Time Rates

If a quantity x is a function of time t, the time rate of change of x is given by dx/dt. When two or more quantities, all functions of t, are related by an equation, the relation between their rates of change may be obtained by differentiating both sides of the equation with respect to t.

Water is flowing into a vertical cylindrical tank at the rate of 24 ft3/min. If the radius of the tank is 4 ft, how fast is the surface rising?

Solution 01
Volume of water:

Basic Time Rates

Velocity, distance.

, where is the answer

Acceleration, , where is velocity and is the distance. Discharge, , where is the volume at any time. Angular Speed, , where is the angle at any time.

Problem 02
Water flows into a vertical cylindrical tank at 12 ft3/min, the surface rises 6 in/min. Find the radius of the tank.

Solution 02
Volume of water:

Steps in Solving Time Rates Problem

1. Identify what are changing and what are fixed. 2. Assign variables to those that are changing and appropriate value (constant) to those that are fixed. 3. Create an equation relating all the variables and constants in Step 2. 4. Differentiate the equation with respect to time.

answer

Problem 03
A rectangular trough is 10 ft long and 3 ft wide. Find how fast the surface rises, if water flows in at the rate of 12 ft3/min.

Problem 01

Solution 03

when y = 6 in or 0.5 ft Volume of water:

answer

Problem 05
A triangular trough is 10 ft long, 6 ft wide across the top, and 3 ft deep. If water flows in at the rate of 12 ft3/min, find how fast the surface is rising when the water is 6 in deep.

answer

Problem 04
A triangular trough 10 ft long is 4 ft across the top, and 4 ft deep. If water flows in at the rate of 3 ft3/min, find how fast the surface is rising when the water is 6 in deep.

Solution 05

Solution 04

Volume of water: By similar triangle:

Volume of water: By similar triangle:

when y = 6 in or 0.5 ft

answer answer

Problem 7
In Problem 6, find the rate of change of the slope of the ladder.

Problem 06
A ladder 20 ft long leans against a vertical wall. If the top slides downward at the rate of 2 ft/sec, find how fast the lower end is moving when it is 16 ft from the wall.

Solution 07
From the figure in Solution 6 above

Solution 06

where x = 16 ft y = 12 ft dx/dt = 1.5 ft/sec dy/dt = -2 ft/sec

answer

Problem 08
when x = 16 ft A man 6 ft tall walks away from a lamp post 16 ft high at the rate of 5 miles per

hour. How fast does the end of his shadow move?

Solution 08
A boy on a bike rides north 5 mi, then turns east (Fig. 47). If he rides 10 mi/hr, at what rate does his distance to the starting point S changing 2 hour after he left that point?

Solution 10

For 5 miles:

answer

Problem 09
In Problem 08, how fast does the shadow lengthen?

Solution 09

when t = 2 hrs

answer answer

Problem 10 Problem 11

A train starting at noon, travels north at 40 miles per hour. Another train starting from the same point at 2 PM travels east at 50 miles per hour. Find, to the nearest mile per hour, how fast the two trains are separating at 3 PM.

After a long time, t =

Solution 11

answer

Problem 13
A trapezoidal trough is 10 ft long, 4 ft wide at the top, 2 ft wide at the bottom and 2 ft deep. If water flows in at 10 ft3/min, find how fast the surface is rising, when the water is 6 in deep.

Solution 13
at 3 PM, t = 3

answer

Problem 12
In Problem 11, how fast the trains are separating after along time?

Solution 12

Volume of water:

Problem 15
A light at eye level stands 20 ft from a house and 15 ft from the path leading from the house to the street. A man walks along the path at 6 ft per sec. How fast does his shadow move along the wall when he is 5 ft from the house?

From the figure:

Solution 15

when y = 6 in or 0.5 ft

From the figure: answer

Problem 14
For the trough in Problem 13, how fast the water surface is rising when the water is 1 foot deep.

