Roberto’s Notes on Differential Calculus

Chapter 9: Applications Section 2

Related rates problems

What you need to know already: What you can learn here:
 All differentiation rules.  How to use implicit differentiation to find a
 The method of implicit differentiation. rate of change based on information about
another rate of change related to it.
 What a word problem is.

What am I going to learn here? That sentence is rather convoluted!

As I mentioned when discussing word problems in general, I cannot give you a
I agree! It is the best I could do to describe briefly what a related rates problem detailed strategy for how to solve a related rates problem, since that depends on the
is. Let’s see if this portrait helps to clarify that. structure of the problem and your particular problem-solving style. However, I can
give you some tips that will, hopefully, facilitate your job.

Quick portrait of a
Knots on your finger
Related rates problem
When solving a related rates problems:
A related rates problem is a word problem in which:
 Follow all general tips for how to solve a word
 Two quantities are identified and are related in problem.
some way that is usually not stated.
 Identify the existing relation between the two
 The rate of change of one such quantity and key quantities, ignoring how their rates behave.
some other information are given
 As you do so, look up the correct formula you
 The rate of change of the other quantity is need, rather than guessing.
required.
 Notice that the two key variables may be related

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 1
 in more than one way, with some such ways Example:
being more useful for the problem than others. An ice cube with a 10 cm side is melting, so that its
volume decreases at 12 cm3/min. How fast is its
 Use letters to denote any variable involved. This surface area changing?
includes the key variables as well as any other
quantity that is relevant to the problem and We are dealing with a cube, so, we may want to start by drawing a simple
picture representing it.
changes during the process under investigation.
 Use the actual numerical values for any
quantities that are constant throughout the
process under investigation.
 Once the key relationship is established, apply
implicit differentiation to it by using time as the
independent variable. s
 While performing such implicit differentiation, There are several quantities associated with this cube, among which are the
two key quantities:
remember that the derivative of a constant is 0.
 After implicit differentiation has been A  surface Area ; V  Volume
completed, use all numerical values you have, I say that these are the two key quantities because we are given the rate of
both for the quantities and their rates, and solve change of one – volume – and are asked for the rate of change of the other –
for the unknown rate. surface area. But we also have information about the side, which also
changes during the process, so we assign a letter to it too:
s  Side
Notice that I am not using any of the numerical values given, since in the
Lots of advice: can we see it in action? given context of a melting cube all these quantities are changing and therefore
those values are only correct at one instant.
Here are some examples of possible ways to solve related rates problems.
Now we want to relate the two key quantities; you may not know how to
Keep in mind that if you try to solve the same problems, you may be successful relate them directly, but you can look that up or you may know how to relate
by using a different method, or you may follow a different train of thought, or you each of them to the side, so we start from that:
may place different priorities on different aspects of each problem. As long as you
are following proper logical steps and they work, more power to you!
V  s3 ; A  6s 2
However, always reflect on what methods you chose, on how effective they If we express the first relation in terms of s and use it in the second we obtain:
were and on whether alternative methods are possible and how they compare to V  s3  s  V 1/3  A  6s 2  6V 2/3
yours.
Now that we have the required relationship between the two key variables, we
It is this reflective process that will allow you to become a good problem can differentiate both side implicitly, with respect to time:
solver, not just a lot of unexamined practice
Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 2
 dA 2 dV 4 dV 1
A  6V 2/3   6 V 1/3 3 V   r 2h
dt 3 dt V dt 3
Now we can use the given numerical values: We now take the derivative of both sides, implicitly, with respect to time:

s  10,
dV
dt
 12 
dA

4
dt 3 103
 12   4.8
1

V '   2rr ' h  r 2 h '
3

We are now ready to use the given values and arrive at the conclusion:
Therefore, the surface area is decreasing (notice the negative sign) at a rate of
1 6
4.8 cm2 / min . 2    2  6  r ' 8  36 1.5    96r ' 54
3 
6
 54
Example:  r'   0.54
96
The height of a right circular cone is increasing at a Therefore, the radius is decreasing at a rate of approximately 0.54 cm/sec.
rate of 1.5 cm/sec, while its volume is increasing at a
rate of 2 cm3/sec. How fast is the radius of the base of
the cone changing when the radius is 6 cm and the Example:
height is 8 cm?
Larry and Moe have each bought recently a pickup
Again we start with a simple picture: truck and they meet to show them off to each other. As
they leave, Larry heads West with a constant
2
acceleration of 2 m / sec , while Moe looks at him for 3
h
seconds and then heads North-East also with a constant
r 2
acceleration of 2 m / sec .
Before you dig any deeper, ask yourself whether know what a “right circular After 10 more seconds, how far is Larry from the
cone” is! It is a usual cone, with the vertex vertically on top of the centre of departure point? And how fast is the distance between
the circle that acts as a base, but better check than guess, eh? the two friends changing?
We now identify the key variables:
Lots of words here! They provide information, but also form confusion, so
V  Volume ; r  Radius ; h  Height we may need to organize the information in a more user-friendly manner.
Notice that this time we have three variables that are changing and we are We start by sketching a diagram representing the situation:
given information about the rate of change of two of them. That is fine, since
we are left with only one quantity whose rate of change we need to compute.
Do you know which formula relates radius, height and volume in a cone? If
not, look it up – don’t make it up - and you will discover that it is given by:

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 3
 M  2
LM 2  t 2   t  3  2  t 2  3t   
2

 2 
dM   
 2  2 t2  6  3 2 t  9 
L dL To find the required rate of change we differentiate implicitly, even though
S
the time variable is explicitly present, so as to avoid square roots:
Here L represents Larry’s position, M is Moe’s position and d L , d M are the
corresponding distances travelled at any time t from the moment when Larry   
2  LM  LM   4  2 2 t  6  3 2 
leaves. Think of S as the starting (or show off!) position.
At the given time, the distance between them is:

 2  2 169   6  3 2 13  9  249.9

Both questions are about the distance travelled, but the given information is
about acceleration, so how do we connect the two? If you still remember LM 
your high school physics, or if you look it up or if you ask an expert, you will
find that at time t, the distance d travelled by an object starting from rest and Therefore, the required rate is:
at 2
 4  2 2 13   6  3 2   42.5
 LM  
subject to an acceleration a is given by d  . In our case, at any time
2
t  3 sec , Larry and Moe will have travelled, respectively: 2  249.9
2  t  3
2 This means that the two friends are moving away from each other at
2t 2
dL   t2 dM    t  3 metres
2
; approximately 42.5 m/sec.
2 2
Of course Moe’s formula accounts for his waiting 3 seconds.
The first question is NOT a related rates problem, since the question is about
distance and not rate of change. Therefore, its answer is a simple evaluation Notice how many steps needed to be done in each problem, especially in the
of the distance formula at t  3  10  13 sec. : last one, and how important it is to be clear on the meaning of each quantity
d L 13  132  169 metres considered and of each step taken. Attempting to do all this on auto-pilot is a great
recipe for failure!
The second question, however, is indeed a related rates problem, since we I could show you many more examples, but then I would rob you of the
have to relate the rates of change of the two distances we have used so far and opportunity to experience the process yourself and of the benefits that come from
the distance LM between the two friends. But how do we link the three practice. So, here are your learning questions: do as many as possible and don’t
sides of a triangle that has no right angles? Again, through recollection or neglect to reflect on each solution process you go through and to learn from it.
investigation you will end up relying on the law of cosines:
LM  d L2  d M2  2d L d M cos Sˆ
2

3
Since Moe is travelling towards North-East, Sˆ  and we have:
4

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 4
 Summary
 In a related rates problem, two quantities are related through some formula to be determined, the rate of change of one is given and the rate of change of the other is required.
 Several steps can be taken to solve such a problem. Which ones apply varies from problem to problem and depending on the solver’s style.
 Practice and reflection on the effectiveness of the method and steps used are essential to improve your problem solving skills, here as for any other type of word problem.

Common errors to avoid

 Don’t approach a related rates problem in a random and disorganized manner, as that will not be effective and will not help you develop further problem solving skills.

Learning questions for Section D 9-2

Review questions:

1. Describe how to recognize a word problem as being a related rates problem. 3. Identify the generic methods for solving word problems that you are already
using and that can be useful in related rates problems.
2. Explain why and how implicit differentiation is important in related rates
problems.

Memory questions:

1. What feature of a word problem tells you that it is a related rates problem? 2. What should the initial equation of a related rates problem relate?

You may also want to review basic formulae from geometry and physics, as they are often used in this kind of problems.

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 5
 Computation questions:
Questions 1-4 are not word problems, but their solutions require the same technical steps as a related rate problem. Determine why they are not word problems and find their
solution anyway.

