Signature Assignment

DERIVATIVES

Stephanie Gallegos | Math 1210 | 04/09/2021

Relationship between position, velocity, and acceleration
Suppose that a particle moves according to the law of motion, where s is in meter and t is
in seconds:

𝑠(𝑡) = 𝑡 4 − 6𝑡 3 + 4𝑡 2 + 3 with 𝑡 ≥ 0

Velocity of the particle

The equation for the velocity of a particle can be found using derivatives. The derivative of
the position with respect to time provides the velocity of the particle.

𝑣(𝑡) = 𝑠 ′ (𝑡)

𝑣(𝑡) = 4𝑡 3 − 18𝑡 2 + 8𝑡

Velocity at 𝑡 = 0
To determine the velocity of the particle when time is zero, we solve the velocity equation
at t equals zero.

𝑣(0) = 4(0)3 − 18(0)2 + 8(0)

𝑣(0) = 0

Direction of the Particle

Using algebraic analysis, we can determine when the direction of the particle is positive,
negative, and at rest. We know the direction of the particle is changing when the velocity
changes from positive to negative or vice versa.

To start, we find the critical points by setting the velocity equation equal to zero and
solving for t:

𝑣(𝑡) = 4𝑡 3 − 18𝑡 2 + 8𝑡 = 0

2𝑡(2𝑡 2 − 9𝑡 + 4) = 0

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 2𝑡 = 0 2𝑡 2 − 9𝑡 + 4 = 0
(2𝑡 − 1)(𝑡 − 4) = 0

𝑡=0 𝑡 = 0.5 𝑡=4

The possible times when velocity changes direction will be at 0, 0.5, and 4. Now we test
the intervals of these critical points to see whether the velocity is positive or negative in
those intervals.

Test Values in the Intervals:

Interval (0, 0.5) (0.5, 4) (4, ∞)

Test Value 0.25 1 5
Solution v(0.25) = 0.9375 v(1) = -6 v(5) = 90
Positive/Negative + - +

The particle is moving right in the (0, 0.5) and (4, ∞) intervals, and left in the (0.5, 4)
interval. It is at rest at t = 4, t = 0.5, and t = 0. Below is a graph that shows the velocity
curve with the critical points at rest highlighted.

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Distance Travelled in First 6 Seconds
To determine the total distance travelled in the first 6 seconds we will need to find the
displacement between each critical value and the final point of 6 seconds.

We plug in the critical value points into the position equation to find the position at that
time. We then take the absolute value of the difference of each critical value with the one
before it:

|𝑠(0.5) − 𝑠(0)| + |𝑠(4) − 𝑠(0.5)| + |𝑠(6) − 𝑠(4)|

|3 − 3.3125| + |−61 − 3.3125| + |147 − (−61)|

|0.3125| + | − 64.3125| + |208|

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 6 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 = 272.625

Acceleration of the Particle at Time t

The acceleration is the derivative of the velocity function. The second derivative of the
position function could be used as well. Here we will use the derivative of the velocity
function:

𝑎(𝑡) = 𝑣′(𝑡) = 12𝑡 2 − 36𝑡 + 8

Acceleration at 𝑡 = 0
𝑎(0) = 12(0)2 − 36(0) + 8
𝑎(0) = 8

Time of Change in Particle Speed

𝑎(𝑡) = 12𝑡 2 − 36𝑡 + 8 = 0

4(3𝑡 2 − 9𝑡 + 2) = 0

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 4≠0 (3𝑡 2 − 9𝑡 + 2) = 0
The second equation does not factor so we will have to use the quadratic formula to solve
for t:

−(−9) ± √(−9)2 − 4(3)(2)

𝑡=
2(3)

9 ± √57
𝑡=
6
9 + √57 9 − √57
𝑡= ≈ 2.76 𝑡= ≈ 0.242
6 6

Interval (−∞,
9−√57
) (
9−√57 𝟗+√𝟓𝟕
), 𝟔 ))
9+√57
( ), ∞)
6 6 6

Test Value -1 1 3
Solution a(-1) = 56 a(1) = -16 a(3) = 8
Positive/Negative + - +

The particle speeds up when the velocity and acceleration are both the same direction.
From analyzing the velocity and acceleration interval charts we can see the particle is
9−√57 9−√57 𝟗+√𝟓𝟕
speeding up on the interval (−∞, 6
), ( 6 ), 𝟔 ) and (4, ∞). It is slowing down on
9−√57 9+√57
the intervals ( , 0.5) and ( , 4).
6 6

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