CHAPTER

Applications of Differentiation
3
3.1 LINEAR APPROXIMATIONS AND NEWTON’S
METHOD
3.2 INDETERMINATE FORMS AND l’HÔPITAL’S RULE
3.3 MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES
3.4 INCREASING AND DECREASING FUNCTIONS
3.5 CONCAVITY AND THE SECOND DERIVATIVE TEST
3.6 OVERVIEW OF CURVE SKETCHING
3.7 OPTIMIZATION

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 CHAPTER
Applications of Differentiation
3
3.8 RELATED RATES
3.9 RATES OF CHANGE IN ECONOMICS AND THE
SCIENCES

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

Preliminaries
In this section, we present a group of problems known as
related rates problems.

The common thread in each problem is an equation

relating two or more quantities that are all changing with
time.

In each case, we will use the chain rule to find derivatives

of all terms in the equation. The differentiated equation
allows us to determine how different derivatives (rates) are
related.
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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.1 A Related Rates Problem

An oil tanker has an accident and oil
pours out at the rate of 150 gallons
per minute.

Suppose that the oil spreads onto the

water in a circle at a thickness of 1/10”.

Given that 1 ft3 equals 7.5 gallons, determine the rate at

which the radius of the spill is increasing when the radius
reaches 500 feet.

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.1 A Related Rates Problem

Solution
Since the area of a circle of radius r is
πr2, the volume of oil is given by

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.1 A Related Rates Problem

Solution

The volume increases at a rate of 150 gallons per minute,

or 150/7.5 = 20 ft3/min. Substituting in V(t) = 20 and r =
500,

Solving for r’(t), we find that the radius is increasing at the

rate of 2.4/π ≈ 0.76394 feet per minute.

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

1. Make a simple sketch, if appropriate.

2. Set up an equation relating all of the relevant
quantities.
3. Differentiate (implicitly) both sides of the equation
with respect to time (t).
4. Substitute in values for all known quantities and
derivatives.
5. Solve for the remaining rate.

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.3 Another Related Rates Problem

A car is traveling at 50 mph due south at a
point 1/2 mile north of an intersection.

A police car is traveling at 40 mph due west at

a point 1/4 mile east of the same intersection.

At that instant, the radar in the police car measures the

rate at which the distance between the two cars is
changing. What does the radar gun register?

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.3 Another Related Rates Problem

Solution

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.3 Another Related Rates Problem

Solution

The radar gun registers 62.6 mph.

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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.4 Estimating a Rate of Change in

Economics
A small company estimates that when it spends x thousand
dollars for advertising in a year, its annual sales will be
described by

thousand dollars. The four most recent annual advertising

totals are given in the following table.

Estimate the current (year 4) value of x(t) and the current

rate of change of sales.
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 3.8 RELATED RATES

EXAMPLE 8.4 Estimating a Rate of Change in

Economics
Solution

From the table, the trend is for advertising to increase by

$2000 per year: x’(4) ≈ 2.
Using x’(4) ≈ 2 and x(4) = 20, s’(4) ≈ 120(29)−3/2 ≈ 0.768.
Sales are increasing at the rate of about $768 per year.
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