1. Two variable quantities P and Q are related through the equation 3. A particle is moving on the circle x 2  y 2  25 so that when it is at (3, 4) its
dQ   vertical velocity is 4 (all in appropriate units). What is its horizontal velocity?
sin 2 P  cos 2 Q  1 . Determine when P  and Q  
dt 3 3
dP 4. An object is travelling along the curve y  x 2 . At the moment when it is at
assuming that at that time 2 the point (3,9) its horizontal velocity is 2 units/sec. How fast is its vertical
dt
velocity changing at that moment?
4
2. An object is moving with a trajectory described by the function y  .
1  x3
 1
Knowing that when it reaches the point  3,  its horizontal velocity is ½
 7
unit/min, determine its vertical velocity at the same moment.

Questions 5-8 present word problems, even though some of them do provide certain formulae. Solve each of them and describe what makes them related rates problems.

5. An object is travelling along the curve y  x 2 . At the moment when it is at 7. The volume of a sphere is increasing at a rate of 2.0 m3 / min . Find the rate at
the point (9,3) its horizontal velocity is 2 units/sec. How fast is its distance from which the radius of the sphere is increasing when such radius is 1.5 meters.
the origin changing at that moment?
8. The height of an isosceles triangle is decreasing at a rate of 3 cm/minute, while
6. An object is moving along the path traced by the curve y  sin x with a its area is increasing at a rate of 2 square cm/minute. If at that moment the area
is 50 square cm and the base is 5 cm long, how fast is the base changing?
constant horizontal velocity of 2 units per second. A monitoring device is
placed at the point (0, 1). How fast is the distance between the object and the
point (0, 1) changing when the object is at the point of x-coordinate ?

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 6
 Theory questions:

1. Is it necessary to construct a function in order to solve a related rates problem? 5. Which rule of differentiation is used in all related rates problems for which the
independent variable does not appear in the equation?
2. When solving a related rates problem, at what stage do rates come in?
6. In a related rates problem involving a right triangle, how do you decide whether
3. In a related rate problem which quantities are not labelled with letters? to use the Pythagorean theorem or trigonometric ratios?

4. What method of differentiation is usually needed for a related rates problem?

Application questions:

1. A funnel is being used to fill a bottle with wine. The diameter of the funnel is 8 6. The glass wall of a greenhouse forms an angle of 60° with the ground. A 12’
cm and its depth is 10 cm. If the hole at the bottom of the funnel lets wine out at plank is placed with one end (A) on the ground and the other (B) on the wall, but
a rate of 2 cc/sec and the wine is being poured in at 3cc/sec, how fast is the wine the slippery nature of the glass makes B slide towards the ground. If A is
level in the funnel rising when the funnel is filled to a depth of 5 cm? (Assume moving at 3” per second when the plank forms an angle of 45° with the ground,
the hole to be of negligible width) how fast is B sliding along the wall? At that same moment, how fast is the angle
between the plank and the ground changing?
2. The entrance hall of a building is a 30x10 rectangle. A camera is placed at the
centre of the 30 meter wall that is opposite the doors and must scan such 7. A construction worker is standing on top of a platform 10 metres above street
opposite wall at a constant speed of 1 m/sec along the wall. Compute the level. By using a rope he pulls up one end of an 8 ft beam. Assuming that he is
angular speed at which the camera must be moving when it makes an angle of pulling the end straight up at a speed of 1/2 foot per second, how fast is the other
/4 with the wall. end of the beam moving towards the platform 4 seconds after he starts pulling?

3. You are travelling at night on a highway at 72 km/hr when a deer that is crossing 8. An observer is located 100m North of a runway and watches an airplane do its
the road ahead of you stops and gets hypnotized by your headlights. If the deer take-off run on an West-East runway. When the plane is 500m East (and 100m
is 2 m long, how fast is its angle of sight increasing when you are 100 m away? South) of the observer’s position, it has a speed of 15 m/sec. At that moment
how fast are the distance between observer and plane and the angle of
4. Your U of A calculus instructor is doing a job on top of a 12 ft ladder. Hidden observation changing?
in a nearby bush, you start pulling a rope attached to the bottom of the ladder, at
a rate of 1 ft/sec. How fast is the professor falling when he is 3 ft from the 9. You are tracking an airplane that is flying straight at you at a speed of 120km/hr
ground? With what speed will he hit the ground? and at an altitude of 300m. How fast is the angle of elevation from your
perspective changing when the plane is 200m away from you? Careful: this
5. A 12 metre lamppost illuminates a basketball court. At a distance of 8 metres wording contains an intentional ambiguity, which are expected to spot and
from the post a ball is thrown up vertically to a height of 6 metres. How fast is resolve by requesting clarifications.
the shadow of the ball moving 1 second after it starts its descent?

