LESSON 27: Real-World Applications of the Derivative

O.M. “As we are about to engage in a study that brings us into a nexus with the realm
of speed, the name James Hunt comes to mind . Who is James Hunt? James Hunt was
a legendary race-car driver of the mid-1970s, famous for his carefree lifestyle and
daredevil approach to racing. His main connection to our study is merely a matter of
shared vocabulary: velocity, acceleration, speed, rate, time etc. These words permeated
the life of James Hunt as it will permeate our study of the real-world applications of the
derivative.”

27.1 KINEMATICS AND RATES OF CHANGE

Kinematics is a subset of calculus (the mathematics of small changes) which studies

objects in motion. We therefore note the following definitions:
Displacement – the measure of the distance between an object’s initial position
and final position in a specified direction.
Velocity – the rate of change of displacement with respect to time.
Acceleration – the rate of change of velocity with respect to time.
Based on these definitions, we can express each mathematically as follows:
Let x rep. displacement of a body
𝑑𝑥
Then the velocity of that body is given by 𝑥̇ = // The derivative of x with respect
𝑑𝑡
to time t.//
𝑑2 𝑥
⇒ the acceleration of that body is given by 𝑥̈ = //The second derivative of x with
𝑑𝑡 2
respect to time t.//
This mathematical formulation allows us to apply the derivative when solving
kinematic problems involving displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
Example 1: A particle travels in a straight line in such a way that after t seconds, its
velocity, v, from a fixed point O, is given by the function v = 3t2 – 18t + 15.
Calculate
(i) the values of t when the particle is at instantaneous rest
(ii) the distance travelled by the particle between 1 second and 3 seconds.
𝑑𝑣
(iii) the value of when
𝑑𝑡

a) t = 2 seconds
b) t = 3 seconds
(iv) Give an interpretation for the value in
a) (b) (iii) a)
b) (b) (iii) b)

Solution:
(i) When particle is at instantaneous rest, v = 0
i.e. 3t2 – 18t + 15 = 0
⇒ 3(t – 1)(t – 5 ) = 0 //By factorization.//
⇒ t = 1 or t = 5
Hence, particle is at instantaneous rest when t = 1 and t = 5

(ii) (requires integration which is not covered in this lesson)

(iii) v = 3t2 – 18t + 15 //By data.//
𝑑𝑣
= 6t – 18 //This is acceleration of particle.//
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣
a) At t = 2 seconds, = 6(2) – 18 = – 6 units/sec2
𝑑𝑡
//For acceleration, the unit of time is squared.//
𝑑𝑣
b) At t = 3 seconds, = 6(3) – 18 = 0 units/sec2
𝑑𝑡
(iv)
a) According to the answer in (b) (iii) a), the particle is decelerating
at 6 units/sec2 and therefore decreasing in velocity.
b) According to the answer in (b) (iii) b), the particle has zero
acceleration and is therefore maintaining a constant velocity.
Constant and Variable Rates of Change.
There are two kinds of rates of change: constant and variable. If the first derivative in a
scenario leads to a constant, the rate of change will be value of that constant and not
change at any point in time. If however, the first derivative leads to an expression, the
rate of change will vary at different points in time; this is called variable rate of change.

Example 2: The radius (r cm) of a circle is related to time t (seconds) by the equation
r = 0.7t + 1.8
(a) Calculate the initial value of the radius
(b) Find the rate of change of r.
Solution:
(a) r = 0.7t + 1.8 //By data.//
The initial value occurs at t = 0 // t = 0 is the first observable instance
of time //
Therefore, at t = 0 , r = 0.7(0) + 1.8 = 1.8
Hence, the initial value of the radius is 1.8 cm.

(b) r = 0.7t + 1.8 //By data.//

𝑑𝑟
= 0.7 //constant rate of change. //
𝑑𝑡
⇒ the rate of change is 0.7 cm/s
𝑑𝑟
Since > 0, we can say that the radius is increasing at a constant
𝑑𝑡
rate of 0.7 cm/s.

Example 3: The volume of water, V litres, in an aquarium after t seconds, is given by

3
V=8–
𝑡 + 2

(a) Calculate the initial volume of water in the aquarium.

(b) Find the rate at which the volume of water is increasing in the aquarium
when t = 7.
Solution:
3
(a) At t = 0, V = 8 –
0 + 2
3 1
= 8 − = 6
2 2
1
Hence, the initial volume of water in the aquarium is 6 litres.
2
3
(b) V=8– // By data.//
𝑡 + 2
𝑑𝑉 3
= //Quotient rule.//
𝑑𝑡 (𝑡 + 2)2

//Since the derivative is an expression in terms of t, the rate of change

will be variable.//
𝑑𝑉 3
| t=7 =
𝑑𝑡 (7 + 2)2
3 1
= =
81 27
𝟏
Hence, the volume of water is increasing at the rate of litre per
𝟐𝟕
second.
//Note: the rate of change will vary with respect to t.//

Example 4: A cork is moving up and down a wavefront created in a container. Its

vertical displacement, h cm, from a reference level at time t seconds is given by
h = 3 cos 2t.
𝑑ℎ
(a) Find , the rate of change of the vertical displacement with time (velocity).
𝑑𝑡
(b) Calculate the velocity of the cork when
𝜋 3𝜋
(i) t = (ii) t =
3 4
Solution:
(a) h = 3 cos 2t. //By data: formula for vertical displacement.//
𝑑ℎ
= – 6 sin 2t // By differentiation rule. This derivative gives the
𝑑𝑡
formula for velocity in this context.//
𝜋
(b) (i) Velocity of cork at t = is given by
3
𝜋 √3
– 6 sin 2( ) = – 6 ( ) cm/s
3 2

= – 3 √3 cm/s
 𝜋
Hence, the velocity of the cork is – 3 √3 cm/s when the time is seconds.
3
A negative velocity indicates that the displacement is decreasing at that
moment.

