Sample Solutions To Practice Problems For Exam I: Math 11 Fall 2007 October 17, 2008
Sample Solutions To Practice Problems For Exam I: Math 11 Fall 2007 October 17, 2008
Sample Solutions To Practice Problems For Exam I: Math 11 Fall 2007 October 17, 2008
Exam I
Math 11 Fall 2007
October 17, 2008
In these solutions I have shown enough work to get full credit on an exam.
Parenthetical comments are extra, for your benefit.
Solution: FALSE
(If there were such a function, then its mixed second partial derivatives
would be
∂ 2f ∂ 2f
=1 = 2x.
∂y∂x ∂x∂y
These functions are continuous and unequal, but by Clairaut’s The-
orem, if a function has continuous second partial derivatives then its
mixed second partials must be equal.)
Solution: TRUE
x2 y3
(An example is f (x, y) = + + 8. This is not a straightforward
2 3
problem for us at this point, although we can check that the mixed
1
partials are equal, so Clairaut’s Theorem doesn’t rule out such an f .
We can hope that this means there is such an f .
To be sure of this, you can look for an f that works. There are two
ways you could have gone about this. One is to notice that fx depends
only on x and fy depends only on y, and guess that therefore f is gotten
by adding together two pieces, one depending on x and the other on
y. The other is to guess that a function whose partial derivatives are
degree-2 polynomials must itself be a degree-3 polynomial,
f (x, y, z) = 3xy + z 2
at the point (1, −2, 2) in the direction from that point toward the
origin.
Solution:
Vector from that point toward the origin:
v = h−1, 2, −2i
2
4. A skier is on a mountain with equation
(a) The skier is located at the point with xy-coordinates (1, 1), and
wants to ski downhill along the steepest possible path. In which
direction (indicated by a vector (a, b) in the xy-plane) should the
skier begin skiing?
Solution:
Direction of greatest rate of decrease is opposite of direction of
gradient.
∇g(x, y) = h−0.8x, −0.6yi
∇g(1, 1) = h−0.8, −0.6i ||∇g(1, 1)|| = 1
Gradient vector is already a unit vector, so unit vector in opposite
direction is
u = −∇g(1, 1) = h0.8, 0.6i
(b) The skier begins skiing in the direction given by the xy-vector
(a, b) you found in part (a), so the skier heads in a direction in
space given by the vector (a, b, c). Find the value of c.
Solution:
The directional derivative in the direction u (or (a, b)),
c = Du g(1, 1) = −1
3
(c) A hiker located at the same point on the mountain decides to
begin hiking downhill in a direction given by a vector in the xy-
plane that makes an angle θ with the vector (a, b) you found in
part (a). How big should θ be if the hiker wants to head downhill
along a path whose slope is at most 0.5 (in absolute value)?
Solution: If the hiker’s direction is given by a unit vector v, we
want
−0.5 ≤ Dv (1, 1) ≤ 0
The angle v makes with u (that is, with (a, b)) is the same as the
angle −v makes with −u (that is, with ∇g(1, 1)). We have
dw ∂w dx ∂w dy ∂w dz
= + +
dt ∂x dt ∂y dt ∂z dt
4
dw ∂w ∂w ∂w dx dy dz
= , , · , ,
dt ∂x ∂y ∂z dt dt dt
or rewriting this in terms of the functions and noting where these func-
tions are to be evaluated,
5
Solution:
This is the velocity of the object at t = 0. The velocity is a vector
in the direction of motion (the direction of v) whose length is the
speed (1). A vector of length 1 in the direction of v is the vector
u we computed in part (a):
0 3 4 12
r (0) = , ,
13 13 13
(c) Consider the same moving object whose position function is given
in part (b). Let g(t) be the value of f at the object’s position at
time t. Find g 0 (0).
Solution: By the Chain Rule we have
x = r cos(θ) y = r sin(θ)
p y
r = x2 + y 2 θ = arctan ,
x
where arctan is the inverse tangent function.
