Mathematics for Engineering: Calculus

Chapter 4: APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES

Department of Mathematics, FPT University
 Contents

4.1. Related Rates

4.2. Linear Approximations and Differentials
4.3. Maxima and minima
4.4. The Mean value theorem
4.5. Derivates and the shapes of Graphs
4.6. Limits at Infinity and Assymtotes
4.7. Applied Optimization Problems
4.9. Newton’s Method
4.10. Antiderivatives
APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.1
Related Rates

In this section, we will learn:

How to compute the rate of change of one quantity
in terms of that of another quantity.
RELATED RATES Example 1

Air is being pumped into a spherical balloon so

that its volume increases at a rate of
100 cm3/s.
How fast is the radius of the balloon increasing
when the diameter is 50 cm?
 Example 1

The key thing to remember is that rates

of change are derivatives.
 In this problem, the volume and the radius are
both functions of the time t.
 The rate of increase of the volume with respect
to time is the derivative dV / dt.
 The rate of increase of the radius is dr / dt.
RELATED RATES Example 1

To connect dV/dt and dr/dt, first

we relate V and r by the formula for
the volume of a sphere:
 Example 1

To use the given information, we

differentiate each side of the equation with
respect to t.
 To differentiate the right side, we need to use
the Chain Rule:

 or
RELATED RATES Example 1
Now, we solve for the unknown quantity:

dr 1 dV
 2
dt 4 r dt

 If we put r = 25 and dV / dt = 100 in this

equation,
we obtain:
 The radius of the balloon is increasing at the
rate of 1/(25π) ≈ 0.0127 cm/s.
Example 2
A ladder 10 ft long rests against a vertical wall.
If the bottom of the ladder slides away
from the wall at a rate of 1 ft/s, how fast is
the top of the ladder sliding down the wall
when the bottom of the ladder is 6 ft from
the wall?

We first draw a diagram and label it

as in the figure.
 Example 2

 Let x feet be the distance from the bottom of the ladder to the wall
and y feet the distance from the top of the ladder to the ground.

 Note that x and y are

both functions of t
(time, measured in
seconds).
 Example 2

We are given that dx / dt = 1 ft/s

and we are asked to find dy / dt
when x = 6 ft.
 Example 2

In this problem, the relationship between

x and y is given by the Pythagorean
Theorem: x2 + y2 = 100
 Example 2

Differentiating each side with respect to t

using the Chain Rule, we have:

 Solving this equation for the desired rate,

we obtain:
 Example 2

When x = 6 , the Pythagorean Theorem gives

y = 8 and so, substituting these values and
dx / dt = 1, we have:

 The fact that dy / dt is negative means that

the distance from the top of the ladder to
the ground is decreasing at a rate of ¾ ft/s.
 That is, the top of the ladder is sliding down
the wall at a rate of ¾ ft/s.
APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.2
Linear Approximations
and Differentials

In this section, we will learn about:

Linear approximations and differentials
and their applications.
 LINEAR APPROXIMATIONS

We use the tangent line at (a, f(a)) as an

approximation to the curve y = f(x) when x is
near a.

An equation of
this tangent line is
L(x) = y = f(a) + f’(a)(x - a)
LINEAR APPROXIMATION Equation 1

The approximation

f(x) ≈ f(a) + f’(a)(x – a) = L(x)

is called the linear approximation of f at a.
Example
Since we are looking for the linear approximation at x = 9, using given Equation 1 we know
the linear approximation is given by

where

Therefore, the linear approximation is given by

 LINEAR APPROXIMATIONS Example 1

Find the linearization of the function

at a = 1 and use it to approximate the numbers
 LINEAR APPROXIMATIONS Example 1

Putting these values into Equation 2, we see that the

linearization is:

L( x)  f (1)  f '(1)( x  1)
 2  14 ( x  1)
7 x
 
4 4
LINEAR APPROXIMATIONS Example 1

The corresponding linear approximation is:

(when x is near 1)

In particular, we have:
LINEAR APPROXIMATIONS

Look at the table

and the figure.
 The tangent line
approximation
gives good
estimates if x
is close to 1.
 However,
the accuracy
decreases
when x is farther
away from 1.
Use the linear approximation to of the function f ( x)  x  1 at
a=3 to approximate the numbers. Select the correct ones.

a) 3.95  1.9875 b) 4.05  2.0125

c) 3.95  1.98746 d) 4.05  2.01246

Differentials
Suppose y = f (x) is a differentiable function. Let dx be an
independent variable that can be assigned any nonzero
real number, and define the dependent variable dy by

The expressions dy and dx are called differentials

 Differentials
Note
Differentials can be used to estimate the change in the value of a
function resulting from a small change in input values.