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 7
10. An airplane takes off from a runway and rises with an elevation angle of 30, a
heading towards an observer located on the ground 1 km from the takeoff point.
How fast is the distance between the plane and the observer changing when the b
plane is 400 metres high if at that time its speed is 250 km/hr? c

11. The area of an isosceles trapezoid is increasing at the constant rate of 5 m2/hour.
Its shorter base is 6 m long, while its height is half as long as the longer base.
How fast is the height of the trapezoid changing when the longer base is 16 m
long?
18. The rotating arm that controls the entrance to a college parking lot is 3 meters
12. A metallic cone has a base radius of 5 cm and a height of 10 cm. In order to long. Just as the arm is coming down to close the entrance, a distracted
obtain a frustum of a cone, a machine is shaving off its top portion. When the professor is standing in its path, so that the tip of the arm will strike his head, at
height of the frustum is 9 cm, it is decreasing at a rate of 0.2 cm per minute. 
a height of 1.5 meters. If the angular speed is rad / sec with what vertical
How fast is the volume of the frustum decreasing? 10
and horizontal speed will the arm hit the professor?
13. If the volume of an exploding supernova expands at a rate of a km3/sec, how fast
is its circumference expanding when the radius is p km? 19. During a movie scene a camera is moving closer to a window that consists of a
square topped by a semicircle. If on your monitor screen the side of the square
14. A trough is 4 metres long and its ends have the shape of right trapezoids that are portion appears to be 12 cm long and increasing at a rate of 2 cm/sec, how fast is
90 cm across at the top and 60 cm across at the bottom and have a height of 50 the area of the whole window increasing?
cm. If the trough is being filled with water at the rate of 0.2 m3/min, how fast is
the water level rising when the water is 15 cm deep? 20. A highway patrol plane is flying horizontally along a highway at an altitude of
200m and a speed of 180 km/hr when the radar equipment on board measures
15. A trough is 10 metres long and its ends have the shape of isosceles trapezoids the straight distance from the plane to an incoming car at 5km and decreasing at
that are 3 metres across the top, 2 metres across the bottom and have a height of 280 km/hr. How fast is the car travelling?
1 metre. If the trough is being filled with water at a rate of 6 m3/min, how fast is
the water level rising when the water is 40 cm deep? 21. You are standing on an overpass 12 m above a highway and are watching a red
Ferrari cruising the highway towards you at 120 km/hr. How fast is the distance
16. You are driving your 1986 Tercel, heading West on a rural Alberta road and just between you and the Ferrari changing when it has 100 m to go before going
as you pass the top of a hill you see an intersection at the bottom of the valley, under the overpass? Provide the exact value.
straight ahead of you, and a bright red Maserati exiting the intersection North
bound on a secondary road. You are traveling at 100 km/hr, the Maserati is 22. Two helicopters take off at low altitude from a Coast Guard support ship on a
going at 80 km/hr (hey, this is a math problem, so things are not always rescue mission. The first helicopter travels with a constant horizontal
reasonable) and the intersection is 1 km ahead of you. acceleration of 3 m/sec2 (ignore the vertical component of the movement)
a) At what time will you be closest to the Maserati if neither changes velocity? heading West. The second takes off 5 seconds later and heads S 30 o E. After 10
b) How fast will your distance from the Maserati be changing when you are more seconds the computer of the first helicopter reports that the other
500m from the intersection? helicopter is moving away from the first at a speed of 20 m/sec. At that time:
a) How far is the first helicopter from the support ship, which has not moved in
17. At 10:00 am, train A is 200 km west and 50 km north of train B, as indicated in the meantime?
the diagram. Train A is moving east at 70 km/h and train B is moving south at b) How fast is the second helicopter moving?
80 km/h. How fast is the distance between the two trains changing at 11:30 am?
Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 8
23. A light placed at ground level illuminates the front entrance of a house, located 29. In order to do a demonstration of static equilibrium and collect weather data at
8 meters from it. A 50 cm tall dog gets out of the front door and runs straight the same time, Wei and Nigel decide to fly a kite in the football field located
towards the light at 2 meters per second. How fast is the shadow of the dog West of campus. When the kite reaches a height of 20 m and 30 m of line have
changing when his head is 3 meters from the light? (“Who cares” is not an been released, the kite goes up at a rate of 0.5 m/sec while pulling 0.8 m of line
acceptable answer ) per second. What is the horizontal speed of the kite at that moment?