Solution:
By the Chain Rule we have
∂z ∂z ∂r ∂z ∂θ
= +
∂x ∂r ∂x ∂θ ∂x
6
∂z ∂z ∂r ∂z ∂θ
= +
∂y ∂r ∂y ∂θ ∂y
Find the partials of r and θ:
1
r = (x2 + y 2 ) 2
∂r 1 1 x r cos θ
= (x2 + y 2 )− 2 2x = p = = cos θ
∂x 2 x2 + y 2 r
∂r 1 1 y r sin θ
= (x2 + y 2 )− 2 2y = p = = sin θ
∂y 2 x2 + y 2 r
y
θ = arctan
x
∂θ 1 −y −y −r sin θ − sin θ
= 2 = = =
∂x 1 + y 2 x2
x
x2 + y 2 r2 r
∂θ 1 1 x r cos θ cos θ
= y 2 = 2 2
= 2
=
∂y 1 + x2 x x +y r r
Plug in:
∂z ∂z ∂z − sin θ
= cos θ +
∂x ∂r ∂θ r
∂z ∂z ∂z cos θ
= sin θ +
∂y ∂r ∂θ r
8. Find an equation for the tangent plane to the surface with equation
x2 − y 2 + z 2 = 4
7
4(x − 2) − 2(y − 1) − 2(z + 1) = 0
4x − 2y − 2z = 8
Solution:
Vector in direction of line:
~ = h2, 1, −1i − h1, 2, 3i = h1, −1, −4i
AB
x=t+1 y = −t + 2 z = −4t + 3
10. Find an equation in the form Ax+By +C = D for the plane containing
the line
x−1 z−2
=y+1=
2 3
and the point C = (2, 0, 3).
Solution: Rewrite equation of line:
x−1 z−2
t= =y+1=
2 3
hx, y, zi = h2t + 1, t − 1, 3t + 2i = h1, −1, 2i + t h2, 1, 3i
Vector parallel to line, therefore to plane:
h2, 1, 3i
Vector parallel to plane, between points h1, −1, 2i (on line) and h2, 0, 3i:
8
Vector normal to plane:
Equation of plane:
−2x + y + z = −1
(a) 2
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 5
(e) None of these.
9
Solution:
(b) 3
√
(From the given information we see that |u × v| = |u||v| sin θ = 3 3,
where θ is the angle between the √ vectors, |u| = 2, and |v| = 3. We
3 1
can then figure out that sin θ = and cos θ = ± . From this we see
2 2
u · v = |u||v| cos θ = ±3.)
(a) 2
√
(b) 2
√
(c) 3
(d) 3
(e) None of these.
Solution:
√
(c) 3
(We can take any vector v between the planes, say the vector h3, 0, 0i
between the points (1, 0, 0) and (4, 0, 0), and find its component in
the direction of a vector n = h1, 1, 1i normal to both planes. This
v·n √
component is = 3.
|n|
We could also notice that the line
x = y = zis normal
to both planes,
1 1 1 4 4 4
and intersects them in the points , , and , , . There-
3 3 3 3 3 3
fore the distance
√ between the planes is the distance between these two
points, or 3.)
14. Find the tangent plane to f (x, y) = x2 + 2y 2 at the point (2, 1, 6).
(a) x + y + z = 9
(b) 4x − 4y − z = −9
(c) 4x + 4y − z = 6
(d) 4x + 4y + z − 18
10
(e) None of these.
Solution:
(c) 4x + 4y − z = 6
15. TRUE or FALSE: The function f is continuous at the point (0, 0),
where 4 4
x + y if (x, y) 6= (0, 0);
f (x, y) = x2 + y 2
0 if (x, y) = (0, 0).
Solution:
TRUE
(To see this, we must check that
or that
x4 + y 4
lim =0
(x,y)→(0,0) x2 + y 2
x4 + y 4 x4 + 2x2 y 2 + y 4 (x2 + y 2 )2
0≤ 2 2
≤ 2 2
= 2 2
= x2 + y 2
x +y x +y x +y
16. Suppose that a and b are two vectors in R3 such that if a and b are
drawn emanating from the origin they both lie in the xy-plane, a in
the third quadrant (x < 0 and y < 0) and b in the second quadrant
(x < 0 and y > 0.)
