Section 3-11 : Related Rates

1. In the following assume that x and y are both functions of t. Given x = −2 , y = 1 and x′ = −4
determine y′ for the following equation.
6 y 2 + x 2 =2 − x 3e 4− 4 y

Hint : This is just like the problems worked in the section notes. The only difference is that you’ve been
given the equation and all the needed information and so you won’t have to worry about finding that.

Step 1
The first thing that we need to do here is use implicit differentiation to differentiate the equation with
respect to t.
12 y y′ + 2 x x′ =
−3 x 2 x′e 4− 4 y + 4 x3e 4− 4 y y′
Step 2
All we need to do now is plug in the given information and solve for y′ .

12 y′ + 16 = 48 − 32 y′ ⇒ y′ = 8
11

2. In the following assume that x, y and z are all functions of t. Given x = 4 , y = −2 , z = 1 , x′ = 9 and
y′ = −3 determine z ′ for the following equation.
x (1 − y ) + 5 z 3= y 2 z 2 + x 2 − 3

Hint : This is just like the problems worked in the section notes. The only difference is that you’ve been
given the equation and all the needed information and so you won’t have to worry about finding that.

Step 1
The first thing that we need to do here is use implicit differentiation to differentiate the equation with
respect to t.
x′ (1 − y ) − x y′ + 15 z=
2
z ′ 2 y y′z 2 + 2 y 2 z z ′ + 2 x x′
Step 2
All we need to do now is plug in the given information and solve for z ′ .

27 + 12 + 15 z ′ = 12 + 8 z ′ + 72 ⇒ z′ = 45
7

3. For a certain rectangle the length of one side is always three times the length of the other side.
 (a) If the shorter side is decreasing at a rate of 2 inches/minute at what rate is the longer side
decreasing?
(b) At what rate is the enclosed area decreasing when the shorter side is 6 inches long and is
decreasing at a rate of 2 inches/minute?

Hint : The equation needed here is a really simple equation. In fact, so simple it might be easy to miss…
(a) If the shorter side is decreasing at a rate of 2 inches/minute at what rate is the longer side
decreasing?
Step 1
Let’s call the shorter side x and the longer side y. We know that x′ = −2 and want to find y′ .

Now all we need is an equation that relates these two quantities and from the problem statement we
know the longer side is three times shorter side and so the equation is,
y = 3x

Step 2
Next step is to simply differentiate the equation with respect to t.
y ′ = 3 x′

Step 3
Finally, plug in the known quantity and solve for what we want : y′ = −6

Hint : Once we have the equation for the area we can either simplify the equation as we did in this
section or we can use the result from the previous step and the equation directly.
(b) At what rate is the enclosed area decreasing when the shorter side is 6 inches long and is decreasing
at a rate of 2 inches/minute?
Step 1
Again, we’ll call the shorter side x and the longer side y as with the last part. We know that x = 6 ,
x′ = −2 and want to find A′ .

The equation we’ll need is just the area formula for a rectangle : A = xy

At this point we can either leave the equation as is and differentiate it or we can plug in y = 3 x to
simplify the equation down to a single variable then differentiate. Doing this gives,
A ( x ) = 3x 2

Step 2
Now we need to differentiate with respect to t.

If we use the equation in terms of only x, which is probably the easiest to use we get,
A′ = 6 x x′

If we use the equation in terms of both x and y we get,

A′ x y′ + x′y
=
Step 3
Now all we need to do is plug in the known quantities and solve for A′ .

Using the equation in terms of only x is the “easiest” because we already have all the known quantities
from the problem statement itself. Doing this gives,
A′ =6 ( 6 )( −2 ) =−72

Now let’s use the equation in terms of x and y. We know that x = 6 and x′ = −2 from the problem
statement. From part (a) we have y′ = −6 and we also know that = y 3=( 6 ) 18 . Using these gives,
A′ =( 6 )( −6 ) + ( −2 )(18 ) =−72

So, as we can see both gives the same result, but the second method is slightly more work, although not
much more.

