2 )
,

3x 4 .( x3 )1/ 2
3x4 .( x3/ 2 )

2 x3. (31/ 2.x5/ 2 )

2. 31/ 2.x 2.5 3
2. 31/ 2.x 5.5
2. 31/ 2

3.( x 4 1.5 )
3.( x 5.5 )
3
3x 4 .( x3/ 2 )

So y is a constant and so
(a.ii)

dy
d 2 3

(
) 0
dx
dx 3

This needs the quotient rule

du
dv
v

u
dy
d 2x 3
2( x 2 1) (2 x 3)2 x
dx
dx
So
,

(
)

dx
dx x 2 - 1
v2
( x 2 1)2
Now expand the top line out do not expand the bottom line
So

dy
2( x 2 1) (2 x 3)2 x
(2 x 2 2) (4 x 2 6 x)

dx
( x 2 1)2
( x 2 1)2

This simplifies to

dy
2x2 2 4x2 6x
2 x 2 2 6 x

dx
( x 2 1)2
( x 2 1)2

(a.iii) This needs the product rule

dy
d
du
dv

[( x3 x)sin x]
.v u.
(3x 2 1).sin( x) ( x3 x).cos( x) ,
dx
dx
dx
dx
There is no way to simplify this any further.

(a.iv) This needs the chain rule - here y ln 3 x 4 2 , so we set u 3x 4 2 and

y ln(u ) - then

du
dy
1
12 x3 and

so we get
dx
du
u

dy
dy du
1
12 x3

12 x3
dx
du dx
u
3x 4 2

Past exam + answers

page 5 of 17

(a.v)

This needs a combination of the product rule and the chain rule y x3 2 - 5 x 2
First write y u v and

1/3 .

dy
du
dv

v u
dx
dx
dx

We need the chain rule to calculate

dv
d

2 - 5 x 2 1/3

dx
dx

Write w 2 5x2 and then v w1/3 and then

dv dv dw
d (w1/ 3 ) d (2 5 x 2 )
1
10

w2/ 3 (10 x) x.w2/ 3

dx dw dx
dw
dx
3
3

This gives

dv dv dw
10
10 x

x w2 / 3
(2 5 x 2 ) 2 / 3
dx dw dx
3
3

Now go back to the product rule and put this in to get

dy
du
dv
10

v u
3x 2 .(2 5 x 2 )1/ 3 x3 { x(2 5 x 2 ) 2 / 3}
dx
dx
dx
3

So

dy
10
3x 2 .(2 5 x 2 )1/ 3 x 4 (2 5 x 2 ) 2 / 3
dx
3

It is ok to leave answer in this form but it can be combined to a different form

dy

dx

(b)

10 4
10
55
x
6 x 2 15 x 4 x 4
6 x2 x4
3
3
3

(2 5 x 2 ) 2 / 3
(2 5 x 2 ) 2 / 3
(2 5 x 2 ) 2 / 3

3x 2 .(2 5 x 2 )

For the curve given by x 2 y 3 2 x - 4 y 2 find

dy
,
dx

This involves implicit derivatives in this complicated formula we think of y as being a

function of x. But we cannot solve this equation to get a simple formula for y so we
differentiate both sides with respect to x

d 2 3
d
[ x y 2 x - 4 y]
[2]
dx
dx
Now we calculate both sides of this the derivative of the RHS is 0.

d 2 3
d
d
[ x y ] 2 [ x] - 4 [ y ] 0
dx
dx
dx

Past exam + answers

page 6 of 17

Now use the product rule on the first term:

d 2
d
dy
[ x ] y3 x2
[ y 3 ] 2 1 - 4
0
dx
dx
dx

d 3
dy 3 dy
dy
We need to use the chain rule to get
[y ]

3y2
dx
dy dx
dx
So we get 2 xy 3 x 2 .3 y 2

dy
dy
2 - 4
0
dx
dx

Now re-arrange this to get all the dy/dx terms together and solve to get

2 xy 3 2 (3x 2 y 2 4)

dy
dy
2 xy 3 2
0 and so

dx
dx
4 3x 2 y 2

Finally we use this formula to get the slope of the curve at the point (1, 2).