• Consider a function f that is differentiable at point a.

• Suppose the input x changes by a small amount. We are interested in
how much the output y changes.
• If x changes from a to a + dx, then the change in x is dx (also denoted
Δx), and the change in y is given by
•
• For x near a, f (x) can be approximated by the linear approximation

• Therefore, if dx is small,

• or

=> we can use the differential dy = f ′(a)dx to approximate the

change in y if x increases from x = a to x = a + dx
 DIFFERENTIALS
Calculating the Amount of Error
Note
we can use differentials to approximate the amount of error Δy.
Specifically, if f is a differentiable function at a, the amount of error is

Or using

when we do not know the exact value a

DIFFERENTIALS Example 2
Calculating the Amount of Error

The radius of a sphere was measured

and found to be 21 cm with a possible error
in measurement of at most 0.05 cm.

What is the maximum error in using this

value of the radius to compute the volume
of the sphere?
DIFFERENTIALS Example 2

If the radius of the sphere is r, then

its volume is V = 4/3 π r3.

 If the error in the measured value of r is denoted by dr = ∆r,

then the corresponding error in the calculated value of V is
dV=∆V.
DIFFERENTIALS Example 2

This can be approximated by the differential

dV = 4πr2dr

When r = 21 and dr = 0.05, this becomes:

dV = 4π(21)2 0.05 ≈ 277

 The maximum error in the calculated volume

is about 277 cm3.
 RELATIVE ERROR
• we define the relative error as Δq/q , where Δq is an
absolute error, q is the actual value of the quantity.

In the Example 2, Relative error is computed by dividing

the error by the total volume:

Thus, the relative error in the volume is about

three times the relative error in the radius.
RELATIVE ERROR Note

In the example, the relative error in the radius

is approximately dr/r = 0.05/21 ≈ 0.0024

and it produces a relative error of about
3.dr/r = 0.0072 in the volume.

 The errors could also be expressed as percentage errors of

0.24% in the radius and 0.72% in the volume.
 Quiz

Find the limit if g ( x)  ln x

g ( x)  g (2)
lim
x2 x2
.

a. 1 b. ½ c. 1/3 d. 2
 Quiz

dy dx
Find when x=2 if  1, y  x 3  3x 2
dt dt

a. 1 b.2 c.3 d.4 e.0

 Quiz

The equation of the tangent line to the curve y= x - sin x at (∏, ∏)

is

a) y=0 b) y=2x c) y=2x-2

d) y=2x+2 e) None of the others

 Quizzes

If 1/f =1/u+1/v then du/dv is:

a) f/(v-f)2 b) –f2/(v-f)2

c) 2f2/(v-f)2 d)-2f2/(v-f)2

e) None of the others

APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.3
Maxima and Minima

In this section, we will learn:

How to find the maximum
and minimum values of a function.
MAXIMUM & MINIMUM VALUES Definition 1

A function f has an absolute maximum (or global

maximum) at c if f(c) ≥ f(x) for all x in D, where D is the
domain of f.

The number f(c) is called

the maximum value of f
on D.
MAXIMUM & MINIMUM VALUES Definition 1

Similarly, f has an absolute minimum at c

if f(c) ≤ f(x) for all x in D and the number f(c)
is called the minimum value of f on D.

The maximum and minimum

values of f are called
the extreme values of f.
MAXIMUM & MINIMUM VALUES Definition 2

 A function f has a local maximum (or relative maximum)

at c if f(c) ≥ f(x) when x is near c.

 Similarly, f has a local minimum at c

if f(c) ≤ f(x) when x is near c.
MAXIMUM & MINIMUM VALUES Example

The graph of the function

f(x) = 3x4 – 16x3 + 18x2, -1 ≤ x ≤ 4

is shown here.

f(1) = 5 is a local maximum

the absolute maximum is f(-1) = 37

f(0) = 0 is a local minimum and

f(3) = -27 is both a local

and an absolute minimum.
 EXTREME VALUE THEOREM

In the first figure, why isn’t 3 the absolute maximum value?

In the second, does it have the absolute maximum and minimum value?
 EXTREME VALUE THEOREM

Theorem

If f is continuous on a closed interval [a, b], then f attains an

absolute maximum value f(c) and an absolute minimum value f(d)

at some numbers c and d in [a, b].

EXTREME VALUE THEOREM

The theorem does not tell us how to find these extreme values.

 We start by looking for local extreme values.

