This document provides 19 multi-part calculus word problems involving applications of differentiation such as rates of change, elasticity, and marginal analysis. Students are asked to take derivatives, find rates of change, calculate elasticities, and analyze costs, outputs, populations, and other functions over time.
This document provides 19 multi-part calculus word problems involving applications of differentiation such as rates of change, elasticity, and marginal analysis. Students are asked to take derivatives, find rates of change, calculate elasticities, and analyze costs, outputs, populations, and other functions over time.
This document provides 19 multi-part calculus word problems involving applications of differentiation such as rates of change, elasticity, and marginal analysis. Students are asked to take derivatives, find rates of change, calculate elasticities, and analyze costs, outputs, populations, and other functions over time.
This document provides 19 multi-part calculus word problems involving applications of differentiation such as rates of change, elasticity, and marginal analysis. Students are asked to take derivatives, find rates of change, calculate elasticities, and analyze costs, outputs, populations, and other functions over time.
1. It is estimated that 𝑡 years from now, the circulation of
a local newspaper will be 𝐶(𝑡) = 100 𝑡 2 + 400𝑡 + 5, 000. (a) Derive an expression for the rate at which the circulation will be changing with respect to time 𝑡 years from now. (b) At what rate, will the circulation be changing with respect to time 5 years from now? Will the circulation be increasing or decreasing at that time? (c) By how much will the circulation actually change during the 6𝑡ℎ year? 2. An efficiency study of the morning shift at a certain factory indicates that an average worker who arrives on the job at 8:00 A.M. will have assembled 𝑓 ( 𝑥 ) = −𝑥 3 + 6𝑥 2 + 15𝑥. (a) Derive a formula for the rate at which the worker will be assembling radios after 𝑥 hours. (b) At what rate will the worker be assembling radios at 9: 00 𝐴. 𝑀.? (c) How many radios will the worker actually assemble between 9: 00 and 10: 00 𝐴. 𝑀.? 3. Find the percentage rate of change in the function 𝑓(𝑡) = 3 𝑡 2 − 7𝑡 + 5 with respect to 𝑡 , when 𝑡 = 2. 4. Find the percentage rate of change in function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥(𝑥 + 3)2 with respect to 𝑥, when 𝑥 = 3. 5. It is projected that 𝑥 months from now, the population of 3 a certain town will be 𝑃 ( 𝑥 ) = 2 𝑥 + 4 𝑥 2 + 5,000. (a) At what rate will the population be changing with respect to time 9 months from now? (b) At what percentage rate will the population be changing with respect to time 9 months from now? 6. The gross annual earnings of a certain company were 𝐴 ( 𝑡 ) = 0.1 𝑡 2 + 10𝑡 + 20 thousand dollars 𝑡 years after its formation in 1987. (a) At what rate were the gross annual earnings of the company growing with respect to time in 1991? (b) At what percentage rate were the gross annual earnings of the company growing with respect to time in 1991? ) (a/. 10,800 people, b/.17.53 percent). 7. Records indicate that 𝑥 years after 1985, the average property tax on a three-bedroom home in a certain community was 𝑇(𝑥) = 20𝑥 2 + 40𝑥 + 600. (a) At what rate was the property tax increasing with respect to time in 1991? (b) At what percentage rate was the property tax increasing with respect to time in 1991? 8. It is estimated that t years from now, the population of a certain town will be 𝑃(𝑡) = 𝑡 2 + 200𝑡 + 10, 000. (a) Express the percentage rate of change of the population as a function of 𝑡, simplify this function algebraically, and draw its graph. (b) What will happen to the percentage rate of change 20 of the population in 20 the long run? (a/. 𝑡+100 percent, b/. 0) 9. The gross national product (GNP) of a certain country is growing at a constant rate. In 1986 the GNP was 125 billion dollars, and in 1988 the GNP was 155 billion dollars. At what percentage rate was the GNP growing in 1991? 10. A manufacturer’s total cost is 𝐶(𝑞) = 0.1𝑞 3 − 0.5𝑞2 + 500𝑞 + 200 dollars when the level of production is q units. The current level of production is 4 units, and the manufacturer is planning to increase this to 4.1 units. Estimate how the total cost will change as a result. 11. An efficiency study of the morning shift at a certain factory indicates that an average worker who arrives on the job at 8: 00 A.M. will have assembled 𝑓(𝑥) = −𝑥 3 + 6𝑥 2 + 15𝑥 radios 𝑥 hours later. Approximately how many radios with the worker assemble between 9: 00 and 9: 15 A.M? 12. It is projected that 𝑡 years from now, the circulation of a local newspaper will be 𝐶(𝑡) = 100𝑡 2 + 400𝑡 + 5,000. Estimate the amount by which the circulation will increase during the next 16 months. (Hint: the current value of the variable is 𝑡 = 0 ). 13. (An environmental study of a certain community suggests that t years from now, the average level of carbon monoxide in the air will be 𝑄(𝑡) = 0.05 𝑡 2 + 0.1𝑡 + 3.4 parts per million. By approximately how much will the carbon monoxide level change during the coming 6 months? 14. At a certain factory, the daily output is 𝑄(𝑘) = 1/2 600𝑘 units, where 𝑘 denotes the capital investment measured in units of $ 1,000. The current capital investment is $900,000. Estimate the effect that an additional capital investment of $800 will have on the daily output. 15. At a certain factory, the daily output is 𝑄(𝐿) = 60, 000𝐿1/3 units, where 𝐿 denotes the size of the labor force measured in worker-hours. Currently 1000 worker-hours of labor are use each day. Estimate the effect on output that will be produced if the labor force is cut to 940 worker- hours. 16. (Elasticity) Suppose that the demand equation for a certain commodity is 𝑞 = 60 − 0.1 𝑝 (𝑓𝑜𝑟 0 ≤ 𝑝 ≤ 600 ). (a) Express the elasticity of demand as a function of 𝑝. (b) Calculate the elasticity of demand when the price is 𝑝 = 200. Interpret the answer. (c) At what price is the elasticity of demand equal to −1? 17. (Marginal Analysis) Assume that total national consumption is given by a function 𝐶(𝑥) where 𝑥 is the total national income. The derivative 𝐶′(𝑥) is called the marginal propensity to consume, and if 𝑆 = 𝑥 − 𝐶 represents total national savings, then 𝑆′(𝑥) is called the marginal propensity to save. Suppose the consumption function is 𝐶(𝑥) = 8 + 0.8 𝑥 + 0.8 √𝑥 . Find the marginal propensity to consume and determine the value of 𝑥 that results in the smallest total savings. 18. (Elasticity) Suppose that the demand equation for a certain commodity is q = 500 − 2 p (for 0 ≤ p ≤ 250 ). (a) Determine where the demand is elastic, inelastic, and of unit elasticity with respect to price. (b) Use the results from part a. to determine the intervals of increase and decrease of the revenue function and the price at which revenue is maximized. (c) Find the total revenue function explicitly and use its first derivative to determine its intervals of increase and decrease and price at which revenue is maximized. 19. (Elasticity) Suppose the demand q and price p for a certain commodity are related by the equation 𝑝 = 60 − 2𝑞 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ( 0 ≤ 𝑞 ≤ 30 ) (a) Express the elasticity of demand as a function of 𝑞. (b) Calculate the elasticity of demand when 𝑞 = 10 . Interpret the answer. (c) Substitute for 𝑞 in the formula in part a. to express the elasticity of demand as a function of 𝑝.