dy
2 xy 3 2
2 1 23 2
18

2.25
2 2
2
2
dx
4 3x y
4 3 1 2
8

Answer for question 2,

(a)

The function is y x 4 - 4 x3 10 .
This curve crosses the y-axis when x =0 so y = +10

(b)

As x the most important term in the formula is x4 and so y

Similarly as x , the most important term is still x4 and so y

(c)

The first derivative is

Then

(d)

dy
d
[ x 4 - 4 x3 10] [4 x3 12 x 2 ]
dx
dx

d2y
d dy
d

[ ] [4 x3 12 x 2 ] [12 x 2 24 x]
2
dx
dx dx
dx

We find the turning points by finding the places where the first derivative is zero.
The turning points are where [4 x3 12 x2 ] 0 - factorize to get 4 x 2 ( x 3) 0
So the turning points are where x =0 and x = 3.
The y coordinates are: at x =0, y = +10 and at x = 3, y = 81 4 x 27 + 10 = -17
Now we test whether these are local maximum or local minimum points.
There are two ways to do this either using the first derivative test or the second derivative
test. Either method is acceptable and both are shown here

Past exam + answers

page 7 of 17

First derivative test look at the points x = -1, +1 and +4

First derivative

x = -1
-4-12 = -16

x=1
4-12 = -8

x=+4
256-192 = +64

At x = 0 the first derivative is negative on both sides of x = 0 so this is neither a local

maximum nor a local minimum and so x = 0 is a point of inflection
At x = 3, the first derivative is negative on the left and positive on the right so the slope is
increasing at so x = 3 is a local minimum.

d2y
[12 x 2 24 x]
Second derivative test 2
dx
At x = 0, second derivative = 0 so this is a point of inflection.
At x = 3, second derivative = 12 x 9 24 x 3 = 108 72 = 36
This is positive so x = 3 is a local minimum.
(e)

Find points of inflection by finding where the second derivative is zero.

So [12 x 2 24 x] 12 x( x 2) 0
The possible points of inflection are at x = 0 and x = 2.
We need to look at three regions to determine the concavity of the curve.

Test point
2nd derivative
Concavity

x below 0
x = -1
12 + 24 = 36
Concave up

x between 0 and 2
x=1
12-24 = -12
Concave down

x above 2
x = +3
108-72 = 36
Concave up

Since the second derivative g changes sign at x = 0 and x = 2 these are points of inflection.
So this curve is concave up when x 0 or x 2 It is concave downwards when x is between
0 and 2 (0 x 2) . The actual points of inflection are at x = 0, y = 10 and x = 2, y = -6
(f)

The curve is sketched below

Past exam + answers

page 8 of 17

Answer for question 3,

(a)

With these related rate problems it is important to think ahead and see what derivatives we will
need to calculate. In this problem there are three variables. The depth of the water (h), the
radius of the waters surface (r) and the volume of water in the cone (V)
In (i) we get the relationship between and h (from the geometry of the cone).
In (ii) we need to find

(a.i)

dh
dr
and in (iii) we need to find
dt
dt

First we get the relationship between the radius and depth of water in the cone.

Using similar triangles we get

r
30

5 and so r = 5h
h
6

The volume of water in the cone when the depth is h is V

(a.ii)

Now we get

So

dV
dV dh

dt
dh dt

dV
d 25 3

[
h]
dh
dh 3

dV

dt

r 2h

(5h)2 h

(this is the chain rule)

25 2
3h 25 h 2
3

dV dh
dh
25 h 2 .
dh dt
dt

dh
dh
50
2

2
and so
2
dt
dt
25 h
h
dh
2

0.0255 metres / min
When the water is 5 metres deep,
dt
25
So now we get 50 25 h 2 .

