Calculus I Exam Problems 1

November 12, 2008

1. Find f ′ if it is known that

d
[f (2x)] = x2 .
dx
Comments Apply the chain rule to then left side the do algebra to get f ′ (2x) = x2 /2, then
say “wouldn’t it be great if that 2x were a single variable”, which motivates you to let
u = 2x, implying x = u/2 and f ′ (u) = u2 /8.

2. (a) Given g(x) = sin x, find g (42) (x).

(b) Given h(x) = xf (x), find h(42) (x).
(c) If l(x) = x sin x, use parts (a) and (b) to find l(42) (x).
Comments Computation of the first few derivatives of sin x shows that dn /(dx)n =
sin x when n is a multiple of four. This leads to the conclusion that g (42) (x) =
g (2) (x). Similarly, a pattern emerges that allows us to conclude h(42) (x) = 42f (41) +
xf (42) . Finally, put f (x) = sin(x), and part (b) and (a) combine to give (c).

3. For what values of the constant c does the equation ln x = cx2 have exactly one solution?
(Don’t forget that c can be both positive and negative. Draw graphs for several values of
c.)

Comments First, draw a few pictures to see that if c ≤ 0, the graphs of y = cx2 and
y = ln x touch for only one value of x. Also notice that if c is large and positive, the
two graphs don’t intersect, while for c positive and near zero, the graphs intersect at
two values of x. From this, we suspect that there is one value of c for which the two
graphs touch, but don’t cross: the graphs share a tangent line at this point. To find x
and c for this case, set the derivatives equal:√ 2cx = 1/x. Together with the original
equation ln x = cx2 , we can solve to get x = e and c = 1/(2e).

4. A particle moves on a vertical line so that its coordinate at time t is y = t3 − 12t + 3, t ≥ 0.

(a) Find the velocity and acceleration functions.

(b) When is the particle moving upward and when is it moving downward?
(c) Find the total distance that the particle travels in the time interval 0 ≤ t ≤ 3.
(d) Sketch graphs of the position, velocity and acceleration functions for 0 ≤ t ≤ 3.
(e) Where is the graph of the position concave up? Concave down?
When is the particle speeding up? When is it slowing down?

Comments From the velocity v(t) = 3(t − 2)(t + 2) we can see that v = 0 at t = 2, v < 0
for 0 < t < 2 and v > 0 when t > 2. This tells us that the particle is moving up on
0 < t < 2 and down on t > 2. Taking the change of direction at t = 2 into account,
the total distance over the 0 < t < 3 is |y(2) − y(0)|+ |y(3) − y(2)|. The acceleration
a(t) = 6t is positive for all applicable values of t. The particle is speeding up when a
and v have the same sign, and is slowing down when a and v have opposite sign.

5. Use the definition of derivative to prove the Reciprocal Rule: If g is differentiable, then
µ ¶
d 1 g ′ (x)
=− .
dx g(x) [g(x)]2
Calculus I Exam Problems 2

Comments µ ¶
d 1 1/g(x + h) − 1/g(x)
= lim
dx g(x) h→0 h
Find a common denominator and see this is equal to

g(x) − g(x + h) g(x + h) − g(x) 1

lim = lim − = −g ′ (x)/g(x)2
h→0 hg(x + h)g(x) h→0 h g(x + h)g(x)

6. Evaluate the following limits:

(a)
e2 sin x − 1
lim
x→π x−π
(b)
1 − cos θ
lim
θ→0 θ2
(c)
θ + sin θ
lim
θ→0 tan θ
Comments For (a), notice that this is of the form of the definition of derivative f ′ (a) =
limx→a (f (x) − f (a))/(x − a) where a = π and f (x) = e2 sin x . The value of the limit is
found by finding d/dx(e2 sin x ) and plugging in x = π.
For (b), multiply top and bottom by the conjugate (1 + cos θ), the notice that you have
(sin θ)/θ)2 , divided by something that can permit plugging in θ = 0.
For (c), express tan θ in terms of sin and cos, then write as the sum of two fractions.

7. An airplane is traveling in an elliptical holding pattern described by the parametric equa-

tions
x = 4 cos t y = 3 sin t,
where x and y have units of miles. The control tower is 5 miles east of the origin. At what
point will the airplane by flying directly toward the control tower?

Comments We’re looking for a point (x, y) at which the tangent line to the ellipse passes
through (5, 0). The slope of this line is given by rise/run: (y − 0)/(x − 5) and by the
derivative dy/dx = (3 cos t)/(−4 sin t). Set these equal, using the given parametriza-
tion y = 3 sin t and x = 4 cos t, and notice that cross multiplication and use of the
Pythagorean identity results in cos t = 12/15. Plug this back into x = 4 cos t to find x.
You can find sin t = (1 − (12/15)2 )1/2 .

8. The figure shows the graph of the derivative f ′ of a function f .

(a) Sketch the graph of f ′′ .

(b) Sketch the graph of f , given that f (0) = 1.
Calculus I Exam Problems 3

y=f’(x)

9. Find points P and Q on the parabola y = 1 − x2 so that the triangle ABC formed by the
x-axis and the tangent lines at P and Q is an equilateral triangle.
y

P Q

B C
x

Comments We want to find the point so that tangent line at the point has the same slope
as the corresponding side of the triangle. We know the slope is given by dy/dx = −2x.
On the other hand, we can write the slope as rise/run: Let the side length of the
equilateral triangle be s. Consider the right triangle AOC. Notice that the horizontal
√
leg has length s/2, the
√ hypotenuse has length
√ s, so the vertical
√ leg has length ( 3/2)s.
Thus rise/run is − 3. Setting −2x = − 3, we get x = 3/2 and y = 1/4.
10. Water is flowing at a constant rate into a spherical tank. Let V (t) be the volume of water
in the tank and H(t) be the height of the water in the tank at time t.
(a) What are the meanings of V ′ (t) and H ′ (t)? Are these derivatives positive, negative
or zero?
(b) Is V ′′ (t) positive, negative or zero? Explain.
(c) Let t1 , t2 and t3 be times when the tank is one-quarter full, half full, and three-quarters
full, respectively. Are the values H ′′ (t1 ), H ′′ (t2 ), H ′′ (t3 ) positive, negative or zero?
Why?
Comments Notice that the tank is narrower at the bottom (and top) than at the center, so
the water, flowing in at a constant rate (Volume per time) will result in height H which
increases faster at the bottom and top than in the middle. V ′′ (t) = 0, H ′′ (t1 ) < 0,
H ′′ (t2 ) = 0, H ′′ (t3 ) > 0.
√
11. (a) Explain why |x| = x2 for all real numbers x.
(b) Use part (a) and and the Chain Rule to show that
d x
|x| = .
dx |x|
Calculus I Exam Problems 4

(c) If f (x) = | sin x|, find f ′ (x) and sketch the graph of f and f ′ . Where is f not
differentiable?
(d) If g(x) = sin |x|, find g ′ (x) and sketch the graph of g and g ′ . Where is g not differen-
tiable?

Comments
√ √
d/dx |x| = d/dx x2 = (1/2)(x2 )−1/2 (2x) = x/ x2 = x/|x|.

f ′ (x) = ((sin x)/| sin x|) cos x

g ′ (x) = (cos |x|)(x/|x|)
Notice f is not differentiable at the points x where we would divide by zero in the
formulat for f ′ . Likewise for g ′ .