Tasas de cambio relacionadas

If a tank is being filled with water, then the water level rises. To describe how
fast the water level rises, we speak of the rate of change of the water level or,
equivalently, the rate of change of the depth. If the depth is denoted by h, and t
is the time measured from some convenient moment, then the derivative dh/dt is
the rate of change of the depth. Further, the volume V of water in the tank is also
changing, and dV/dt is the rate of change of this volume.
Similarly, any geometric or physical quantity Q that changes with time is a
function o f time, say Q = Q(t), and its derivative dQ/dt is the rate o f change o f
the quantity. The problems that we now consider are based on the fact that if two
changing quantities are related to one another, then their rates of change are also
related.

4.5
RELATED RATES
Example 1 Gas is being pumped into a large spherical rubber balloon at the constant
rate of 8 ft3/min. Find how fast the radius r of the balloon is increasing (a)
when r = 2 ft; (b) when r = 4 ft.
Solution The volume of the balloon (Fig. 4.32) is given by the formula for the
volume of a sphere,
V=J77T3.(1)
From the statement of the problem we know that dV/dt = 8, and we must find
dr/dt for two specific values of r. It is essential to understand the background
of this situation, namely, the fact that V and r are both dependent variables
with the time t as the underlying independent variable. With this in mind, it is
natural to introduce the rates of change of V and r by differentiating (1) with
respect to t,
dt dt dt
where the chain rule is needed in the calculation. It follows from (2) that
dr_ 1 dV _ 2
dt 477T2 dt 77T2’
since dV/dt = 8. In case (a) we therefore have
= —— = 0.16 ft/dt 277 min,
(2)
and in case (b),
- = ^ - = 0.04 ft/min.
dt 877
These conclusions confirm our commonsense awareness that since the volume
of the balloon is increasing at a constant rate, the radius increases more and more
slowly as the volume grows larger.
Example 2 A ladder 13 ft long is leaning against a wall. The bottom of the ladder
is being pulled away from the wall at the constant rate of 6 ft/min. How fast
is the top of the ladder moving down the wall when the bottom of the ladder is
5 ft from the wall?
140 APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES
Figure 4.33
Solution The first thing we do is draw a diagram of the situation and label it,
being careful to use letters to represent quantities that are changing (Fig. 4.33).
In terms of this figure, we can clarify our thoughts by stating what is known and
what we are trying to find:
dx
~dt
when* =dt 5.
(The use of the minus sign here can best be understood by thinking of dy/dt as
the rate at which y is increasing and -d y /d t as the rate at which y is decreasing.
The problem asks for the latter.) Roughly speaking, we know one time derivative
and we want to find the other. We therefore seek an equation connecting x
and y which we can differentiate with respect to t to obtain a second equation
connecting their rates of change. It is clear from the figure that our starting point
must be the Pythagorean theorem,
X2 + y2 = 169.
When this is differentiated with respect to t, we get
(3)
2x —d—x + 2y —dy = 0 dt dt
dy_ =
dt
x_ dx_
y dt
dy _ x dx
dt y dt'
and therefore
dy _ 6x
dt y (4)
since dx/dt = 6. Finally, equation (3) tells us that y = 12 when x = 5, so (4)
yields our conclusion,
dy_
dt
6•5
12
= 2t ft/min when x = 5.
Figure 4.34
Warning: Don’t substitute the values x = 5, y = 12 prematurely. The essence of
the problem is the fact that x and y are variables; if we pin them down to specific
values too soon, as is done in Fig. 4.34, then this makes it impossible to understand
or solve the problem. In other words, preserve the fluidity of the situation
until the last possible moment.
4 f t3 /r
Example 3 A conical tank with its vertex down is 12 ft high and 12 ft in diameter
at the top. Water is being pumped in at the rate of 4 ft3/min. Find the rate
at which the water level is rising (a) when the water is 2 ft deep; (b) when the
water is 8 ft deep.
Solution As before, we begin by drawing and labeling a diagram (Fig. 4.35),
with the purpose of visualizing the situation and establishing notation. Our next
step is to use this notation to state as follows what is given and what we are trying
to find:
= 4, ~y~ = ? when x = 2 and x = 8.
dt dt
The changing volume V of water in the tank has the shape of a cone, so our starting
point is the formula for the volume of a cone,
4.5 RELATED RATES
The only dependent variables we care about are V and x, so we wish to eliminate
the superfluous variable y. By examining Fig. 4.35 and using similar triangles,
we see that
jTry2x. (5)
y_ 6 _1
x 12 2 y = 7*> (6)
and substituting this in (5) gives
V = ^ x \ (7)
We are now in a position to introduce the rates of change by differentiating (7)
with respect to t, which yields
= ~r*2~ r (8) d t 4 d t
or
dx_ = _4_dV_ = 16
d t 7TX2 d t 77X 2 '
since dV/dt = 4. This formula tells us that when x = 2,
= — = 1-27 ft/min,
d t TT
and when x = 8,
d x 1 =- = -* - = 0.08 ft/min,
d t 4 tt
and the solution is complete.
It may be helpful to students if we now summarize the method that emerges
from these examples:
STRATEGY FOR SOLVING RELATED RATE PROBLEMS
1 Read the problem carefully, several times if necessary, until it is fully understood.
2 Draw a careful sketch of the situation being considered. Add to the sketch all
numerical quantities that remain constant throughout the problem. Now add
as letters all quantities—the dependent variables— that are functions of time.
3 Write down the given rate of change and the required rate of change in terms
of derivatives.
4 Find an equation that connects the two dependent variables in Step 3, using
geometry if necessary to eliminate any superfluous dependent variable. Use
the chain rule to differentiate both sides of this equation with respect to t.
5 Substitute the given rate of change from Step 3 into the differentiated equation
obtained in Step 4, and solve for the required rate of change.