Past exam + answers

25 3
h
3

dh
dV
50 m3 / min
- the water is flowing out at a rate of 50 m3/min so
dt
dt

We start with the formula

Then

page 9 of 17

(a.ii)

How fast is the radius of the waters surface changing at this time ? - this means find

dr
dt

dr
d
dh

(5h) 5
5 0.0255 0.1275 metre / min
dt
dt
dt

We have r = 5h so

In words: The rate at which r (the radius of the waters surface area) is changing
is -0.1275 metres/min
(b)

First define the quantities needed to describe the shape of the box. - use x for side of base and y
for the height

Next we find formulas for the volume (which must be 500 metre3) and the total surface area
Volume given by V base height x 2 y 500
The total surface area is area of base + area of the 4 sides (there is no top on this box).
So A x 2 4 xy
We want to get the smallest value for the area. So first we convert it into a function of a single
variable this could be either x or y we choose the one that gives the easiest algebra.
From V base height x 2 y 500 we get y

500
x2

500
2000
x2
2
x
x
dA
0
Now find the turning points for A by solving
dx
Then A x 2 4 xy x 2 4 x

dA
d 2
2000

[x
]
dx dx
x
Solve this equation

d 2
[ x 2000 x 1 ] 2 x 2000 x 2 0
dx

2 x 2000 x2 0 We get 2x

So x = 10 metres. and

2000
and so x3 1000
x2

500
500

5 metres
2
x
100

So the height of the box is 5 metres and the length of the base sides are 10 metres. The surface
area is 102 + 4 x 10 x 5 = 300 metre2
Past exam + answers

page 10 of 17

(d)

The edge of a cube is measured as 10 0.1 cm. Using calculus, calculate the
volume of the cube along with the associated error in this volume.
If the side of the box is called x then its volume is given by V x3
Here we are not sure what the exact length of a side is.
It is close to 10 cm but it might be 9.9 or 10.1
So x = 10 and x 0.1 (this is our uncertainty in measuring x)
We start with the case when x = 10 here the volume is 1,000 cm3
Now we estimate the change in this volume if the side either goes to 10.1 or 9.9
The small change formula is needed here it says V

dV
x 3x 2 x
dx

So the uncertainty in the volume is estimated by V 3x 2 x 3102 0.1 30 cc

So we can say that the volume of cube is somewhere in the range 1000 cc 30 cc.
Answer for question 4,
(a,i)

Find the 2nd order Taylor series approximation of f ( x) ln( x) about x = 2.

Work out the derivatives as formulas and then put x = 2 in the formulas

f ( x) ln( x)
1
f '( x)
x 1
x
f ''( x) x 2

f (2) ln(2)
f '(2) 1/ 2
f ''(2) 1/ 4

So the second order Taylor approximation about x = 2 is

f ( x) ln( x) f (2) f '(2)( x 2)

ln(2)
(a.ii)

f ''(2)
( x 2) 2
2!

1
1
( x 2) ( x 2)2
2
8

We can use this to approximate ln(2.1) put x = 2.1 in last formula

1
1
(2.1 2) (2.1 2) 2
2
8
0.6931 0.05 0.00125 0.7419

ln(2.1) ln(2)

This agrees the exact value of ln(2.1) to 4 decimal places.

Past exam + answers

page 11 of 17

(b)

2 - e x - e x
.
x 0
2x 2

Use LHopitals rule to find lim

We can use LHopitals rule because when we put x = 0 in the formula we get

d
[2 - e x - e x ]
2 - e x - e x
lim dx

So lim
x 0
x 0
d
2x 2
2
[2 x ]
dx
Now put x = 0 in this limit and get

2 1 1
0

0
0

e x + e x
x 0
4x
lim

e0 + e 0
1 1
0

0
0
0

So we must use lHopitals rule again

e x + e x
lim
x 0
4x

d
[ e x + e x ]
lim dx
x 0
d
[4 x]
dx

Now put x = 0 in this limit and get

[ e x - e x ]
x 0
4

lim

[ e x - e x ]
1 1
lim

0.5
x 0
4
4

2 - e x - e x
So the value of lim
is -0.5
x 0
2x 2

(c.i)

Find the third order Taylor series approximation of the function f ( x) cos( x) about
x / 2.
`Work out the derivatives as formulas and then put x / 2 in the formulas

f ( x) cos( x)
f '( x) sin( x)
f ''( x) cos( x)
f '''( x) sin( x)

f ( / 2) 0
f '( / 2) sin( / 2) 1
f ''( / 2) 0
f '''( / 2) sin( / 2) 1

So the third order Taylor approximation about x / 2 is

P3 ( x) f ( / 2) f '( / 2)( x / 2)
0
( x / 2) 2
2
1
( x / 2) ( x / 2)3
6
0 ( x / 2)

f ''( / 2)
f (3) ( / 2)
( x / 2) 2
( x / 2)3
2!
3!
1
( x / 2)3
3!

