MATH 20: Final Exam Practice Problems

Instructor: Irving Dai

Included here are several practice problems for the final exam. The final exam will likely be ten or eleven
questions long. Although there are only nine questions here, this document is significantly longer than the
actual final exam, as I have given multiple examples of each question. A few possible additional topics
are listed at the end of the doucment.

Problem 1. You should be able perform indefinite integrals by (1) u-substitution, (2) integration by parts,
and (3) integration by table. In each case, you should be able to identify the best method and carry out all
relevant steps.
Z Z Z
p
a. x cos(x + 1) dx
2
b. x ln x dx c. (cos x) sin x + 1 dx
Z Z Z
3x + 1 1
d. 5
(x + 3)(x + 1) dx e. 2
dx f. 2
dx
9x + 6x 8 9x + 6x 8
Z Z x
e
g. arctan x dx h. dx
1 + e2x

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Problem 2. You should be able perform definite integrals by (1) u-substitution, (2) integration by parts,
(3) integration by table, and (4) geometrically (by drawing the graph). In each case, you should be able to
identify the best method and carry out all relevant steps.
Z 1 Z 2 Z 3⇣ p ⌘
1
a. dx b. ln x dx c. 2 + 9 (x 3) dx 2
0 2x + 1 1 0
Z 1 Z 2 Z 1
2 x3 +1
d. xe dx e. (|x| 1) dx f. xex dx
1 1 0
Z 1 Z ⇡/2
x 1
g. ex e(e ) dx h. dx
0 0 x2 +4

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Problem 3. You should be able to solve rate-of-change word problems. You will be expected to under-
stand the concept of rate-of-change, calculate by how much a quantity has changed over a given time
period (given the rate-of-change function), and understand the difference between a quantity increasing
and the rate-of-change of that quantity increasing.

Sample Problem #1: Suppose we have a tank of water. As a function of the time t (measured in minutes)
let the amount of water in the tank be given by w(t) (measured in gallons). The tank may or may not start
out with some water in it. The tank has two pipes connected to it: the first pumps water in at a rate of
(t 1)2 gallons per minute; the second drains water at a constant rate of 4 gallons per minute.

a. What is the overall rate of change of water in the tank?

b. By how much does the amount of water in the tank change between t = 1 and t = 4?

c. In what time intervals is the amount of water in the tank increasing? In what time intervals is the
rate of change of water increasing? (You may assume t 0.)

Sample Problem #2: Suppose we have a machine that pumps oxygen into a balloon. As a function of the
time t (measured in seconds) let the amount of oxygen in the balloon be given by o(t) (measured in cubic
centimeters). The balloon may or may not start out with some oxygen in it. The machine is programmed
to pump air into the balloon at a rate of 3t2 cubic centimeters per second.

a. By how much does the amount of oxygen in the balloon change between t = 1 and t = 3?

b. The balloon has a capacity of 150 cubic centimeters, after which it pops. If the balloon pops at time
t = 5, how much air was in the balloon initially at time t = 0?

c. We now pump air into another balloon using the same machine. However, this new balloon has a
leak, which causes air to escape the ballon at a rate of t3 cubic centimeters a second. (So air is going
into the balloon at a rate of 3t2 cubic centimeters per second, but leaking out at a rate of t3 cubic
centimeters per second.) At what time will the new balloon have the most amount of air in it?

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Problem 4. You will be expected to know the disk, washer, and cylinder methods for calculating volume.
You should know how to determine volumes of solids via slicing and also areas between curves. You
will also be expected to do problems in which x must be solved in terms of y, as well as problems which
require you to split the integral.

Let R be the region bounded above by y = ln x, below by the x-axis, and to the right by the line x = 3.
(This region should have three sides.) In each of the following, write down but do not evaluate an integral
which computes the desired volume. You do not need to simplify the integrand.

a. Revolve R about the x-axis. Use the disk method to write down the resulting volume integral.

b. Revolve R about the y-axis. Use the cylinder method to write down the resulting volume integral.

c. Revolve R about the y-axis. Use the washer method to write down the resulting volume integral.

Let S be the region in the first quadrant bounded by the curves y = x + 1, y = 2 x, and x = 3. (This
region should have five sides.) In each of the following, write down but do not evaluate an integral which
computes the desired volume. You do not need to simplify the integrand.

d. Revolve S about the x-axis. Use the disk method to write down the resulting volume integral.

e. Revolve S about the y-axis. Use the cylinder method to write down the resulting volume integral.

f. Revolve S about the y-axis. Use the washer method to write down the resulting volume integral.

Find the following volumes (write down and evaluate the integral):

g. Let T be the upper half of the unit disk in the xy-plane. Calculate the volume of the solid with base
T and whose cross-sections perpendicular to the x-axis are squares.

h. Let T be the right triangle in the xy-plane whose base is the interval [0, 1] along the x-axis and
whose height is the interval [0, 1] along the y-axis. Calculate the volume of the solid with base T
and whose cross-sections perpendicular to the x-axis are half-disks.

