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 Differentiation
Approximation

Given a small change in the independent variable, δx, the corresponding change in the dependent variable, δy,
can be estimated by:
dy
δy ≈ × δx
dx

More specifically, the change in y = f (x), from x = a to x = a + δx, can be estimated by:

δy ≈ f ′ (a) × δx

And the percentage change (or percentage error) can be calculated by:

Change
Percentage change = × 100%
Original
δy
= × 100%
y
dy
× δx
≈ dx
× 100%
y

1. The radius of a sphere is increased from 10 cm to 10.1 cm. Estimate the change in volume..

5
2. If y = ax 4 where ’ a ’ is a constant, what approximate percentage increase in x will cause a 5% increase in y ?

√ √
3. Given that y = x, determine the approximate value for 101 by using approximation.

4. Find the approximate change in the volume of a sphere when its radius decreases 5 cm to 4.97 cm.

5. Use approximation to approximate the following values

√
(i) 80
√3
(ii) 65
1
(iii) √ .
1.22
dy π (π )
6. If y = cos x, find when x = . Hence estimate cos + 0.01 by using approximation.
dx 4 4

7. Using approximation to estimate the amount of paint needed to apply a coat of paint 0.02 cm thick to a sphere
with diameter 40 meters.

1
8. Use approximation to approximate the value of 1001 3 .

√ √
9. Given that y = x+x, find the approximate change in y when x increases from 1 to 1.001 .
5

( )
dy π 1
10. Given that y = sin x, find at the point , . Hence, find the approximate increase in x which will cause
dx √ 6 2
1 100 + 3
y to increase from to .
2 200

11. Given that y = sin x, determine the approximate value for sin 62◦ by using approximation.

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 12. You are given the function f(x) = x4 − 3x3 + 6x2 − 8x + 5.

The value of the function when x = 1 is 1 .

Find an approximate value when x = 1.01.

4 √
13. Consider the function y = f (x) = + x
x2

(a) Determine f ′ (x)

Express your answer in positive index form.

(b) Use the formula δy ≈ f ′ (x) × δx to calculate the approximate change in y when x changes from 1 to 1.001

Express your answer as an exact value.

14. Consider the surface area S of a spherical balloon that has a radius measuring r cm.

(a) Determine S ′ (r)

(b) Using the formula δy ≈ f ′ (x) × δx, form an expression for the percentage error in the surface area of a
sphere that corresponds to an error of 2% in the radius.

Related Rate of Change

A rate of change is a measure of how much one thing is changing when a related measurement changes. Often
the related measurement is time but it does not have to be.
dx
measures the rate at which x is changing with time..
dt
dy
and measures the rate at which y is changing with x..
dx
We can use the chain rule to find one rate of change from another.

dy dy du dv
= × ×
dx du dv dx

We will also need one more result which can be derived from the chain rule. The reciprocal rule:

dx 1
= dy
dy dx

1. A spherical balloon is being blown up so that its radius increases at a rate of 0.4 cm s−1 . Find the rate of
increase of the surface area of the balloon when the radius is 20 cm.

2. The radius of a circular ink blob is increasing at a rate of 5 cm s−1 . Find the exact rate of increase of the
circumference of the circle.

3. The side of a cube is increasing at 0.2 cm s−1 .

Find the rate of increase of the volume when the length of the side is 4 cm.

4. A spherical balloon is inflated so that its volume increases at a rate of 50 cm3 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of
the radius of the balloon when the radius is 12 cm.

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 5. The side of a cube is decreasing at a rate of 0.4 cm s−1 . Find the rate of decrease of the surface area when the
length of the side is 3 cm.

6. A cone has a height of 7 cm. The radius of the base of the cone is increasing at a rate of 8 cm s−1 .

Find the rate of change of the volume of the cone when the base radius is 5 cm.

7. The volume of a cube is increasing at the rate of 12 cm3 s−1 .

Find the rate of increase of the surface area of the cube when the side of the cube is 7 cm.

8. The surface area of a cube is increasing at 0.3 m2 s−1 .

Find the rate of increase of the volume of the cube when the length of the side is 5 m.

9. A cuboid has a square base. The height of the cuboid is twice the length of the side of the base.

The surface area of the cuboid is increasing at a rate of 10 cm2 s−1 .

Find the rate of increase of the volume of the cuboid when the height of the cuboid is 12 cm.

10. The side of a square is increasing at a rate of 5 cm s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the area of the square when
the side is 50 cm.

11. The area of a square is increasing at a rate of 20 cm2 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the side of the square
when the area is 100 cm2 .

12. The radius of a circle is increasing at a rate of 2 cm s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the area of the circle when
the radius is 10 cm.

13. The area of a circle is increasing at a rate of 5 cm2 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the radius of the circle when
the radius is 10 cm.

14. The volume of a sphere is increasing at a rate of 40πcm3 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the radius of the
sphere when it is 10 cm.

15. The radius of a sphere is increasing at a rate of 5 cm s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the surface area of the
sphere when the radius is 15 cm.

16. The volume of a sphere is increasing at a rate of 20 cm3 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the surface area of the
sphere when the radius is 40 cm.