This means that when x is near / 2 , cos( x) ( x / 2)

Past exam + answers

1
( x / 2)3
6

page 12 of 17

(c.ii)

Use this approximation to evaluate

lim

x / 2

cos( x)
.
x - / 2

When x is near / 2 , I can use the approximation from the previous part for cos(x) to get

cos( x)
x - / 2

1
( x - / 2)3
6
x - / 2

( x - / 2)

Now use algebra to cancel down to

cos( x)
x - / 2

1
( x - / 2) 2
6

The expansion on the right gets closer to the formula on the left as x gets closer to / 2
Now take the limit of both sides and get

lim

x / 2

cos( x)
x - / 2

1
( x - / 2) 2 ] 1 0 1
6

lim [ 1
x / 2

Answer for question 5,

Indefinite integrals is another word for anti-derivatives
(a.i)

sin(3x) dx

1
cos(3x) C
3

Reason: The anti-derivative of sin(x) is cos(x). So for the anti-derivative of sin(3x) we can
try -cos(3x). But if we take the derivative of cos(3x) we get 3sin(3x) so the correct answer
for the anti-derivative of sin(3x) is

2t 3/ 2
4t 3/ 2
dt
C
C (easiest to write t as t1/ 2 )
3/ 2
3

(a,ii)

(a.iii)

3
3e6 x
e6 x
6 x
dx

3
e
dx

C
e6 x

6
2

(a.iv)

3t 2 2
2t 3 4t 7 dt

t dt

2t

1
cos(3x)
3

1/ 2

This integral is not so simple and we can try substitution.

Try u 2t 3 4t 7
We get

dt

and calculate

du
6t 2 4

Then the integral becomes

So the anti-derivative is

Past exam + answers

du
6t 2 4 and we solve his for dt
dt

3t 2 2 du
u 6t 2 4

3t 2 2 du
6t 2 4 u

1 du
1
ln(u ) C
2 u
2

1
ln(2t 3 4t 7) C
2

page 13 of 17

x3
23
13
7
x
dx

1
3
3
3
3 1
2

(b.i)

t 1

(b.ii)

t 0

t
t 1
2

dt - this is best done by substitution.

du
2t
dt

Use the substitution u t 2 1 and get

Then we get dt

du
2t

Now we get the limits of the integral in terms of u (very important)

When t = 0 we get u 02 1 1
When t = 1 we get u 12 1 2
Then we replace the t and dt terms and the limits to get an integral that only involves u
t 1

t 2 1

t 0

dt

u2

u 1

t du

u 2t

1 u1/ 2 2
2
[
] 1 [u1/ 2 ] 12
The integral is
2 1/ 2
2
1

(b.iii)

1
0 x1/ 4 dx

0 x

1/ 4

u2

u 1

u2

du
1

u 1/ 2 .du

2u 1
2 u

2 1 0.414

x3/ 4 1
4
4
dx [
] 0 [1 0]
3/ 4
3
3

Actually we should go more carefully because this is an improper integral because when x = 0,
the function x1/ 4 is infinite. The correct definition of the integral to use here is
1

lim

a0

Past exam + answers

1/ 4
x dx lim [
a

a0

x3/ 4 1
4
4
4
] a lim [1 a3/ 4 ] [1 0]
a0 3
3/ 4
3
3

page 14 of 17

(c )

The graphs of y 2 x and y x 2 meet when 2x x 2 .

