ENGI 3424 Engineering Mathematics

Quiz 4 - Solution
2019 October 31 at 13:30

Given the formula P   AT 4 (where  is a constant), [10]

find the approximate percentage change in P when A increases by 1% and T decreases by 1%.

Method of differentials:
P P
P   AT 4  dP  dA  dT   T 4dA  4 AT 3dT
A T
dP  T 4 dA 4 AT 3dT dA dT
    4   1%   4   1%  
P  AT 4
 AT 4
A T

P dP
   3%
P P

Exact version (not required):

P  P    1  .01 A   1  .01 T   1.01  0.99   AT 4
4
P   AT 4
4

 P  1.01  0.99   AT 4   AT 4  1.01 0.960596 01  1 P   0.029 7980299 P
4

P
   0.0297980299  P decreases by 2.97980299% exactly.
P

Additional notes:

This is an example of the Stefan-Boltzmann law, in which P is the power radiated by an ideal
blackbody of surface area A at temperature T.

“A increases by 1%” does not mean “ dA   0.01 ”.

dA
It means “ dA  0.01 of A” or, equivalently,   0.01   1%
A

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