4. A thin sheet of ice is in the form of a circle. If the ice is melting in such a way that the area of the
sheet is decreasing at a rate of 0.5 m2/sec at what rate is the radius decreasing when the area of the
sheet is 12 m2 ?

Step 1
We’ll call the area of the sheet A and the radius r and we know that the area of a circle is given by,
A = π r2

We know that A′ = −0.5 and want to determine r ′ when A = 12 .

Step 2
Next step is to simply differentiate the equation with respect to t.
A′ = 2π r r ′

Step 3
Now, to finish this problem off we’ll first need to go back to the equation of the area and use the fact
that we know the area at the point we are interested in and determine the radius at that time.
12
π r2
12 = ⇒ r= = 1.9544
π

The rate of change of the radius is then,

2π (1.9544 ) r ′
−0.5 = ⇒ r′ =
−0.040717

5. A person is standing 350 feet away from a model rocket that is fired straight up into the air at a rate of
15 ft/sec. At what rate is the distance between the person and the rocket increasing (a) 20 seconds
after liftoff? (b) 1 minute after liftoff?
Step 1
Here is a sketch for this situation that will work for both parts so we’ll put it here.

Step 2
In both parts we know that y′ = 15 and want to determine z ′ for each given time. Using the
Pythagorean Theorem we get the following equation to relate y and z.

z2 =y 2 + 3502 =y 2 + 122500

Step 3
Finally, let’s differentiate this with respect to t and we can even solve it for z ′ so the actual solution will
be quick and simple to find.

y y′
2 z z ′ = 2 y y′ ⇒ z′ =
z

We have now reached a point where the process will differ for each part.

(a) At what rate is the distance between the person and the rocket increasing 20 seconds after liftoff?
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine y (from the speed of the rocket and given time)
and z (reusing the Pythagorean Theorem).

y= (15)( 20 ) = 300 z= 3002 + 3502 = 212500 = 50 85 = 460.9772

The rate of change of the distance between the two is then,

=z′
(=
300 )(15 )
9.76187
460.9772

(b) At what rate is the distance between the person and the rocket increasing 1 minute after liftoff?
This part is nearly identical to the first part with the exception that the time is now 60 seconds (and note
that we MUST be in seconds because the speeds are in time of seconds).

Here is the work for this problem.

 y= (15)( 60 ) = 900 z= 9002 + 3502 = 932500 = 50 373 = 965.6604

=z′
(=
900 )(15 )
13.98007
965.6604

6. A plane is 750 meters in the air flying parallel to the ground at a speed of 100 m/s and is initially 2.5
kilometers away from a radar station. At what rate is the distance between the plane and the radar
station changing (a) initially and (b) 30 seconds after it passes over the radar station?

(a) At what rate is the distance between the plane and the radar station changing initially?
Step 1
For this part we know that x′ = −100 when x = 2500 . In this case note that x′ must be negative
because x will be decreasing in this part. Also note that we converted x to meters since all the other
quantities are in meters.

Here is a sketch for this part.

Step 2
We want to determine z ′ in this part so using the Pythagorean Theorem we get the following equation
to relate x and z.

z2 =x 2 + 7502 =x 2 + 562500

Step 3
Finally, let’s differentiate this with respect to t and we can even solve it for z ′ so the actual solution will
be quick and simple to find.
 x x′
2 z z ′ = 2 x x′ ⇒ z′ =
z

Step 4
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine z (reusing the Pythagorean Theorem) and then
plug into the equation from Step 3 above.

z= 25002 + 7502= 6812500= 250 109= 2610.0766

The rate of change of the distance between the two for this part is,

z′ =
( 2500 )( −100 ) = −95.7826
2610.0766

(b) At what rate is the distance between the plane and the radar station changing 30 seconds after it
passes over the radar station?
Step 1
For this part we know that x′ = 100 and it will be positive in this case because x will now be increasing
as we can see in the sketch below.