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Problem 5. You will be expected to be able to solve first-order differential equations, including checking
for constant solutions. You should also be able to solve other simple differential equations which require
integrating multiple times.

Solve the following differential equations. In the case of first-order separable differential equations, clearly
check for constant solutions at the beginning of the problem (or indicate that there are none). Give the
general solution, together with the particular solution specified by the indicated condition(s).
p
a. y 0 = y cos t; with y(0) = e b. y 0 = 1 y 2 ; with y(0) = 0
c. y 0 = (y 1)2 et ; with y(0) = 2 d. y 0 = yt + y + t + 1; with y(0) = 0
e. y 0 = 2e y t; with y(1) = 0 f. y 00 = 20t3 ; with y( 1) = 1, y(1) = 2

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Problem 6. You should be able to sketch direction fields and classify their asymptotic equilibria.

a. Sketch the direction field for y 0 = (y 1)2 (y 2). Find and classify all asymptotic equilibria. Draw
two or three sample solution curves.

b. Sketch the direction field for y 0 = ty. Find and classify all asymptotic equilibria. Draw two or three
sample solution curves.

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Problem 7. You will be expected to analyze the qualitative behavior of differential equations, including
their long-term behavior and dependence on initial conditions.

Sample Problem #1: Suppose that we have a population of bacteria in a cell culture which changes
at a rate of
dP
= 1.7(100 P )P.
dt
Here P (t) is the population of bacteria (measured in millions of bacteria) as a function of the time t (which
is measured in hours).

a. For what values of P would the population be decreasing? For what values of P would the popula-
tion be increasing? You may consider only P 0.

b. If you started off with a nonzero amount of bacteria and you left the cell culture alone for a long
time, about how many bacteria would you expect to be present in the cell culture? It may be helpful
to sketch the direction field, although this is not required.

c. Suppose we decide that our model is basically correct, but the bacteria live and die much faster than
expected (that is, the population tends to grow and/or shrink more quickly than anticipated). How
would our differential equation change?

Sample Problem #2: Suppose that we have a fungus which is spreading across a forest. Let A(t) be the
area of fungus-infested forest (measured in acres) as a function of the time t (which is measured in days).
The amount of fungus-infested forest increases by 5% each day. In addition, the fungus is eaten by some
deer, who decrease the amount of fungus-infested forest at a constant rate of 2 acres per day.

a. Fill in the blanks to obtain the correct differential equation:

dA
= ⇥A
dt

b. At time t = 0, the fungus starts off having infested A(0) acres of forest. For what values of A(0)
will the fungus (i) eventually infest the whole forest, or (ii) eventually disappear? Are there values
of A(0) for which neither happens? (If so, give those values and explain what happens.) You may
consider only A 0. It may be helpful to sketch the direction field, although this is not required.

c. Solve the differential equation explicitly for A(t) with the initial condition A(0) = 10. Check that
for this particular solution, the long-term behavior is consistent with your answer in (b).

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Problem 8. You should be able to describe the motion of a particle moving according to a parametric
equation (x(t), y(t)). This includes eliminating the parameter t, as well as describing the finer motion of
the particle (where it starts, stops, and turns around). You should also understand how to calculate the
velocity and speed of a particle moving along a parametric curve.

Sample Problem #1: Suppose our particle moves according to

x(t) = t4 1 and y(t) = t2

with t 2 [ 2, 2].

a. Describe the motion of the particle. Eliminate the parameter and sketch the resulting graph. Include
a description of where the particle starts, stops, and if it turns around.

b. Calculate the velocity and speed of the particle.

c. Find the tangent line to the parametric curve at time t = 1.

Sample Problem #2: Suppose our particle moves according to

x(t) = et and y(t) = e3t + 1

with t in all of the real numbers.

a. Describe the motion of the particle. Eliminate the parameter and sketch the resulting graph. Note
that t does not lie within a bounded interval, so you should describe the behavior of the particle as t
ranges from 1 to +1.

b. Calculate the velocity and speed of the particle.

c. For what values of t is the slope of the tangent line equal to one?

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Problem 9. You should be able to find the arc length of parameterized and non-parameterized curves.

In each of the following, write down and evaluate an integral which calculates the arc length of the desired
curve.

a. x(t) = cos3 t, y(t) = sin3 t; with t 2 e

[0, 2⇡] [0 .(4]
b. x(t) = (1/2)e2t , y(t) = (1/3)e3t ; with t 2 [0, 1]
p
c. y = 1 x2 ; with x 2 [0, 1]

d. y = (1/4)x2 (1/2) ln x; with x 2 [1, 2]

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Additional topics. In no particular order, here are some additional topics which could appear on the exam.
(These are by no means exhaustive, but should be taken as helpful suggestions.)

• A conceptual understanding of the first and second fundamental theorems of calculus.

• A conceptual understanding of what it means to be the solution to be a differential equation.

• Parameterizing circular motion and/or graphs of functions.

• Converting between Cartesian and polar coordinates, and graphing polar functions. (This would
only appear as a bonus question.)

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