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Related Rates: (+ Signifying It Is Increasing WRT Time)

A related rates problem involves variables that change with respect to time. To solve these problems: 1) Identify the known and unknown variables that change over time. 2) Write an equation relating the variables. 3) Take the derivative of the equation with respect to time. 4) Solve the derivative for the unknown rate of change. Examples provided demonstrate applying these steps to problems involving spheres, ladders, and distances between objects. Exercises then provide additional practice problems and solutions.

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Joshua Egalla
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48 views2 pages

Related Rates: (+ Signifying It Is Increasing WRT Time)

A related rates problem involves variables that change with respect to time. To solve these problems: 1) Identify the known and unknown variables that change over time. 2) Write an equation relating the variables. 3) Take the derivative of the equation with respect to time. 4) Solve the derivative for the unknown rate of change. Examples provided demonstrate applying these steps to problems involving spheres, ladders, and distances between objects. Exercises then provide additional practice problems and solutions.

Uploaded by

Joshua Egalla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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RELATED RATES

A problem is a “related rates” problem if variables are changing with respect to time. If x and y are changing with respect
to time then they can be written as ̇ and ̇ . The general procedure in solving “related rates”
problems is:

A) Determine the known and unknown variables that are changing with respect to time.
B) Find an equation relating the variables that are changing with respect to time.
C) Differentiate both sides of the relating equation with respect to time.
D) Solve for the unknown.

EXAMPLES:

1. Air is being pumped into a spherical balloon so that its volume increases at a rate of 100cm 3/s. How fast is the radius
of the balloon changing when the diameter is 50cm?

A) Determine the known and unknown variables that are changing with respect to time.
Known: dV/dt = 100cm3/s
Unknown: dr/dt (when d = 50cm)

B) Find an equation relating the variables that are changing with respect to time.
V = 4πr3/3

C) Differentiate both sides of the relating equation with respect to time.

D) Solve for the unknown.


(+ signifying it is increasing wrt time)

2. A ladder 5m long rests against a vertical wall. If the bottom of the ladder slides away from the wall at a rate of 1m/s,
how fast is the top of the ladder sliding down the wall when the bottom of the ladder is 3m from the wall?

A) Determine the known and unknown variables that are changing with respect to time.
Known: dx/dt = 1m/s
Unknown: dy/dt (when x = 3m)

B) Find an equation relating the variables that are changing with respect to time.
x2+y2 = 52 (y = 4m when x = 3m)

C) Differentiate both sides of the relating equation with respect to time.

D) Solve for the unknown.


( ) (+ signifying it is increasing wrt time)
EXERCISES:

1. A plane is flying directly away from you at 500 mph at an altitude of 3 miles. How fast is the plane's distance from you
increasing at the moment when the plane is flying over a point on the ground 4 miles from you? ANS: 400 mph

2. You are inflating a spherical balloon at the rate of 7 cm3/s. How fast is its radius increasing when the radius is 4 cm?
ANS: 0.035 cm/s

3. One car leaves a given point and travels north at 30 mph. Another car leaves 1 HOUR LATER, and travels west at 40
mph. At what rate is the distance between the cars changing at the instant the second car has been traveling for 1 hour?
ANS: 47.15 mph

4. A 50ft ladder is placed against a large building. The base of the ladder is resting on an oil spill, and it slips at the rate of
3 ft. per minute. Find the rate of change of the height of the top of the ladder above the ground at the instant when the
base of the ladder is 30 ft. from the base of the building. ANS: -2.25 ft/min

5. A stone dropped in a pond sends out a circular ripple whose radius increases at a constant rate of 4 ft/sec. After 12
seconds, how rapidly is the area enclosed by the ripple increasing? ANS: 384π ft2/s

6. A spherical balloon is being inflated so that its diameter is increasing at a rate of 2 cm/min. How quickly is the volume
of the balloon increasing when the diameter is 10 cm? ANS: 100π cm3/min

7. The radius of a cylinder is increasing at a rate of 1 meter per hour, and the height of the cylinder is decreasing at a
rate of 4 meters per hour. At a certain instant, the base radius is 5 meters and the height is 8 meters. What is the rate of
change of the volume of the cylinder at the instant? ANS: -120 m3/hr

8. A person who is 6 feet tall is walking away from a lamp post at the rate of 40 feet per minute. When the person is 10
feet from the lamp post, his shadow is 20 feet long. Find the rate at which the length of the shadow is increasing when
he is 30 feet from the lamp post. ANS: 80 ft/min

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