NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS FOR CE

PROBLEMS
LECTURE 1
ENGR. RYAN KIM LAGADIA
 A. REAL LIFE APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES
1. AUTOMOBILES
IN AN AUTOMOBILE THERE IS ALWAYS AN ODOMETER AND AS PEEDOMETER. THESE
TWO GAUGES WORK IN TANDEM AND ALLOW THE DRIVER TO DETERMINE HIS SPEED
AND HIS DISTANCE THAT HE HAS TRAVELED. ELECTRONIC VERSIONS OF THESE
GAUGES SIMPLY USE DERIVATIVES TO TRANSFORM THE DATA SENT TO THE
ELECTRONIC MOTHERBOARD FROM THE TIRES TO MILES PER HOUR (MPH) AND
DISTANCE (KM).
LECTURE 1
2. RADAR GUN
(THE KEEPING WITH THE AUTOMOBILE THEME FORM THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, ALL POLICE

PHYSICAL
OFFICERS WHO USE RADAR GUNS ARE ACTUALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE EASY
USE OF DERIVATIVES. WHEN A RADAR GUN IS POINTED AND FIRED AT YOUR CARE ON
THE HIGHWAY. THE GUN IS ABLE TO DETERMINE THE TIME AND DISTANCE AT WHICH
MEANING OF THE RADAR WAS ABLE TO HIT A CERTAIN SECTION OF YOUR VEHICLE. WITH THE USE
OF DERIVATIVE, IT IS ABLE TO CALCULATE THE SPEED AT WHICH THE CAR WAS GOING
DERIVATIVES AND ALSO REPORT THE DISTANCE THAT THE CAR WAS FROM THE RADAR GUN.

AND 3. BUSINESS

INTEGRALS)
IN THE BUSINESS WORLD THERE ARE MANY APPLICATIONS FOR DERIVATIVES. ONE OF
THE MOST IMPORTANT APPLICATION IS WHEN DATA HAS BEEN CHARTED ON GRAPH OR
DATA TABLE SUCH AS EXCEL. ONCE IT HAS BEEN INPUT, THE DATA CAN BE GRAPHED
AND WITH THE APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES YOU CAN ESTIMATE THE PROFIT AND
LOSS POINT OF CERTAIN VENTURES.
B. APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES IN VARIOUS FIELDS /SCIENCES
1. DERIVATIVES IN PHYSICS
IN PHYSICS, THE DERIVATIVE OF THE DISPLACEMENT OF A MOVING BODY WITH RESPECT TO TIME IS THE VELOCITY OF THE BODY, AND THE
DERIVATIVE OF VELOCITY WITH THE RESPECT TO TIME IN ACCELERATION.
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION STATES THAT THE DERIVATIVE OF THE MOMENTUM OF A BODY EQUALS THE FORCE APPLIED TO THE BODY.
2. DERIVATIVES IN BIOLOGY
POPULATION GROWTH IS ANOTHER INSTANCE OF THE DERIVATIVE USED IN THE SCIENCES. SUPPOSE N = F(T) IS THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IN
SOME ANIMAL OR PLANT POPULATION AT TIME T. THE CHANGE IN THE POPULATION SIZE BETWEEN TIME T1 AND T2 ΔN = F(T2) - F(T1) THE AVERAGE
RATE OF GROWTH IS THEN:
AVERAGE RATE OF GROWTH = (ΔN/ΔT) = (F(T2)-F(T1))/(T2-T1)
OR (ΔN/ΔT) = (F(T+H)-F(T))/H
THE INSTANTANEOUS RATE OF GROWTH IS THE DERIVATIVE OF THE FUNCTION N WITH RESPECT TO T, I.E.
GROWTH RATE = LIM(ΔT→0) (ΔN/ΔT) = (DN/DT)
THE INSTANTANEOUS RATE OF CHANGE DOES NOT MAKE EXACT SENSE IN THE PREVIOUS EXAMPLE BECAUSE THE CHANGE IN POPULATION IS
NOT EXACTLY A CONTINUOUS PROCESS. HOWEVER, FOR LARGE POPULATION WE CAN APPROXIMATE THE POPULATION FUNCTION BY A SMOOTH
(CONTINUOUS) CURVE.