17. Oil is dripping from the engine of a car to form a circular puddle under the car. The area of the puddle is
increasing at a rate of 2 cm2 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the radius of the puddle when the area is 50 cm2 .

18. The surface area of a cube is increasing at a rate of 60 cm2 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the length of an
edge of the cube when it is 10 cm.

19. A spherical balloon is being blown up by a mechanical pump which pumps 7200πcm3 s−1 of air into the balloon.
Find the rate of increase of the radius of the balloon when its volume is 36000πcm3 .

20. A container of water in the shape of an inverted cone with a semi-vertical angle of 30◦ is initially full of water.
The water drips out of the cone through a hole in the vertex at a rate of 2 cm3 s−1 .

(a) Find the rate at which the depth of water is changing when the radius of the water surface is 5 cm.

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 (b) Find the rate at which the radius of the water surface is changing when the depth of the water is 10 cm.

21. The surface area of a cube is increasing at a rate of 6 cm2 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the length of an edge
of the cube when it is 10 cm.

22. A drinking trough is in the shape of a triangular

prism. The length of the trough is 3 m and the top
is rectangular with a width of 20 cm. The ends of the
trough are equilateral triangles. Water is flowing into it
at a rate of 15 cm3 s−1 . Find the rate of increase of the
depth of the water when the surface area is 2000 cm2 .

1
23. The radius of a circular blob of ink is increasing at a constant rate of cm/s. Find the rate at which the area
5
is increasing when the radius is 10 cm.

24. A cube is expanding in such a way that its sides are changing at a rate of 2 cm/s. Find the rate of change of
the total surface area of the cube when its volume is 125 cm3 .

25. The area of a circle is increasing at a uniform rate of 8 cm2 /s. Calculate the rate of increase of the radius when
the circumference of the circle is 96 cm.

26. A spherical ball is being inflated at a rate of 20 cm3 /s. Find the rate of increase of its radius when its surface
area is 100πcm2 .

27. A gas in a container changes its volume according to the equation P V = 3600, where P is the number of units
of pressure and V is the number of units of the volume. Given that P is increasing at a rate of 20 units per
second at the instant when P = 40, calculate the rate of change in the volume at this instant.

28. The base of a closed rectangular box is a square of sides x cm and the height of the box 8 cm. Given that the
sides of the square base increase at a constant rate of 0.05 cm/s, find the rate of increase in the volume and in
the total surface area, when the total surface area of the box is 210 cm2 .

29. The height, h cm, of a cone remains constant while the radius of the base is increasing at a rate of 5 cm/s. What
is the rate of change of the volume of the cone when the base radius is 60 cm ?

30. A vessel is in the shape of a right circular cone. The

radius of the top is 8 cm and the height is 40 cm.
Water is poured into the vessel at a rate of 20 cm3 /s.
Calculate the rate at which the water level is rising
when

(i) the water level is 12 cm from the vertex,

(ii) the vessel is one-quarter full.

1
31. A point moves along the curve y = 5x3 in such a way that the x-coordinate of the point increases by units
5
per second.

Let t be the time at which the point reaches (x, y).

Find the rate at which the y-coordinate is changing with respect to time when x = 9.

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 22
32. The volume V of oxygen in a scuba diver’s oxygen cylinder is given by V = , where P is the pressure inside
P
the tank.

(a) Find the rate of change of V with respect to P .

(b) During a dive, the pressure P inside the cylinder increases at 0.5 units per second. Find the rate of change
of the volume of oxygen when P = 2.
Let t represent time in seconds.

33. In a manufacturing process, plastic spheres are produced in such a way that the volume, V , of a sphere increases
at a constant rate of 10 cm3 per second. Find the rate of change of the surface area, A, of a sphere at the
moment when the surface area is equal to 32πcm2 .

34. The volume, V cm3 , of a metallic cube of side length x cm, is increasing at the constant rate of 0.108 cm3 s−1 .

(a) Determine the rate at which the side of the cube is increasing when the side length reaches 3 cm.

(b) Find the rate at which the surface area of the cube, A cm2 , is increasing when the side length reaches 3 cm.

35. Fine sand is dropping on a horizontal floor at the constant rate of 4 cm3 s−1 and forms a pile whose volume,
√
V cm3 , and height, h cm, are connected by the formula V = −8 + h4 + 64.

Find the rate at which the height of the pile is increasing, when the height of the pile has reached 2 cm.

36. An oil spillage on the surface of the sea remains circular at all times.

The radius of the spillage, r km, is increasing at the constant rate of 0.5kmh−1 .

(a) Find the rate at which the area of the spillage, A km2 , is increasing, when the circle’s radius has reached
10 km.
A different oil spillage on the surface of the sea also remains circular at all times.
The area of this spillage, A km2 , is increasing at the rate of 0.5 km2 h−1 .

(b) Show that when the area of the spillage has reached 10 km2 , the rate at which the radius r of the spillage
1
is increasing is √ kmh−1 .
4 10π

37. Water is poured into a conical container at the rate of

10 cm3 /sec. The cone points directly down, and it has
a height of 30 cm and a base radius of 10 cm .

How fast is the water level rising when the water is 4 cm

deep (at its deepest point)?

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