Solution 14
From the Solution 13

When y = 1 ft

when y = 5 ft answer

answer

Solution 17

Problem 16
In Problem 15, when the man is 5 ft from the house, find the time-rate of change of that portion of his shadow which lies on the ground.

Solution 16
By similar triangle:

By Pythagorean Theorem:

when x = 30 - 15 = 15 ft From Solution 15, when y = 5 ft dx/dt = 8 ft/sec and x = 15(5)/(20 - 5) = 5 ft, then s = (x2 + y2) = (52 + 52) = 52 ft Thus,

answer The negative sign in the answer indicates that the length of the shadow is shortening.

Problem 18
answer Solve Problem 17, if the light is 10 ft above the ground.

Problem 17
A light is placed on the ground 30 ft from a building. A man 6 ft tall walks from the light toward the building at the rate of 5 ft/sec. Find the rate at which the length of his shadow is changing when he is 15 ft from the building.

Solution 18

By similar triangle:

time: 12:39 PM

answer

2nd Solution (General):

when x = 30 - 15 = 15 ft

answer

Problem 19
One city A, is 30 mi north and 55 mi east of another city, B. At noon, a car starts west from A at 40 mi/hr, at 12:10 PM, another car starts east from B at 60 mi/hr. Find, in two ways, when the cars will be nearest together.

From the figure shown in the right:

where: x = 55 - 40t - 60(t - 10/60) x = 65 - 100t

Solution 19
1st Solution (Specific):

when ds/dt = 0 The figure to the right shows the position of the cars when they are nearest to each other.

ok time: 12:39 PM answer

Problem 20
For the condition of Problem 19, draw the appropriate figures for times before 12:39 PM and after that time. Show that in terms of time after noon, the formula for distance between the two cars (one formula associated with each figure) are equivalent.

Solution 20
For time before 12:39 PM, see the figure in the general solution of Solution 20.

Second condition: (after 1:05 PM but before 1:22:30 PM)

For time after 12:39 PM, there are three conditions that worth noting. Each are thoroughly illustrated below. ok

First condition: (after 12:39 PM but before 1:05 PM) Third condition: (after 1:22:30 PM)

Problem 22
One city C, is 30 miles north and 35 miles east from another city, D. At noon, a car starts north from C at 40 miles per hour, at 12:10 PM, another car starts east from D at 60 miles per hour. Find when the cars will be nearest together.

ok

Problem 21
For Problem 19, compute the time-rate of change of the distance between the cars at (a) 12:15 PM; (b) 12:30 PM; (c) 1:15 PM

Solution 22

Solution 21
From Solution 20, at any time after noon. From Solution 19:

(a) at 12:15 PM, t = 15/60 = 0.25 hr

answer (b) at 12:30 PM, t = 30/60 = 0.5 hr

where: x = 35 - 60(t - 10/60) x = 45 - 60t

answer (c) at 1:15 PM, t = 1 + 15/60 = 1.25 hr

answer

time: 12:17:18 PM

answer

For Problem 22, compute the time-rate of change of the distance between the cars at (a) 12:15 PM, (b) 12:45 PM.

Problem 23
For the condition of Problem 22, draw the appropriate figure for times before 12:45 PM and after that time. Show that in terms of time after noon, the formulas for distance between the two cars (one formula associated with each figure) are equivalent.

Solution 24
Solution 23 above shows that the distance s at any time after noon is given by

Solution 23

See Solution 22

(a) at 12:15 PM, t = 15/60 = 0.25 hr Before 12:45 PM For time before 12:45 PM, see the figure in Solution 22.

answer (b) at 12:45 PM, t = 45/60 = 0.75 hr

After 12:45 PM where: x = 60(t - 10/60) - 35 = -(45 - 60t) x2 = (45 - 60t)2

answer

Problem 25
One city E, is 20 miles north and 20 miles east of another city, F. At noon a car starts south from E at 40 mi/hr, at 12:10 PM, another car starts east from F

(ok!)