Warning: Don’t give the dependent variables numerical values too soon. This
should be done only after the differentiation in Step 4.
142 APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES
PROBLEMS
1 A stone dropped into a pond sends out a series of concentric
ripples. If the radius r of the outer ripple increases
steadily at the rate of 6 ft/s, find the rate at which
the area of disturbed water is increasing (a) when
r = 10 ft, and (b) when r = 20 ft.
2 A large spherical snowball is melting at the rate of 2-77
ft3/h. At the moment when it is 30 inches in diameter,
determine (a) how fast the radius is changing, and (b)
how fast the surface area is changing.
3 Sand is being poured onto a conical pile at the constant
rate of 50 ft3/min. Frictional forces in the sand are such
that the height of the pile is always equal to the radius
of its base. How fast is the height of the pile increasing
when the sand is 5 ft deep?
4 A girl 5 ft tall is running at the rate of 12 ft/s and passes
under a street light 20 ft above the ground. Find how
rapidly the tip of her shadow is moving when she is (a)
20 ft past the street light, and (b) 50 ft past the street
light.
5 In Problem 4, find how rapidly the length of the girl’s
shadow is increasing at each of the stated moments.
6 A light is at the top of a pole 80 ft high. A ball is dropped
from the same height from a point 20 ft away from the
light. Find how fast the shadow of the ball is moving
along the ground (a) 1 second later; (b) 2 seconds later.
(Assume that the ball falls s = 1612 feet in t seconds.)
7 A woman raises a bucket of cement to a platform 40 ft
above her head by means of a rope 80 ft long that passes
over a pulley on the platform. If she holds her end of
the rope firmly at head level and walks away at 5 ft/s,
how fast is the bucket rising when she is 30 ft away
from the spot directly below the pulley?
8 A boy is flying a kite at a height of 80 ft, and the wind
is blowing the kite horizontally away from the boy at
the rate of 20 ft/s. How fast is the boy paying out string
when the kite is 100 ft away from him?
9 A boat is being pulled in to a dock by means of a rope
with one end tied to the bow of the boat and the other
end passing through a ring attached to the dock at a
point 5 ft higher than the bow of the boat. If the rope
is being pulled in at the rate of 4 ft/s, how fast is the
boat moving through the water when 13 ft of rope are
out?
10 A trough is 10 ft long and has a cross section in the
shape of an equilateral triangle 2 ft on each side. If water
is being pumped in at the rate of 20 ft3/min, how
fast is the water level rising when the water is 1 ft deep?
11 A spherical meteorite enters the earth’s atmosphere and
burns up at a rate proportional to its surface area. Show
that its radius decreases at a constant rate.
12 A point moves around the circle x2 + y2 = a2 in such
a way that the .x-component of its velocity is given by
dx/dt = —y. Find dy/dt and decide whether the direction
of the motion is clockwise or counterclockwise.
13 A car moving at 60 mi/h along a straight road passes
under a weather balloon rising vertically at 20 mi/h. If
the balloon is 1 mi up when the car is directly beneath
it, how fast is the distance between the car and the balloon
increasing 1 minute later?
14 Most gases obey Boyle’s law: If a sample of the gas is
held at a constant temperature while being compressed
by a piston in a cylinder, then its pressure p and volume
V are related by the equation pV = c, where c is a
constant. Find dp/dt in terms of p and dV/dt.
15 At a certain moment a sample of gas obeying Boyle’s
law (Problem 14) occupies a volume of 1000 in3 at a
pressure of 10 lb/in2. If this gas is being compressed
isothermally at the rate of 12 in3/min, find the rate at
which the pressure is increasing at the instant when the
volume is 600 in3.
*16 A ladder 20 ft long is leaning against a wall 12 ft high,
with its top projecting over the wall. Its bottom is being
pulled away from the wall at the constant rate of 5
ft/min. Find how rapidly the top of the ladder is approaching
the ground (a) when 5 ft of the ladder projects
over the wall; (b) when the top of the ladder
reaches the top of the wall.
17 A conical party hat made of cardboard has a radius of
4 in and a height of 12 in. When filled with beer, it leaks
at the rate of 4 in3/min. At what rate is the level of beer
falling (a) when the beer is 6 in deep? (b) when the hat
is half empty?
18 A hemispherical bowl of radius 8 in is being filled with
water at a constant rate. If the water level is rising at
the rate of y in/s at the instant when the water is 6 in
deep, find how fast the water is flowing in
(a) by using the fact that a segment of a sphere has volume
V=Trh>(a-fj
where a is the radius of the sphere and h is the height
of the segment;
(b) by using the fact that if V is the volume of the water
at time t, then
dV , --- = 777^ -d-hdt
dt
where r is the radius of the surface and h is the depth.
19 Water is being poured into a hemispherical bowl of radius
3 in at the rate of 1 in3/s. How fast is the water
level rising when the water is 1 in deep?
4.6 NEWTON’S METHOD FOR SOLVING EQUATIONS 143
*20 In Problem 19, suppose that the bowl contains a lead
ball 2 inches in diameter, and find how fast the water
level is rising when the ball is half submerged.
21 Assume that a snowball melts in such a way that its volume
decreases at a rate proportional to its surface area.
If half the original snowball has melted away after 2
hours, how much longer will it take for the snowball to
disappear completely?
22 A man in a hot air balloon is rising at the rate of 20 ft/s.
How fast is the distance to the horizon increasing when
the balloon is 2000 ft high? Assume that the earth is a
sphere of radius 4000 mi.
23 A drawbridge with two 20-ft spans is being raised at
the rate of 2 radians/min (Fig. 4.36). How fast is the
distance between the ends of the spans increasing when
they are elevated 7r/4 radians?
Figure 4.36