MATH HL

TEST
DERIVATIVES
by Christos Nikolaidis

Marks:____/100
SOLUTIONS
Grade: ______

Questions
1. [Maximum mark: 10]

Find the derivatives of the following functions (do not simplify the answers)
1
(a) f ( x) = (b) g ( x) = sin −1 ( x 4 + 1) (c) f ( x) = sin 4 ( x 4 )
sin( x 4 + 1)
[4+3+3 marks]

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2. [Maximum mark: 5]
1 dy 1 [5 marks]
Show from first principles that the derivative of y = x 2 + − 3 is = 2x − 2 .
x dx x

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3. [Maximum mark: 10]
Consider the differentiable function f (x) with some values given by

x 1 2 3 4
f (x) 2 3 5 10
f ′(x) 5 4 0 6

(a) Find the derivative of y = f (x) 3 at x = 1 [3 marks]

(b) Find the derivative of y = f ( x 2 ) at x = 2 [3 marks]
(c) Find the derivative of y = ( f o f )( x) at x = 1 [4 marks]

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4. [Maximum mark: 8]
The point P(1,1) lies on the curve x 2 y 3 + a = e xy − x
(a) Find the value of a. [2 marks]
(b) Find the equation of the tangent line to the curve at point P. [4 marks]
(c) Find the equation of the normal line to the curve at point P. [2 marks]

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5. [Maximum mark: 7]
The diagram below shows the graph of y = f (x) which has three stationary points.

y = f (x)

(a) Sketch the graph of the function y = f ′(x) .

[3 marks]

(b) Sketch the graph of the function y = f ′′(x) .

[4 marks]

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6. [Maximum mark: 7]
The total surface area of two cubes is 300 cm2. Given that the lengths of the edges of
the two cubes are x and y respectively,
(a) find an expression of y in terms of x. [2 marks]
(b) find the minimum total volume and the corresponding dimensions of the two
cubes; justify your answer. [5 marks]

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7. [Maximum mark: 7]
Find the tangent lines to the curve y = x 4 which pass through the point (0,–48). [7 marks]

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8. [Maximum mark: 10]
Let f ( x) = e 2 x + e − x
(a) Find the first three derivatives of f. [2 marks]
(b) Guess a formula for f n (x) , the n-th derivative of f. [2 marks]
(c) Prove by mathematical induction that your guess is true. [6 marks]

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9. [Maximum mark: 9]
A ladder of length 10 m on horizontal ground rests against a vertical wall. The bottom
of the ladder is moved away from the wall at a constant speed of 0.5 ms-1.
(a) Calculate the speed of descent of the top of the ladder when the bottom of the
ladder is 6 m away from the wall. [4 marks]
(b) Calculate the rate of change of the area of the triangle formed by the ladder,
the wall and the ground at the moment that this triangle is an isosceles. [4 marks]
(c) Explain result (b). [1 mark]

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10. [Maximum mark: 15]
Consider the function
ln x
f ( x) =
x2
(a) Find the domain and the root of the function. [2 marks]
(b) Find the coordinates of the stationary point of the curve y = f (x) and determine
its nature. [5 marks]
(c) Find the coordinates of the point of inflection of the curve. Justify your answer. [4 marks]
(d) Sketch the graph of f (x); indicate the information found above. [3 marks]
(e) Write down the range of the function. [1 mark]

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11. [Maximum mark: 12]

Consider the graph G of the function y = x and its reflection G΄ about the vertical
line x = 4 .
(a) Sketch the graphs of G and G΄; indicate the coordinates of the intersection point
of the two graphs. [3 marks]
(b) Find the area enclosed by the two curves and the x-axis. [4 marks]

A rectangle is drawn so that its lower vertices are on the x-axis and its upper vertices
on the curves G and G΄ respectively. The area of this rectangle is denoted by S.

(c) Find the maximum value of S. Justify your answer. [5 marks]

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