Problem 24

at 60 mi/hr. Find the rate at which the cars approach each other between 12:10 PM and 12:30 PM. What happens at 12:30 PM?

Solution 25
when s = 50 ft 502 = x2 + 402 x = 30 ft Thus,

Velocity of approach, answer answer At 12:30 PM Distance traveled by car from E = 40(30/60) = 20 miles Distance traveled by car from F = 60 [(30 - 10)/60] = 20 miles The cars may/will collide at this time. answer From Solution 26, x = 30 ft when s = 50 ft

Problem 27
In Problem 26, find the rate at which the slope of the cord is decreasing.

Solution 27
Slope

Problem 26
A kite is 40 ft high with 50 ft cord out. If the kite moves horizontally at 5 miles per hour directly away from the boy flying it, how fast is the cord being paid out? answer

Problem 28
At noon a car drives from A (Fig. 48) toward C at 60 miles per hour. Another car starting from B at the same time

Solution 26

drives toward A at 30 miles per hour. If AB = 42 miles, find when the cars will be nearest each other.

Solution 29

Solution 28

By cosine law:

By cosine law:

time: 12:29 PM

answer

Problem 30
Two railroad tracks intersect at right angles, at noon there is a train on each track approaching the crossing at 40 mi/hr, one being 100 mi, the other 200 mi distant. Find (a) when they will be nearest together, and (b) what will be their minimum distance apart.

time: 12:24 PM

answer

Problem 29
Solve Problem 28 if the car from B leaves at noon but the car from A leaves at 12:07 PM.

Solution 30

Solution 31

By Pythagorean Theorem: Set ds/dt = 0

From the isometric box:

where: x2 = (20t)2 + (40 - 30t)2 x2 = 400t2 + 1600 - 2400t + 900t2 x2 = 1300t2 - 2400t + 1600

time: 3:45 PM

answer

Minimum distance will occur at t = 3.75, answer

Problem 31
An elevated train on a track 30 ft above the ground crosses a street at the rate of 20 ft/sec at the instant that a car, approaching at the rate of 30 ft/sec, is 40 ft up the street. Find how fast the train and the car separating 1 second later.

From the figure: where: x2 = (1 - 40t)2 + (2 - 100t)2 x2 = (1 - 80t + 1600t2) + (4 - 400t + 10000t2) x2 = 5 - 480t + 11600t2 answer

after 1 sec, t = 1

Problem 32
In Problem 31, find when the train and the car are nearest together.

Solution 32
From Solution 31, answer the train and the car are nearest together if ds/dt = 0

Problem 34
In Problem 33, find how fast the two will be separating after along time.

Solution 34
From the Solution 33,

answer

Problem 33
From a car traveling east at 40 miles per hour, an airplane traveling horizontally north at 100 miles per hour is visible 1 mile east, 2 miles south, and 2 miles up. Find when this two will be nearest together.

Solution 33

after a long time,

when 4t = 40; t = 10 sec

answer

answer

Problem 35
An arc light hangs at the height of 30 ft above the center of a street 60 ft wide. A man 6 ft tall walks along the sidewalk at the rate of 4 ft/sec. How fast is his shadow lengthening when he is 40 ft up the street?

Problem 36
In Problem 35, how fast is the tip of the shadow moving?

Solution 36

Solution 35
From the figure: Triangle LAB,

Triangle ABC,

Solve Problem 37, if the ship turns N 30 E.

Solution 38
answer

Problem 37
A ship sails east 20 miles and then turns N 30 W. If the ship's speed is 10 mi/hr, find how fast it will be leaving the starting point 6 hr after the start.

By cosine law,

Solution 37

By cosine law, after 6 hrs from start, t = 6 - 2 = 4 hrs

answer

after 6 hrs from start, t = 6 - 2 = 4 hrs

answer

Problem 38