FERMAT’S THEOREM

Theorem
If f has a local maximum or minimum at c, and

if f ’(c) exists, then f ’(c) = 0.

Is it true if say that

” f’(c)=0 if f has local extreme value at c?”

Answer: see next

CRITICAL NUMBERS Example

 The function f(x) = |x| has its (local and absolute)

minimum value at 0.
 f ’(0) does not exist.
CRITICAL NUMBERS

Definition

A critical number (giá trị tới hạn) of a

function f is a number
c in the domain of f such that either f ’(c) = 0 or
f ’(c) does not exist.
CRITICAL NUMBERS Theorem

If f has a local maximum or minimum at c,

then c is a critical number of f.
 CLOSED INTERVAL METHOD

To find the absolute maximum and minimum values of a

continuous function f on a closed interval [a, b]:

1. Find the values of f at the critical numbers of f

in (a, b).

2. Find the values of f at the endpoints of the interval.

3. The largest value from 1 and 2 is the absolute

maximum value. The smallest is the absolute
minimum value.
Select the correct ones.

a. If f’(c)=0 then f has the local maximum or minimum at c.

b. If f has the absolute minimum value at c then f’(c)=0.

c. If f is continuous on (a,b) then f attains an absolute maximum value

f(c) and an absolute minimum value f(d) for some c and d in (a,b).

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.4
The Mean Value Theorem

In this section, we will learn about:

The significance of the mean value theorem.
ROLLE’S THEOREM

Let f be a function that satisfies the following three

hypotheses:

1. f is continuous on the closed interval [a, b]

2. f is differentiable on the open interval (a, b)

3. f(a) = f(b)

Then, there is a number c in (a, b) such that f’(c) = 0.

 ROLLE’S THEOREM

The figures show

the graphs of
four such
functions.
 Let f(x)=x3-2x2+x-5 on [0,5]. Find the numbers c in the
Rolle’s theorem?

Answer: f’(c)=0 iff c=1 or c= 1/3

MEAN VALUE THEOREM Equations 1 and 2

Let f be a function that fulfills two hypotheses:

1. f is continuous on the closed interval [a, b].

2. f is differentiable on the open interval (a, b).

Then, there is a number c in (a, b) such that

or, equivalently,
MEAN VALUE THEOREM

f ’(c) is the slope of the tangent line at (c, f(c)).

 There is at least one point P(c, f(c)) on the graph
where the slope of the tangent line is the same as
the slope of the secant line AB.
 Example
• Suppose that f(0) = -3 and f ’(x) ≤ 5 for all values of x.

 How large can f(2) possibly be?

 We are given that f is differentiable - and therefore

continuous - everywhere.

 In particular, we can apply the Mean Value Theorem

on the interval [0, 2].

 There exists a number c such that

f(2) – f(0) = f ’(c)(2 – 0)

 So, f(2) = – 3 + 2 f ’(c)

 Example

 We are given that f ’(x) ≤ 5 x

 f ’(c) ≤ 5.

 2 f ’(c) ≤ 10.

 f(2) = – 3 + 2 f ’(c) ≤ – 3 + 10 = 7

 The largest possible value for f(2) is 7.

MEAN VALUE THEOREM Theorem

If f ’(x) = 0 for all x in an interval (a, b),

then f is constant on (a, b).
MEAN VALUE THEOREM Corollary

If f ’(x) = g’(x) for all x in an interval (a, b),

then f – g is constant on (a, b).

That is, f(x) = g(x) + c where c is a constant.

APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.5
Derivatives and
the Shapes of Graphs

In this section, we will learn:

How the derivative of a function gives us the direction
in which the curve proceeds at each point.
INCREASING/DECREASING TEST (I/D TEST)

a. If f’(x) > 0 on an interval, then f is increasing

on that interval.

b. If f’(x) < 0 on an interval, then f is decreasing

on that interval.
Answer: (A)
FIRST DERIVATIVE TEST

Suppose that c is a critical number of a continuous

function f.

a. If f’ changes from positive to negative at c, then f

has a local maximum at c.
FIRST DERIVATIVE TEST

b. If f’ changes from negative to positive at c,

then f has a local minimum at c.
FIRST DERIVATIVE TEST

c. If f’ does not change sign at c

then f has no local maximum or minimum at c.
CONCAVE UPWARD/DOWNDWARD

 The curve lies above the tangents and f is called

concave upward (lõm lên) on (a, b).