24. An absent-minded math teacher buys an ice cream cone, sets it on a holding ring 30. A metallic cylinder is melting, while remaining in the shape of a cylinder. At a
and walks away without it. If the ice cream in the cone has the shape of a sphere certain point its volume is decreasing at a rate of 3 cc/sec and its base radius is
3
and melts at a rate of 15 cm / min , how fast is its radius changing when there increasing at a rate of 1 cm/sec. If at that moment the radius is 50 cm and the
height 15 cm, how fast is the height changing?
3
are 250 cm of ice cream left?
31. A right circular cylinder has a base radius that is half of its height. When the
25. Captain Kirk has just asked Mr. Spock to analyze a newly formed spherical height is 3m, the volume is decreasing by 5 m3/min. How fast is the base radius
asteroid that has been spotted by the Enterprise and that is shrinking under the changing at the moment?
effect of gravity. The ingenious Vulcan estimates that in t years the radius of the
1
3 t 32. A highway patrol plane is flying horizontally along a highway at an altitude of
asteroid will be r  e 2 km and that the acceleration of gravity on the surface 200m and a speed of 180 km/hr when the radar equipment on board spots an
of the asteroid is 2m/sec2. How fast will the acceleration of gravity be changing incoming car at an angle of depression on 9 and whose straight distance from
at the next sighting, scheduled by Federation to occur in 10 years? According to the plane is decreasing at 280 km/hr. How fast is the car travelling?
your formulae, what will happen eventually to the acceleration of gravity?
k 33. At 10:00 am a train leaves Calgary and travels eastbound towards Medicine Hat.
(Remember that according to Newton’s law of gravitation g for an Shortly thereafter another train leaves Calgary and travels northbound towards
r2 Edmonton. At 10:40 am The first train is 45 km East of Calgary and travelling
object with fixed mass). at 80 km/hr, while the second is 50 km North of Calgary and travelling at 90
km/hr. How fast is the distance between the two trains changing at that time?
26. Air is being pumped into a spherical balloon, so that its volume increases at a
rate of 60 cm3/sec. How fast is the radius of the balloon changing when the 34. A inverted right conical tank (same shape as an ice cream cone in use) has a
surface area is 400 cm2? base diameter of 3m, a depth of 4m and is full of liquid. If the liquid is draining
our from the bottom at the rate of 5 litres per minute, how fast is the level of the
27. Abel and Boris are two friends who enjoy cross country skiing. One day they liquid in the tank changing when the depth is 2m?
meet at the starting point of a set of trails, greet each other and then Abel starts
skiing on the North-bound trail, which is a gradual downhill, at a constant speed 35. A tank in the shape of a cone is being filled with oil. If the height is 3/5 of the
of 21 km/hr. After watching him for 15 seconds, Boris starts on the East-bound radius, find the rate of change of the volume when the radius is 10 cm, and is
trail, which is a slow uphill, at a constant speed of 9.6 km/hr. How fast are the changing at a rate of 0.5 cm / min.
two friends moving apart from each other after 1 minute?
36. A water drop is sitting on a table in the shape of hemisphere. Heat is making the
28. Sand is being poured on the ground and it spreads around so as to form a 3
drop expand at a rate of 0.1 mm / hr . How fast is the total surface area of
hemispherical pile. If at a certain moment the radius of the pile is 3 meters and
is increasing at a rate of 3 cm/sec, how fast is the sand is being poured on the the drop (top and bottom) changing when the radius is 5 mm ?
pile?

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 9
37. Biker A is approaching an intersection at 36 km/hr, when he sees biker B B changing when A is 50 metres from the intersection and B is 10 metres from
leaving it at 18 km/hr. How fast is the angle at which A’s head is turning to see it?

Templated questions:
As you solve any related rates problem, consider the following additional activities:

1. Identify the units of the rate you computed. 5. Identify any piece of information provided in the main question, if any, that is
not needed for the solution.
2. Identify some features of your conclusion that support the fact that such
conclusion is correct. 6. Identify any geometric relationships that can be useful to solve the given
problem.
3. Check that the final answer makes sense in terms of size and sign.

4. Identify any assumptions that are used to solve the problem, but are not realistic.

What questions do you have for your instructor?

Differential Calculus Chapter 9: Word problems Section 2: Related rates problems Page 10