Step 2
As with the previous part we want to determine z ′ and equation we’ll need is identical to the previous
part so we’ll just rewrite both it and its derivative here.

z2 =x 2 + 7502 =x 2 + 562500
x x′
2 z z ′ = 2 x x′ ⇒ z′ =
z

Step 3
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine both x and z. For x we know the speed of the
plane and the fact that it has flown for 30 seconds after passing over the radar station. So x is,
=x (100
= )( 30 ) 3000

For z we just need to reuse the Pythagorean Theorem.

z= 30002 + 7502= 9562500= 750 17= 3092.3292

The rate of change of the distance between the two for this part is then,
 =z′
3000 )(100 )
(= 97.0143
3092.3292

7. Two people are at an elevator. At the same time one person starts to walk away from the elevator at
a rate of 2 ft/sec and the other person starts going up in the elevator at a rate of 7 ft/sec. What rate is
the distance between the two people changing 15 seconds later?

Step 1
Here is a sketch for this part.

We want to determine z ′ after 15 seconds given that x′ = 2 , y′ = 7 and assuming that they start at
the same point.

Step 2
Hopefully it’s clear that we’ll need the Pythagorean Theorem to solve this problem so here is that.
z=
2
x2 + y 2

Step 3
Finally, let’s differentiate this with respect to t and we can even solve it for z ′ so the actual solution will
be quick and simple to find.

x x′ + y y ′
2 z z′ =
2 x x′ + 2 y y ′ ⇒ z′ =
z

Step 4
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine all three lengths of the triangle in the sketch
above. We can find x and y using their speeds and time while we can find z by reusing the Pythagorean
Theorem.

=x (=
2 )(15 ) 30 =y (=
7 )(15 ) 105
z= 302 + 1052 = 11925 = 15 53 = 109.2016

The rate of change of the distance between the two people is then,

=z′
30 )( 2 ) + (105 )( 7 )
(= 7.2801
109.2016

8. Two people on bikes are at the same place. One of the bikers starts riding directly north at a rate of 8
m/sec. Five seconds after the first biker started riding north the second starts to ride directly east at a
rate of 5 m/sec. At what rate is the distance between the two riders increasing 20 seconds after the
second person started riding?

Step 1
Here is a sketch of this situation.

We want to determine z ′ after 20 seconds after the second biker starts riding east given that x′ = 5 ,
y′ = 8 and assuming that they start at the same point.

Step 2
Hopefully it’s clear that we’ll need the Pythagorean Theorem to solve this problem so here is that.
z=
2
x2 + y 2

Step 3
Finally, let’s differentiate this with respect to t and we can even solve it for z ′ so the actual solution will
be quick and simple to find.

x x′ + y y ′
2 z z′ =
2 x x′ + 2 y y ′ ⇒ z′ =
z

Step 4
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine all three lengths of the triangle in the sketch
above. We can find x and y using their speeds and time while we can find z by reusing the Pythagorean
Theorem. Note that the biker riding east will be riding for 20 seconds and the biker riding north will be
riding for 25 seconds (this biker started 5 seconds earlier…).

=x (=
5 )( 20 ) 100 =y (=
8 )( 25 ) 200
z= 1002 + 2002 = 50000 = 100 5 = 223.6068

The rate of change of the distance between the two people is then,

=z′
100 )( 5 ) + ( 200 )( 8 )
(= 9.3915
223.6068

9. A light is mounted on a wall 5 meters above the ground. A 2 meter tall person is initially 10 meters
from the wall and is moving towards the wall at a rate of 0.5 m/sec. After 4 seconds of moving is the tip
of the shadow moving (a) towards or away from the person and (b) towards or away from the wall?

Step 1
Here is a sketch for this situation that will work for both parts so we’ll put it here. Also note that we
know that x′p = −0.5 for both parts.
(a) After 4 seconds of moving is the tip of the shadow towards or away from the person?
Step 2
In this case we want to determine xs′ when x p = 10 − 4 ( 0.5 ) =
8 (although it will turn out that we
simply don’t need this piece of information for this problem….).

