5.

8 Applications of differentiation Worksheet

In this section we use the methods to find the min / max of a function (the first derivative test studied in section 5.5 and the
second derivative test studied in section 5.7) to find the min /max for functions met in practical problems.

In order to be successful when solving this type of problems, it is important to be organized and to follow a few basic steps:

 Draw a diagram
 Use appropriate notation: label independent variables with x, y,... and the objective function with f ( x, y,...)
 Use the diagram or other prior knowledge to express all independent variables in terms of one (x), such that our
objective function is now: f ( x) ;
 Use the methods of 5.5 or 5.7 to determine the min / max value of f ( x) , as required.

Practice problems (textbook):

1.

2.

1
3.

4.

2
Past papers exercises:
May / June 2002

3
4
Oct / Nov 2006

5
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Oct / Nov 2010 – 2012