APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES ( MAXIMA/MINIMA PROBLEMS)

Steps in Solving Maxima/Minima Problems

1. Read the problem thoroughly until understood.

2. Set up the function whose maximum or minimum is required. Draw a diagram if necessary
indicating dimensions, both constant and variable dimensions to make the solution clearer
and easier.
3. Read the problem again and form the working equation from the given conditions.
4. Get the first derivative & equate to zero.
5. Solve for the unknown and test whether it is a reasonable answer or not.
6. Check the answer from the conditions of the problem.

NUMBER PROBLEMS

1. Find the positive number such that this number plus twenty five times its reciprocal is a minimum.
2. Find two numbers whose sum is 12 such that the sum of the square of one plus 4 times the other is a
minimum.
3. What number exceeds its square by the maximum amount?

GEOMETRIC PROBLEMS

1. A box is to be made of a piece of cardboard 16 by 10 cm by cutting equal squares out of the corners and
turning up the sides. Find the volume of the largest box that can be made in this way.
2. What should be the shape of a rectangular field of given area if it is to be enclosed by the least amount
of fencing.
3. The strength of the rectangular beam is proportional to the breadth and the square of the depth. Find the
shape of the strongest beam that can be cut from a log of given size.

COST PROBLEMS

1. A closed rectangular box with square base and with a capacity of 48 cu. ft is to be made. The material
for the top and bottom costs P0.30 /sq.ft. and for the sides P0.40/sq.ft. Find the minimum cost?
2. Find the most economical proportion for a covered box of fixed volume whose base is a rectangle with
one side thrice as long as the other.
3. Find the height of the largest rectangle that can be inscribed in the parabolic segment bounded by
x 2  16  2 y and the x-axis with one base of the rectangle on the x-axis.

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Exercises:

1. The sum of 2 positive numbers is 21. If the product on one of the numbers by the square of the other
is to be a maximum, what are the numbers.
2. The sum of 2 positive numbers is 2. Find the smallest possible value for the sum of the cube of one
and the square of the other.
3. The product of 2 positive numbers is 16. Find the numbers if:
a. their sum is least.
b. the sum of one and the square of the other is least.
4. A rectangular field of fixed area is to be enclosed and divided into 3 lots by parallels to one of the
sides. What should be the relative dimensions of the field to make the amount of fencing a
minimum.
5. A wall 8 ft. high is 3 and 3/8 ft from a house. Find the shortest ladder which will reach from the
ground to the house when leaning over the wall.
6. Find the circular cone of maximum volume inscribed in a sphere of radius a.
7. Three sides of an isosceles trapezoid are each 4 cm long. Find the length of the 4 th side for the
maximum area.
8. An open rectangular box with square ends to hold 6400 cu. cm. is to be built at a cost
75cents/sq.cm. for the base and 25 cents/sq. cm. for the sides. Find the most economical
dimensions.
9. Find the most economical proportion for a box with an open top and a square base.
10. A cylindrical glass jar has a plastic top. If the plastic is half as expensive as glass/unit area. Find the
most economical proportion for the jar.
11. From a strip of tin 14 in. wide, a trapezoidal gutter is to be made by bending up the sides at an angle
of 45 degrees, find the width of the base for greatest carrying capacity.
12. Find the shortest distance from the given point to the given curve. (5,0) at 2 y 2  x 3 .
13. A man on an island 12 mi south of a straight beach wishes to reach a point on the shore 20 mi. east.
If a motorboat, making 20 mph can be hired at a rate of $2.00/hr. for the time it is actually used and
the cost of land transportation is $0.06/mi, how much must he pay for the trip?
14. Find the dimensions of the isosceles triangle of least area that circumscribes a circle of radius r.
15. A page is to contain 81 square centimeters of print. The margins at the top and bottom are to be 3
centimeters each and, at the sides, 2 centimeters each. Find the most economical dimensions given
that the cost of a page varies directly with the perimeter of the page.

Assign. ( Solve nos. 3,5,8,13,14&15)

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APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES

PROBLEMS ON TRIGONOMETRIC FUNTIONS

1. Find the area of the largest rectangle that may be inscribed in a circle of diameter d.
2. The strength of the rectangular beam is proportional to the breadth and the square of the depth. Find
the shape of the strongest beam that can be cut from a log of given size.
3. A wall 8 ft. high is 3 and 3/8 ft from a house. Find the shortest ladder which will reach from the
ground to the house when leaning over the wall.
4. A cylinder is inscribed in a given sphere. Find the dimension of the cylinder if its convex surface
area is a maximum.
5. Find the largest conical tent that can be constructed having a given slant height.