 The curve lies below the tangents and g is called

concave downward (lõm xuống) on (a, b).
CONCAVITY TEST

a. If f’’(x) > 0 for all x in I, then the graph of f is

concave upward on I.

b. If f’’(x) < 0 for all x in I, then the graph of f is

concave downward on I.
INFLECTION POINT—DEFINITION

A point P on a curve y = f(x) is called an inflection point

(điểm uốn)

if f is continuous there and the curve changes

from concave upward to concave downward

(or from concave downward to concave upward at P).

Answer: (-1,f(-1)),(1,f(1)),(3,f(3)),(6,f(6))
To determine concavity, we need to find the second derivative f ″(x). The first
derivative is f ′(x) = 3x2 - 12x + 9, so the second derivative is f ″(x) = 6x - 12. If the
function changes concavity, it occurs either when f ″(x) = 0 or f ″(x) is undefined
Since f ″ is defined for all real numbers x, we need only find where f ″(x) = 0. Solving
the equation 6x - 12 = 0, we see that x = 2 is the only place where f could change
concavity. We now test points over the intervals (-∞, 2) and (2, ∞) to determine the
concavity of f . The points x = 0 and x = 3 are test points for these intervals.

We conclude that f is concave down over the interval (-∞, 2) and concave up over the
interval (2, ∞). Since
f changes concavity at x = 2, the point 2, f (2) = (2, 32) is an inflection point.
 SECOND DERIVATIVE TEST

Suppose f’’ is continuous near c.

a. If f’(c) = 0 and f’’(c) > 0,

then f has a local minimum at c.

b. If f’(c) = 0 and f’’(c) < 0,

then f has a local maximum at c.
 Choose the correct one.
If f has local extreme value at c then
A
f’(c)=0.
If f’(c)=0 then f has local extreme
B
value at c.
If f’’(3)=0 then (3,f(3)) is an
C
inflection point of f.
There exists a function such that f’(x)
D
is nonzero for all x and f(1)=f(0).
E None of the above
Answer: e
• By the second derivative test, we conclude that f has a local maximum at x = - 3 and
f has a local minimum at x = 3. The second derivative test is inconclusive at x = 0.

• To determine whether f has a local extrema at x = 0, we apply the first derivative

test. To evaluate the sign of f ′ (x) = 5x2 (x2 – 3) for x ∈ (- 3, 0) and x ∈ (0, 3), let x
= -1 and x = 1 be the two test points.

• Since f ′ (-1) < 0 and f ′ (1) < 0, we conclude that f is decreasing on both intervals
and, therefore, f does not have a local extrema at x = 0
APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.6
Limit at Infinity and
Assymtotes
Limits at Infinity and Assymtotes
 • Limits at Infinity and Assymtotes

Example: Find the asymptotes of the function

x3  1
f ( x)  3
x  x2  2
c.
Example:

Compute
1
a. lim sin 0
x  x
b.
lim( x 2  1  x) 0
x 

c. lim sin x Does not exist

x 

d. lim( x  x 3 )
x 
 QUIZ QUESTIONS

1) Find lim cos x

x 

a. 0 b. infinity c. 1 d. Does not exist

1
2) Find lim cos x
x  x

a. 0 b. infinity c. 1 d. Dose not exist

 QUIZ QUESTIONS

3) If lim f ( x)  , lim g ( x)  
x 0 x 0

Then lim[ f ( x)  g ( x)]  0

x 0

a. True b. False

4) A function can have two different horizontal asymptotes

a. True b. False
APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.7
Applied Optimization
Problems
In this section, we will learn:
How to solve problems involving
maximization and minimization of factors.
1. UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM

Read the problem carefully until it is clearly understood.

 What is the unknown?

 What are the given quantities?

 What are the given conditions?

2. FIND THE ABSOLUTE MAX./MIN. VALUE OF f

Use the methods of Sections 4.3 to find the absolute

maximum or minimum value of f.

 In particular, if the domain of f is a closed interval,

then the Closed Interval Method in Section 4.1
can be used.
 Find two positive numbers such that the sum is 24
and the product is the largest?

Find two positive numbers such that the product is 36

and the sum is the smallest?

Answer: 12,12, and 6,6

APPLIED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS
Example 1

Find the point on the line y = 2x -3

that is closest to the origin.
 Example 1

(x,2x-3) is in the line and the distance from it to the origin is …

We find the minimum of…

APPLIED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS Example 2

A farmer has 2400 ft of fencing and wants to fence off a

rectangular field that borders a straight river. He needs
no fence along the river.

 What are the dimensions of the field that has the

largest area ?
APPLIED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS Example

This figure illustrates

the general case.

We wish to maximize the area A of the rectangle.