We can use the idea of similar triangles to get the following equation.

2 xs xs
= =
5 x x p + xs

If we solve this for xs we arrive at,

2
5 ( x p + xs ) =
xs
2
5 x p +=
2
5 xs xs ⇒ =
xs 2
3 xp

This equation will work perfectly for us.

Step 3
Differentiation with respect to t will give us,
xs′ = 23 x′p

Step 4
Finishing off this problem is very simple as all we need to do is plug in the known speed.

3 ( −0.5 ) =
xs′ = − 13
2

Because this rate is negative we can see that the tip of the shadow is moving towards the person at a
rate of 13 m/s.

(b) After 4 seconds of moving is the tip of the shadow towards or away from the wall?
Step 2
In this case we want to determine x′ and the equation is really simple. All we need is,
 =
x x p + xs

Step 3
Differentiation with respect to t will give us,
x=′ x′p + xs′

Step 4
Finishing off this problem is very simple as all we need to do is plug in the known speeds and note that
we will need to result from the first part here. So we have x′p = − 12 from the problem statement and
xs′ = − 13 from the previous part.

x′ =− 12 + ( − 13 ) =− 65

Because this rate is negative we can see that the tip of the shadow is moving towards the wall at a rate
of 56 m/s.

10. A tank of water in the shape of a cone is being filled with water at a rate of 12 m3/sec. The base
radius of the tank is 26 meters and the height of the tank is 8 meters. At what rate is the depth of the
water in the tank changing when the radius of the top of the water is 10 meters?

Step 1
Here is a sketch of the cross section of the tank and it is not even remotely to scale as I found it easier to
reuse an old image that I had lying around. I can be a little lazy sometimes. At least I was less lazy with
the image in the problem statement….
We want to determine h′ when r = 10 and we know that V ′ = 12 .

Step 2
We’ll need the equation for the volume of a cone.
V = 13 π r 2 h

This is a problem however as it has both r and h in it and it would be best to have only h since we need
h′ . We can use similar triangles to fix this up. Based on similar triangles we get the following equation
which can be solved for r.
r 26
= ⇒ r=
13
4 h
h 8

Plugging this into the volume equation gives,

48 π h
V = 169 3

Step 3
Next, let’s differentiate this with respect to t.
V ′ = 169
16 π h h
2
′

Step 4
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine the value of h for the time we are interested in.
This can easily be done from the similar triangle equation and the fact that we know r = 10 .

=
h =
4
r
13
4
13 (10=) 40
13

The rate of change of the height of the water is then,

16 π ( 13 ) h =
′ 100π h′ h′ =
2
12 =
169 40
⇒ 3
25π
11. The angle of elevation is the angle formed by a horizontal line and a line joining the observer’s eye to
an object above the horizontal line. A person is 500 feet way from the launch point of a hot air balloon.
The hot air balloon is starting to come back down at a rate of 15 ft/sec. At what rate is the angle of
elevation, θ , changing when the hot air balloon is 200 feet above the ground.

Step 1
Putting variables and known quantities on the sketch from the problem statement gives,

We want to determine θ ′ when y = 200 and we know that y′ = −15 .

Step 2
There are a variety of equations that we could use here but probably the best one that involves all of the
known and needed quantities is,
y
tan (θ ) =
500

Step 3
Differentiating with respect to t gives,
y′ y′
sec 2 (θ ) θ =′ ⇒ θ =′ cos 2 (θ )
500 500

Step 4
To finish off this problem all we need to do is determine the value of θ for the time in question. We can
either use the original equation to do this or we could acknowledge that all we really need is cos (θ )
and we could do a little right triangle trig to determine that.

For this problem we’ll just use the original equation to find the value of θ .
tan (θ ) =
200
500 ⇒ tan −1 ( 52 ) =
θ= 0.38051radians
The rate of change of the angle of elevation is then,
−15
θ′ = cos 2 ( 0.38051) = −0.02586
500