3. DERIVATIVES IN ECONOMICS
LET X REPRESENT THE NUMBER OF UNITS OF A CERTAIN COMMODITY PRODUCED BY SOME COMPANY. DENOTE BY C(X) THE COST THE COMPANY
INCURS IN PRODUCING X UNITS. THEN THE DERIVATIVE OF C(X) IS WHAT’S CALLED THE MARGINAL COST:
MARGINAL COST = (DC/DX)
FURTHERMORE, SUPPOSE THE COMPANY KNOWS THAT IF IT PRODUCES X UNITS, THEY CAN EXPECT THE REVENUE TO BE R(X), I.E. THE REVENUE
IS A FUNCTION OF THE NUMBER OF UNITS PRODUCED. THEN THE DERIVATIVE OF R(X) IS WHAT’S CALLED THE MARGINAL REVENUE:
MARGINAL REVENUE = (DR/DX)
IF X UNITS ARE SOLD, THEN TOTAL PROFIT IS GIVEN BY THE FORMULA: P(X) = R(X) - C(X)
THE DERIVATIVE OF PROFIT FUNCTION IS THE MARGINAL PROFIT: MARGINAL PROFIT = (DR/DX) - (DC/DX)
 4. DERIVATIVES IN CHEMISTRY
ONE USE OF DERIVATIVES IN CHEMISTRY IS WHEN YOU WANT TO FIND THE CONCENTRATION OF AN ELEMENT IN A PRODUCT.
DERIVATIVE IS USED TO CALCULATE RATE OF REACTION AND COMPRESSIBILITY IN CHEMISTRY.
5. DERIVATIVES IN MATHEMATICS
THE MOST COMMON USE OF THE DERIVATIVES IN MATHEMATICS IS TO STUDY FUNCTIONS SUCH AS:
➢ EXTREME VALUES OF FUNCTION
➢ THE MEAN VALUES OF FUNCTION
➢ MONOTONIC FUNCTIONS
➢ CONCAVITY & CURVE SKETCHING
➢ NEWTON’S METHOD ETC.

C. SOME OTHER APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES

DERIVATIVES ARE ALSO USE TO CALCULATE:

1. RATE OF HEAT FLOW IN GEOLOGY
2. RATE OF IMPROVEMENT OF PERFORMANCE IN PSYCHOLOGY
3. RATE OF THE SPREAD OF A RUMOR IN SOCIOLOGY
DERIVATIVES ARE CONSTANTLY USED IN EVERYDAY LIFE TO HELP MEASURE HOW MUCH SOMETHING IS CHANGING. THEY’RE USED BY
THE GOVERNMENT IN POPULATION CENSUSES, VARIOUS TYPES OF SCIENCES, AND EVEN IN ECONOMICS. KNOWING HOW TO USE
DERIVATIVES, WHEN TO USE THEM, AND HOW TO APPLY THEM IN EVERYDAY LIFE CAN BE A CRUCIAL PART OF ANY PROFESSION, SO
LEARNING EARLY IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING.
EXAMPLE IN DERIVATIVES IN ECONOMICS

THE TOTAL COST (IN HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS) TO PRODUCE X UNITS OF A PRODUCT IS DEFINED BY THE
GIVEN FUNCTION.
3𝑥+2
C(X) =
𝑥+4

a) FIND THE MARGINAL COST FUNCTION

b) WHAT IS THE MARGINAL COST WHEN X = 20
SOLUTION:
a. Marginal Cost Function b. Marginal Cost when x=20

*using quotient Rule Formula

2
𝑥 𝑥 𝑥
=
2

2
TAYLOR SERIES EXPANSION

A TAYLOR SERIES IS A SERIES EXPANSION OF A FUNCTION ABOUT A POINT. A ONE DIMENSIONAL TAYLOR SERIES IS AN
EXPANSION OF A REAL FUNCTION ABOUT A POINT IS GIVEN BY
EXAMPLE:
𝐺𝑖 𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠 𝑙 𝑡𝑖 𝑛 𝑡 3 , ,
𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙 𝑒 𝑚 𝑠𝑒 𝑛 𝑒 𝑡 𝑙 𝑝 𝑙 𝑛 𝑚𝑖 𝑙 𝑛 𝑖𝑠 _____?

Given: Taylor Polynomial Formula:

SOLUTION:
3

At x=0, 2

3
2

2
2 3