Suppose also that we know |a| = 1 and |b| = 2 and a · b = 1.
11
If θ is the angle between a and b, then
√ √ a·b 1
|a| = a · a = 1 |b| = b·b=2 cos θ = =
|a||b| 2
z = x2 + y 2
(a) velocity
(b) acceleration
12
(c) unit tangent vector T
(d) speed
when the point is at position (1, 1, 2).
Solution:
Parametrize the curve. We are given x = 2 − t, and so y = 2 − x = t
and z = x2 + y 2 = 2t2 − 4t + 4. Thus, r(t) = h2 − t, t, 2t2 − 4t + 4i,
r0 (t) = h−1, 1, 4t − 4i, r00 (t) = h0, 0, 4i. At (1, 1, 2), t = 1:
velocity = v = r0 (1) = h−1, 1, 0i
13
Z y
2
e−t dt ≈ 0 + (−1)(x) + (1)(y) = y − x
x
Z 0.1
2
e−t dt ≈ 0.2
−0.1
2
(This should make intuitive sense. The function e−t is not one that
we can integrate in a straightforward way, but we know that its value
at t = 0 is 1. Therefore if we integrate it from −0.1 to 0.1, finding
the area under its graph above a small interval around 0, we know
the height of its graph on that interval is approximately 1, so the area
is approximately 1 times the length of the interval, or in this case
approximately 0.2. )
19. Suppose a point moves along the surface z = f (x, y) with its position
at time t given by ~r(t) = (x(t), y(t), z(t)). Notice that this means
(a) Write down an expression for a vector that is normal to the surface
z = f (x, y) at the point (x0 , y0 , z0 ). Your expression will involve
the partial derivatives of f at (x0 , y0 ).
Solution:
∂f ∂f
n= (x0 , y0 ), (x0 , y0 ), −1
∂x ∂x
(This is a formula that you may remember, since we have used
it so often, so you can just write it down without explanation—
provided you get it right. You can’t expect to get partial credit
for writing down an incorrect formula, however, so be careful.)
(b) Use the fact that the velocity vector (x0 (t0 ), y 0 (t0 ), z 0 (t0 )) is tan-
gent to the surface, and therefore normal to the vector you found
in part (a), to solve for z 0 (t0 ) in terms of x0 (t0 ), y 0 (t0 ), and the
partial derivatives of f at (x0 , y0 ).
Solution:
14
Since the two vectors are normal, their dot product is zero:
v·n=0
0 0 0 ∂f ∂f
hx (t0 ), y (t0 ), z (t0 )i · (x0 , y0 ), (x0 , y0 ), −1 = 0
∂x ∂x
∂f ∂f
(x0 , y0 )x0 (t0 ) + (x0 , y0 )y 0 (t0 ) − z 0 (t0 ) = 0
∂x ∂y
∂f ∂f
z 0 (t0 ) = (x0 , y0 )x0 (t0 ) + (x0 , y0 )y 0 (t0 )
∂x ∂y
(c) Now use the chain rule to compute z 0 (t0 ). Your answer should
be in terms of x0 (t0 ), y 0 (t0 ), and the partial derivatives of f at
(x0 , y0 ).
In fact, your answer should be the same as your answer to part
(b). You can view parts (a) and (b) as a proof of the chain rule
in this case.
Solution:
By the Chain Rule,
dz ∂f dx ∂f dy
= +
dt ∂x dt ∂y dt
or indicating where each function should be evaluated,
dz ∂f dx ∂f dy
(t0 ) = (x(t0 ), y(t0 )) (t0 ) + (x(t0 ), y(t0 )) (t0 )
dt ∂x dt ∂y dt
∂f ∂f
z 0 (t0 ) = (x0 , y0 )x0 (t0 ) + (x0 , y0 )y 0 (t0 )
∂x ∂y
(a) What is the area of the triangle with corners (0, 0, 0), (0, 1, −1)
and (1, 0, 1)?