 Then, we express A in terms of x and y: A = xy
 2x + y = 2400
 So, A(x) = 2400x – 2x2, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1200
 …
 APPLIED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS Example

A man launches his boat from point A on

a bank of a straight river, 3 km wide, and
wants to reach point B (8 km downstream
on the opposite bank) as quickly as x

possible.

If he can row 6 km/h and run 8 km/h,

where should he land to reach B as soon
8-x
as possible?
APPLIED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS
Example
We use the equation: time= distance
rate
 Then, the rowing time is: x 2  9 / 6

 The running time is: (8 – x)/8

 So, the total time T as a function of x is:

x2  9 8  x
T ( x)  
6 8

 Min T(x) khi x thuộc [0,8].

A rectangular storage container with an open top is to have
a volume of 15 m3 The length of its base is twice the width.

Material for the base costs $10 per square meter. Material
for the sides costs $6 per square meter. Find the cost of
materials for the cheapest such container.
APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.9
Newton’s Method
In this section, we will learn:
How to solve high-degree equations
using Newton’s method.
NUMERICAL ROOTFINDERS

How do those numerical root finders work?

 They use a variety of methods.

 Most, though, make some use of Newton’s

method, also called the Newton-Raphson
method.
 NEWTON’S METHOD

We start with a first approximation x1, which is obtained

by one of the following methods:

 Guessing

 A rough sketch
of the graph of f

 A computer-
generated graph of f
NEWTON’S METHOD

Consider the tangent line L to the curve y = f(x) at the

point (x1, f(x1)) and look at the x-intercept of L, labeled x2.
SECOND APPROXIMATION

As the x-intercept of L is x2, we set y = 0 and obtain:

0 - f(x1) = f’(x1)(x2 - x1)

If f’(x1) ≠ 0, we can solve this equation for x2:

 We use x2 as a second approximation to r.

SUBSEQUENT APPROXIMATION

In general, if the nth approximation is xn and

f’(xn) ≠ 0, then the next approximation is given by:
CONVERGENCE

If the numbers xn become closer and closer to r

as n becomes large, then we say that the
sequence converges to r and we write:
NEWTON’S METHOD Example

Use Newton’s method to find correct to eight

decimal places.

 First, we observe that finding is equivalent to

finding the positive root of the equation x6 – 2 = 0

 So, we take f(x) = x6 – 2

 Then, f’(x) = 6x5

 NEWTON’S METHOD Example

So, Formula 2 (Newton’s method) becomes:

NEWTON’S METHOD Example
Choosing x1 = 1 as the initial approximation, we obtain:

 As x5 and x6 agree to eight decimal places, we

conclude that to eight decimal
places.
APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION

4.10
Antiderivatives

In this section, we will learn about:

Antiderivatives and how they are useful
in solving certain scientific problems.
DEFINITION

A function F is called an antiderivative of f on

an interval I if F’(x) = f(x) for all x in I.
ANTIDERIVATIVES Theorem

If F is an antiderivative of f on an interval I,
the most general antiderivative of f on I is
F(x) + C

where C is an arbitrary constant.

Let f(x)=tanx, and F(x) is an antiderivative of f(x). Evaluate f
and tell whether F is increasing or decreasing at x= - 3 (rad)

Answer:
ANTIDERIVATIVE FORMULA

Here, we list some particular antiderivatives.

RECTILINEAR MOTION Example

A particle moves in a straight line and has

acceleration given by a(t) = 6t + 4.

Its initial velocity is v(0) = -6 cm/s and its initial

displacement is s(0) = 9 cm.

 Find its position function s(t).

A particle moves along the x-axis so that its
velocity at time t is given by 3 sin 2t.
Assuming it starts at the origin, where is it at t = π
seconds?

a. 0 b. 3/2 c. ½ d. - 1/2

Answer: a
Let f(x)=4-3x for all x>=2. Select the correct one.

a. 2 is the local minimum value.

b. 2 is the local maximum value.
c. -2 is the local minimum value.
d. -2 is the maximum local value.
e. 2 is the absolute minimum value.
f. -2 is the absolute maximum value.
g. None of the above.

Answer: f
A piece of wire (dây kim loại) 10 m long is cut into two
pieces. One piece is bent into a square and the other is
bent into an equilateral triangle (tam giác đều).
How should the wire be cut for the square so that the total
area (of the square and the triangle) enclosed is a
minimum? Round the result to the nearest hundredth.

Answer: If x is the length of the square then

the side of the triangle is 1/3 (10-4x)

We find the minimum of x2+…

Thanks