This gives 2 x x 2 x(2 x) 0 . The solutions are when x = 0 and x = 2.
Now draw a graph of these two curves

The straight line y = 2x is above the parabola y x 2 (you can check this by looking the
heights when x = 1, 2x = 2 and x2 = 1 so the graph of y = 2x is above the graph of y = x2
So the height of the shaded box is 2x x 2 and its area is (2 x x 2 ).dx
Then the area between the two curves is the integral
x2

(2 x x 2 ).dx [ x 2

x0

x3 2
8
4
]0 [4 ]
3
3
3

Answer for question 6,

(a.i)

Here f ( x, y) x3 y 2 2 x e y - this is a sum so the first order derivatives are

f
3 2
3 2

( x y 2 xe y )
(x y )
(2 xe y )
x
x
x
x
3

y2
( x ) 2e y
( x) 3x 2 y 2 2e y
x
x

f
3 2
3 2

( x y 2 xe y )
(x y )
(2 xe y )
y
y
y
y
2

x3
( y ) 2 x (e y ) 2 x3 y 2 xe y
y
y

Past exam + answers

page 15 of 17

(a.ii)

The small change formula says that f

f
f
x
y
x
y

Here x = 2 and y = 0 so that at this point f / x 3x 2 y 2 2e y 0 2 2

and f / y 2 x3 y 2 xe y 0 4 4
The changes here are x = +0.01 and y = -0.02 so that

2 x 4 y 2 0.01 4 0.02 0.06

(a.iii) The value of f at x = 2, y = 0 is 0 + 4 = 4

The value of f at x = 2.01 and y = -0.02 is

f (2.01, 0.02) 2.013 (0.02)2 2 2.01 e0.02 3.9436

So the exact change in f is f = 3.9436 4 = -0.0564
This is very close to the approximate value f
(b)

0.06

Here h( x, y) ( x y)2 which is a function of a function

We can use the chain rule put u = x y and then h = u2
So

h
2
(u 2 ) u

2u 1 2( x y )
x
x
u
x

When x = 3, y = 2 get

h
2( x y) 2(3 2) 2
x

This is positive so h(x, y) is increasing as x increases at this point

When x = 1 and y = 1, we get

h
2( x y ) 2(1 1) 0
x

So at this point h is neither increasing nor decreasing at x increases.

(c)

This is quite complicated the function g ( x, y) sin( x 2 y 2 ) and we must use the chain
rule to work out the first order derivatives.
Set u x 2 y 2 and g sin(u )

d sin(u ) u
d sin(u ) ( x 2 y 2 )

sin(u )

cos(u ) 2 x
Then
x
x
du
x
du
x
g

d sin(u ) u
d sin(u ) ( x 2 y 2 )

sin(u )

cos(u ) 2 y
y
y
du
y
du
y

So

g
2 x cos( x 2 y 2 )
x

Past exam + answers

and

g
2 y cos( x 2 y 2 )
y
page 16 of 17

2 g
g

( ) using the product rule first

2
x
x x
2 g

[2 x cos( x 2 y 2 )]
[2 x] cos( x 2 y 2 ) 2 x
[cos( x 2 y 2 )]
2
x
x
x
x

Now calculate the second derivative

We also need to use the chain rule again to get

This is

[cos( x 2 y 2 )]
x

[cos( x 2 y 2 )] sin( x 2 y 2 ) 2 x 2 x sin( x 2 y 2 )

x

So we substitute this into the formula for

2 g
x 2

to get

2 g
2 cos( x 2 y 2 ) 2 x [2 x sin( x 2 y 2 ) ]
x 2
2.cos( x 2 y 2 ) 4 x 2 .sin( x 2 y 2 )
The partial derivative

2 g
g

[ ] so
y.x
y x

2 g
g

[ ]
[2 x cos( x 2 y 2 )]
y.x
y x
y

[2 x] cos( x 2 y 2 ) 2 x
[cos( x 2 y 2 )]
y
y
2 g
0 cos( x 2 y 2 ) 2 x {2 y sin( x 2 y 2 )}
So y.x
4 xy.sin( x 2 y 2 )

Past exam + answers

page 17 of 17