Solution:
15
√
3
2
(The triangle is half of the parallelogram whose edges are vectors
from (0, 0, 0) to (0, 1, −1) and to (1, 0, 1), so the triangle has
half the area of the parallelogram. The area of the parallelogram
is the magnitude of the cross product of those vectors.)
(b) Give an equation for the plane containing (0, 0, 0) and parallel to
the plane with equation 3x + 2y − z = 8.
Solution:
3x + 2y − z = 0
(The components of the vector normal to the given plane are the
coefficients of x, y and z in its equation 3x + 2y − z = 8. Since the
parallel plane has the same normal vector, its equation must have
the same coefficients, so its equation has the form 3x+2y −z = D.
You can find the constant term D by plugging in the coordinates
of a point on the plane, in this case, x = y = z = 0.)
(c) True or False? If f : R2 → R is a function with continuous second
partial derivatives, then fxy = fyx .
Solution:
TRUE
(This is Clairaut’s Theorem.)
21. A
spaceship moves so that its position at time t, for 0 ≤ t ≤ 1, is
3
t, t, t 2 . At time t = 1 the engines are turned off, so that the space-
ship continues to move at the same velocity it had reached at t = 1.
(a) Find the arc length of the path traveled by the spaceship between
times t = 0 and t = 1.
Solution:
For 0 ≤ t ≤D1, E
3
position = t, t, t 2
3 1
velocity = 1, 1, t 2
2
r 12
3 1 9 9
speed = 1, 1, t 2 =
t+2= t+2
2 4 4
16
Z 1 Z 1 12
9
arclength = speed dt = t+2 dt
0 0 4
32 1 32 !
8 9 8 17 3
= t + 2 = − 22
27 4 0 27 4
(a) Find an equation for the tangent plane to S at the point (1, 2, 9).
Solution:
The
tangent plane to the graph of f has normal vector given by
∂f ∂f
, , −1 , or for our function, h2x + 2y, 2x + 2, −1i. At
∂x ∂y
(1, 2, 9) the normal vector to the tangent plane is n = h6, 4, −2i,
so an equation of the plane is
n · hx − 1, y − 2, z − 9i = 0
6x + 4y − 2z = −4
17
The tangent plane is horizontal when the normal vector is vertical,
∂f ∂f
or when its x and y components, and , are zero. To find
∂x ∂y
these points we set
2x + 2y = 0 and 2x + 2 = 0
x = −y and x = −1
Also, z = x2 + 2xy + 2y and so we have
(x, y, z) = (−1, 1, 1)
23. (a) Show that if v is any vector function of t and |v| is constant, then
dv
v is normal (orthogonal, or perpendicular) to .
dt
Hint: Express |v| using the dot product, and remember that we
have a “dot product rule” for differentiation.
Solution:
(|v|)2 = v · v
We differentiate both sides, using on the left the fact that (|v|)2 is
constant, so its derivative is zero, and on the right the dot product
rule:
dv dv dv
0= ·v+v· =2 ·v
dt dt dt
dv
·v =0
dt
These two vectors are normal to each other because their dot
product is zero.
(b) Use the result of part (a) to show that if an object travels with
constant speed, then its acceleration is normal to its direction of
motion.
This agrees with our physical intuition. Acceleration in the di-
rection of motion should correspond to changing speed, and ac-
celeration normal to the direction of motion should correspond to
changing direction.
Solution:
18
If v is the velocity function and a the acceleration function, then
dv
we know that a = . Since speed is the magnitude of velocity,
dt
dv
we know that |v| is constant, so by part (a), ⊥ v, or a ⊥ v.
dt
This means acceleration is normal to velocity, or normal to the
direction of motion.
24. (Short answer problem.) Match each of the functions below with the
correct pictures of its graph and its level curves. There are pictures on
the following pages.
19
Figure 1: A Picture for Problem 24
20
Figure 2: A Picture for Problem 24
21
Figure 3: A Picture for Problem 24
22
Figure 4: A Picture for Problem 24
23
Figure 5: A Picture for Problem 24
24
Figure 6: A Picture for Problem 24
25
Figure 7: A Picture for Problem 24
26
Figure 8: A Picture for Problem 24
27