𝑑ℎ 3𝜋
(ii) | t = 3𝜋4 = – 6 sin 2( )
𝑑𝑡 4
3𝜋
= – 6 sin ( )
2

= – 6 ( – 1) = 6 cm/s
3𝜋
Hence, the velocity of the cork is 6 cm/s when the time is seconds.
4
A positive velocity indicates that the displacement is increasing at that
moment.

27.2 RELATED RATES OF CHANGE IN AREA AND VOLUME

Formulae are usually expressions of a relationship between two or more variables. For
example, the formula for calculating area of a circle is an expression relating the area
to its radius. For problems involving related variables, the chain rule is especially
useful.

Example 5: The radius of a circle increases at a rate of 5 cm s-1. Find the rate of
increase of the area when the radius of the circle is 4cm.

Solution:
Area of a circle , A = 𝜋r2 , where r is the radius of the circle.
𝑑𝑟
= 5 //By data.//
𝑑𝑡
Since , the area of the circle is related to its radius, the next statement follows:
𝑑𝐴 𝑑𝐴 𝑑𝑟
= × //Chain rule.//
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑟 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝐴
= 2 𝜋r × 5 = 10 𝜋r // = 2 𝜋r //
𝑑𝑟
𝑑𝐴
|r = 4 = 10 𝜋(4)
𝑑𝑡
= 40 𝜋
Hence, area increases at a rate of 40 𝝅 cm2 s-1
 4
Example 6: A spherical balloon of volume V = 𝜋 r3 is being filled with air at the rate
3

of 200 cm3 s -1 . Calculate, in terms of 𝝅, the rate at which the radius is increasing
when the radius of the balloon is 10cm.

Solution:
4
V = 𝜋 r3 //By data: formula connecting volume and the balloon’s radius.//
3
𝑑𝑉
= 4 𝜋r 2 //By differentiation: power rule.//
𝑑𝑟
𝑑𝑉
Now, = 200 cm3 s -1 //By data.//
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑟 𝑑𝑉 𝑑𝑟
= × // Chain rule.//
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑉
1 50
= 200 × = //At any value of r.//
4𝜋𝑟 2 𝜋𝑟 2
𝑑𝑟 50
∴ | r = 10 =
𝑑𝑡 𝜋(10)2

⋮
1
=
2𝜋
𝟏
Hence, the radius is increasing at cm s -1 when the radius = 10cm.
𝟐𝝅
27.3 VELOCITY- TIME GRAPHS:

The SSC Tuatara has a top speed of 331 mph!

Velocity-time graphs are used to model and analyze the motion of objects(like the SSC
Tuatara) and their velocities. The following are key principles to understand and note,
when dealing with velocity-time (v-t) graphs in practice.
• The gradient of a v-t graph gives acceleration.
• Straight lines represent constancy in velocity or acceleration.
• A horizontal line means constant velocity ⇒ acceleration is zero.
• Curves represent variability in acceleration.
• “Time” always occupies the horizontal axis (x-axis).
• An object at rest ⇒ its velocity is zero.

Example 7: (May 2013, Paper 2, #8)

(a) A particle starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to 20 m s -1 in 5 seconds. It

continues at this velocity for 10 seconds. It then accelerates uniformly to a
velocity of 60 m s -1 in 5 seconds. The particle then decelerates uniformly until
it comes to rest, 15 seconds later.
Q: What particle do you think would move in this manner?

(i) Draw a velocity-time graph to illustrate the motion of the particle.

(ii) From your graph, determine:

a) the total distance, in metres, travelled by the particle.
b) the average velocity of the particle for the entire journey.
Solution:
(a) (i)

(ii) a) Total distance travelled = area under the graph formed.

Consider the diagram below

Area under the graph formed = Area of A + Area of B + Area of C +

Area of D
1 1 1
= ( × 5 × 20) + (10 × 20) + ( × (20 + 60) × 5) + ( × 15 × 60 )
2 2 2

= ( 50 + 200 + 200 + 450 ) m

= 900 m
 total distance travelled
b) Average velocity =
total time taken
900 m
=
35 s
𝟓
= 25 ms-1
𝟕

TAKE- AWAYS
• Velocity is the derivative of displacement; acceleration is the derivative of
velocity.
• When an object is at rest, its velocity is zero.
• When the acceleration of an object is zero, its velocity is constant.
• When the derivative is a constant, there will be constant rate of change. If
however, the derivative is an expression, there will be variable rate of change.
• For problems involving related variables(like the area of a circle to its radius),
the chain rule is especially useful.
• The word “rate” in problem statements should be interpreted mathematically as
<𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔>
𝑑𝑡

• Velocity-time(v-t) graphs are used to model and analyze the motion of objects
and their velocities.
• The following are key principles to note and understand when dealing with v-t
graphs:
- The gradient of a v-t graph gives acceleration.
- Straight lines represent constancy in velocity or acceleration.
- A horizontal line means constant velocity ⇒ acceleration is zero.
- Curves represent variability in acceleration.
- “Time” always occupies the horizontal axis (x-axis).
- An object at rest ⇒ its velocity is zero.