TIME RATES, VELOCITY & ACCELERATION

You have learned in the previous lesson that it is possible to differentiate an implicit function of 2
variables with respect to only one variable. For instance, to find the derivative of :

x2  y2  a2 , we get
dy dy
2x  2 y  0 , or x  y 0
dx dx

dx dy
Suppose now, we get the derivative with respect to time, we will get x y  0.
dt dt
In this equation:

dx
= rate of change of x with respect to time (also called the velocity of x denoted by vx ).
dt
dy
= rate of change of y with respect to time (also called the velocity of y denoted by v y ).
dt
v x & v y are called TIME RATES or RELATED RATES.

ACCELERATION is defined as the rate of change of the velocity, so to get the acceleration a, we
simply solve for the derivative of the velocity with respect to time ( which is
the same as getting the second derivative with respect to time ).

GUIDES in solving word problems on TIME RATES

1. Read the problem until understood. Make a clear diagram if needed, indicating both constants &
variable dimensions.
2. Form the equation by writing what are given and what are to be found.
3. Find the derivatives with respect to time, after which we substitute the given quantities and solve for
the unknown.

Examples:

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 1. Water is flowing into a vertical cylindrical tank at the rate of 24 cu.ft./min. If the radius of the tank
is 4 ft., how fast is the surface rising?
2. Gas is escaping from a spherical balloon at the rate of 2 cu. ft/min. How fast is the surface area
shrinking when the radius is 12 ft.?
3. Water is running out of a conical funnel at the rate of 1 in 3 / sec . If the radius of the base of the
funnel I s4 in. and the altitude is 8 in., find the rate at which the water level is dropping when it is 2
in. from the top.
4. A man 5.5 ft. tall walks away from a lamp post 10 ft. high. At the rate of 8 ft/sec;
a. How fast does his shadow lengthen?
b. How fast does the tip of the shadow move?
5. A balloon leaves the ground 80 ft. from an observer and rises vertically upward at 5 ft/sec;
a. How fast is the balloon receding from the observer after 12 seconds?
b. Find the corresponding acceleration.
6. One ship A is sailing due south at 16 mi/hr and a second ship B, 32 miles south of A, is sailing due
east at 12 mi/hr;
a. At what rate are they approaching or separating at the end of 1 hour?
b. At the end of 2 hours?
c. When do they cease to approach each other and how far apart are they at that time?
7. The radius of a sphere is r in. at time t sec. Find the radius when the rates of increase of the surface
area and the radius are numerically equal.
8. Quantities x & y are related according to the equation x 2  2 y  3 . If x increases ½ unit/sec., find
the rate at which y changes when x=3.

Exercises:

1. A rectangular trough is 8 ft. long, 2 ft. across the top, and 4 ft. deep. If water flows in at the rate of 2
cu. ft./min, how fast is the surface rising when the water is 1 ft. deep?
2. A liquid is flowing into a vertical cylindrical tank of radius 6 ft. at the rate of 8 cu. ft./min. How fast
is the surface rising?
3. A man 5 ft. tall walks at the rate of 4 ft/sec. directly away from a street light which is 20 ft. above
the street;
a. At what rate is the tip of his shadow changing?
b. At what rate is the length of his shadow changing?
4. A balloon is rising vertically over a point A on the ground at the rate 15 ft/sec. A point B on the
ground is level with and 30 ft. from A. When the balloon is 40 ft. from A, at what rate is its distance
from B changing?
5. A ladder 20 ft. long leans against a house. When it is 16 ft from the house, find the rate at which;
a. The top of the ladder is moving away at the rate of 2 ft/sec.
b. The slope of the ladder decreases.
6. A boy is flying a kite at a height 150 ft. If the kite moves horizontally away from the boy at the rate
of 20 ft/sec, how fast is the string being paid out when the kite is 250 ft. from him?
7. Ship A is 15 miles east of O and moving west at 20 mi/hr, ship B is 60 miles south of O and moving
at 15 mi/hr;
a. Are they approaching or separating after 1 hour and at what rate?
b. Same, after 3 hours?
c. When are they nearest one another?

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PROBLEMS ON INVERSE TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

1. A ladder 15 ft long leans against a vertical wall. If the top slides down at 2 ft/sec, how fast is the
angle of elevation of the ladder decreasing, when the lower end is 12 ft from the wall?
2. A ship moving 8 mi/hr. sails north for 30 min., then turns east. If a searchlight at the point of
departure follows the ship, how fast is the light rotating 2 hours after the start?
3. A balloon leaving the ground 60 ft from an observer rises 10 ft/sec. How fast is the angle of
elevation of the line of sight increasing after 8 seconds?
4. A kite is 60 ft high with 100 ft of cord out. If the kite is moving horizontally 4 mi/hr. directly away
from the boy flying it, find the rate of change of the angle of elevation of the cord.
5. The base of a right triangle grows 2 cm/sec., the altitude grows 4 cm/sec. If the base and the altitude
are originally 10 cm and 6 cm. respectively, find the time rate of change of the base angle.