MT 1800 Calculus I, Concept Quiz 1 P a g e |1

MT 1800 Calculus I
Concept Quiz 1

Name: ________________________________________

Purpose: To provide an opportunity to assess your understanding of rate of change equations.

Procedure: Complete the following question individually – in class.

1. Observations on the growth of certain animal tumors indicates that the size,
 , of the tumor (in cm) can
be modeled by the following rate of change equation (where time,  , is measured in years since the tumor is
discovered). Both the rate of change equation and a graph of the rate of change equation are provided
below. (Assume that the rate of change equation was obtained using a step size of ∆  1 year and recall
that the rates of change are associated with the beginning of each interval.)
∆
∆
4


∆  5 10 15 20

.   ∙   
∆ 
-2

-4

-6

-8

- 10

Circle all of the following statements that are true for a tumor modeled by the rate of change equation
above.

a. If a tumor of size 1 cm is found, the size of the tumor is increasing at that time.
b. If a tumor of size 6 cm is found, the size of the tumor is decreasing at that time.
c. If a tumor of size 12 cm is found, the size of the tumor is decreasing at that time.
d. A tumor grows slower and slower when its size is between 0 cm and 3 cm.
e. If a tumor of size 2 cm is found, the size of the tumor is increasing at a rate of 0.29 cm/year at that
time.
f. If a tumor of size 5 cm is found, within one year its size will be more than 7 cm.
g. A tumor grows fastest when its size is 10 cm.
h. If a tumor of size 15 cm is found, the size of the tumor will decrease slower and slower until leveling
out at about 10cm.
i. All tumors (regardless of how big they were when discovered) level out at about 10 cm over time.
MT 1800 Calculus I, Concept Quiz 1 P a g e |2

At home later, you should practice sketching a graph of what tumor growth looks like over time when
the tumor begins at a size of 1cm, 7cm and 16cm.