Burgin 1 Emma Burgin Mrs.

Tallman AP Calculus 31 March 2014 Relationships between Derivatives, Integrals, and Graphs Part Two Calculus can be used to solve problems in many different contexts. There are also a number of ways to go about solving problems using calculus. In calculus, we can use functions, graphs, or charts to solve problems. Given a function, we can find in general the area under a curve of a graph, which could translate contextually to the volume of water in a lake, the number of dogs that were brought into the vet over a period of time, really anything depending on what the graph and function show. We can look at information given in charts and use it to calculate trapezoid rules, estimate a value for the integral, etc. Calculus is a field of mathematics that goes far beyond the classroom: it can be applied to infinite contexts in real-life scenarios. In this essay, we will take a look at two possible contexts in which calculus can be applied and solve a variety of problems. In one scenario, a scientist measures the depth of the Doe River at Picnic Point. The river is 24 feet wide at this location. The measurements are taken in a straight line perpendicular to the edge of the river. The data are shown in Table 1 below. The velocity of the water at Picnic Point, in feet per minute, is modeled by ( ) Table 1
Distance from rivers edge (feet) Depth of the water (feet)

for 0 t 120 minutes.

0 0

8 7

14 8

22 2

24 0

Burgin 2 We can use this data to calculate a variety of information about the river. First, we will use a trapezoidal sum with four subintervals to approximate the area of the cross section of the river at Picnic Point, in square feet. The trapezoid rule is a numerical way of approximating a definite integral by slicing the area between the curve and the x-axis into trapezoids that generally fit the curve and adding together the area of each individual trapezoid. The formula for finding the area of one trapezoid is ( ) . We can use the data

from Table 1 and plug it in to this formula to estimate the area of the cross section of the river. Since each interval, or the distance from the rivers edge in the table, is not constant, we will have to approximate each data point as its own trapezoid. This is shown here: ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At Picnic Point, the cross-sectional area of the Doe River is approximately 115 square feet. Next, we can calculate the volumetric flow at a specific point, which is the product of the cross-sectional area and the volume of the water at that location. Using the approximation of the cross-sectional area we calculated previously, we can estimate the value of the volumetric flow at Picnic Point, in cubic feet per minute, from t = 0 to t = 120 minutes. We can calculate this value using an integral and the equation given to us in the original problem. The steps are shown here: ( )

Burgin 3 This integral is solved using the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, which is used when the integral is calculated at a constant lower and upper bound. The integral is multiplied by 1 over the change in time to find the average (the cross-sectional area is a constant that was brought to the outside of the integral and therefore became the numerator of the fraction), and then v(t) was integrated from t = 0 to t = 120. Calculating this integral yielded a solution of 1807.169 cubic feet per minute, meaning that at Picnic Point from time t = 0 to t = 120 minutes, 1807.169 cubic feet per minute flowed through the river. Suppose then that the scientist proposes the function f, given by ( ) ( ) as a

model for the depth of the water, in feet, at Picnic Point, x feet away from the rivers edge. We can use calculus to find the cross-sectional area of the river at this point using this model. We can use an integral to calculate it. If we integrate f(x) from time t = 0 to t = 24, we will calculate the area of the river at Picnic Point, which looks like this: ( )

Using the scientists model, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, the cross-sectional area of the river at Picnic Point was calculated to be 122.231 square feet. Because this calculation was done using a function, it is likely that this value is more accurate than the value that was found using a trapezoidal sum. Recall that the volumetric flow of the river I the product of the cross-sectional area and the velocity of the water at a location. To prevent flooding, water must be diverted if the average value of the volumetric flow at Picnic Point exceeds 2100 cubic feet per minute for a 20-minute

Burgin 4 period. Using the area we calculated with the scientists model, we can find the average value of volumetric flow during the time interval 40 t 60 minutes and determine whether or not the water must be diverted. As we did before to calculate the volumetric flow over a period of time, we can find the average water flow for this new time interval. ( )

We know that there will be a flood at Picnic Point if the water is not diverted when the volumetric flow of the river is greater than 2100 cubic feet per minute for longer than a 20minute period. The average volumetric flow for time t = 40 to t = 60 at Picnic Point was calculated to be 2181.91253 cubic feet per minute, which is greater than 2100 cubic feet per minute. This means that the water must be diverted so that a flood does not occur! Calculus is not limited to finding different areas and volumes of rivers. In another scenario, there are 700 people in line for a popular amusement park ride when the ride begins operation in the morning. Once it begins operation, the ride accepts passengers until the park closes 8 hours later. While there is a line, people move onto the ride at a rate of 800 people per hour. The graph shown below in Figure 1 shows the rate, r(t), at which people arrive at the ride throughout the day. Time t is measured in hours from the time the ride begins operation.

Burgin 5

Figure 1. Rate, r(t) (Figure obtained from original essay topic document) We can solve a number of different problems using calculus and the information that was given. First, we can calculate the number of people that arrived at the ride between time t = 0 and t = 3 hours. We can calculate this number using a trapezoid rule. The trapezoids used are shown on the graph below in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Graph of r(t) with Trapezoids Drawn In

Burgin 6 ( ) shows the number of people who arrived. The trapezoid rule can then be applied to

this integral. ( ) ( )

This means that between the time the ride opens and three hours later, 3200 people arrive at the ride. We may also want to know if the number of people waiting in line to get on the ride is increasing or decreasing between time t = 2 and t = 3. We can find this by looking at our graph in Figure 1. We already know that people move onto the ride at a rate of 800 people per hour. Looking at the graph r(t) from time t = 2 to t = 3, the rate of people moving onto the ride is greater than the constant rate of 800 people per hour. Because r(t) is greater than 800 at 2 < t < 3, the number of people waiting in line for the ride is increasing. Using calculus, we can also determine at what time t the line for the ride is the longest. We can also find how many people are in line at that time. We can find at what time the line is longest by looking at the graph in Figure 1. The rate of people moving onto the ride is 800 people per hour, so we look on the graph to where r(t) is 800. R(t) is equal to 800 when t = 3 so r(t) is greater than the rate people board the ride from t = 0 to t = 3. From time t = 3 to t = 8, r(t) is less than the rate people board the ride, so the line becomes shorter. Therefore, the line is longest at time t = 3. To find the number of people in the line at the time the line is longest, we can take the initial amount of people in line, add it to the integral from t = 0 to t = 3 of r(t) and then subtract the product of the rate people board the ride and the time.

Burgin 7 To find the number of people in line at that time, we follow this formula: ( ) From here, we can put in what we know and solve for the number of people in line at the time where the line is the longest. We have already calculated that from t = 0 to t = 3, the number of people in line is equal to 3200. ( )

There are 1500 people in line to board the ride at the time where the line is longest, t = 3. Finally, we can use calculus to find an equation involving an integral expression of r whose solution gives the earliest time t where there is no longer a line for the ride. To find the time at which there is no longer a line for the ride, the equation needs to be set to zero. Setting the equation to zero allows us to find the minimum amount of people in the line, which would be nobody in line. From there, we can find the equation. Similar to what we calculated previously, we will need to know the initial number of people in line and the rate at which people board the ride. The integral expression of r whose solution gives us the earliest time at which no one is in line is ( )

( ) We can use calculus to solve a variety of different problems among many different types of scenarios. Given graphs, functions, or data tables, we can apply methods of calculus to solve

Burgin 8 for just about anything, given the context. Theorems and methods of calculus can be applicable to such a huge range of real-world scenarios, which makes it a field of mathematics that is both incredibly important and very useful to learn and apply to different scenarios.