RELATED RATE PROBLEMS

1) The area of a rectangle is increasing at the rate of 20 sq. ft / min. At a particular instant, one side is 6
feet long and increasing at the rate of 4 ft. / min. and the other side is 10 feet long. How fast is the
second side changing at that instant?

2) A liquid is flowing into a vertical cylindrical tank of radius 6 feet at the rate of 8 cu ft. /min. How fast is
the surface level rising?

3) A ladder 20 feet long leans against a house. Find the rate at which the top of the ladder is moving
downward if its foot is 12 feet from the house and moving away at the rate of 2 ft / sec.

4) At a given instant the legs of a right triangle are 16 inches and 12 inches long, respectively. The first leg
decreases at a rate of ½ in. / min. and the second leg increases at a rate of 2 in. / min. At what rate is the
area increasing after 2 minutes.

5) A man is approaching a tower 60 feet tall, standing on level ground, at the rate of 5 ft. / min. At what
rate is he approaching the top of the tower when he is 25 feet from the base? (Disregard the height of
this man.)

6) A perfect gas confined within a container and kept at a constant temperature obeys the law,
( pressure) �(volume) = cons tant. If at a particular instant the pressure is 30 lb. / sq. in. and increasing
at the rate of 3 lb./ sq. in. per min, and the volume is 50 cu. in., what is the rate of change in volume at
that time?

7) Each side of an equilateral triangle is increasing at the rate of 2 in /min. How fast is the area increasing
at the instant that side is 20 inches long?

8) A balloon filled with air is punctured in such a way that air escapes at the rate of 10 cu. ft. / min.
Assuming that the balloon retains a spherical shape at all times, how fast is the diameter decreasing
when it is 5 feet?

9) A trough 20 feet long has as its cross section an isosceles triangle with its base uppermost. The base is 2
ft. and the altitude is 1 ft. in length. If a drain carries water away at such a rate that the depth of water
decreases by 2 in./ min. what is the volume of water lost per minute at the instant the water is 6 inches
deep.

10) A balloon is rising vertically over a point A on the ground at the rate of 15 ft./sec. A point B on the
ground is level with and 30 ft. from A. When the balloon is 40 feet from A, at what rate is its distance
from B changing?

11) A man 6 feet tall is moving directly away from a light pole at the speed of 4 ft./sec. If the light is 24 feet
above the ground, at what rate is his shadow lengthening? At what speed is the tip of the shadow
moving along the ground?

12) A man on a dock is pulling a rope which is fastened to the bow of a small boat. If the man’s hands are
12 feet higher than the point where the rope is attached to the boat, and if he is retrieving the rope at the
rate of 3 ft. / sec., how fast is the boat approaching the deck when there is still 20 feet of rope out?