Calculus Pretest: Solutions

May 10, 2009

1 Compute
d 3
1. dx 5x − 4x2 − 3x + 1 = 15x2 − 8x − 3
d
2. sin(x) = cos(x)
dx
d
tan x1 = x2 cos−1


3. dx 2 (1/x)

d 1
4. dx ln(x) = x
d 1
5. dx log5 (x) = ln(5)x

6. d
dx f (4x) = 4f 0 (4x)

d
R x2
7. dx 0
f (t)dt = 2xf (x2 )

d
R x2 R x2 1
8. dx 0
ln(x)f (t)dt = 2x ln(x)f (x2 ) + 0 x f (t)dt

9. d
dx f (t(x)) = f 0 (t(x)) t0 (x)
d 4 3
10. dr 3 πr = 4πr2
d 2
11. dr πr = 2πr
d i(kx−ωt)
12. dx e = ikei(kx−ωt)
d e−x −x
= −ex 1 − x1


13. dx x
d 1
14. dx arctan(x) = 1+x2

d ex +e−x ex −e−x
15. dx 2 = 2

d ex −e−x ex +e−x
16. dx 2 = 2
R 2π −n m
17. 0
sin(mx) sin(nx)dx = n2 −m2 cos(2πn) sin(2πm)+ n2 −m2 sin(2πn) cos(2πm), m 6=

n; π − 14 sin(4πn), n = m

1
 ex (sin(x)−cos(x))
sin(x)ex dx =
R
18. 2
R1
19. 0
x3 cos(x)dx = −3 sin(1) + 5 cos(1)
R∞
20. 0
e−αx dx = 1
α
R∞
21. 0
xe−αx dx = 1
α2
R∞
22. 0
xn e−x dx = n!
R∞ 2
√
π
23. −∞
x2 e−x dx = 2 .

24. ıı = e−π/2+2πk , k = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .

25. The local minima and maxima of x3 e−x are a maximum at x = 3.
π
26. The first three terms in the Taylor series expansion of tan(x) about x0 = 4
are tan(x) ≈ 1 + 2x + 2x2 .

2 Interpret
1. You’re hiking down a trail. What is the derivative of your position with
respect to time? (By “what is” I mean “give an interpretation for” not
“what is the numerical value?”) Answer: your hiking speed
2. You’re hiking up a hill. What is the derivative of elevation with respect
to position? Answer: The slope of the hillside.
3. You’re still hiking up that hill. Your GPS measures your position and
altitude at all times. How can you use this data to find the slope of the
hill? Answer: The derivative of your altitude with respect to time divided
by the derivative of your position with respect to time gives the slope of
the hill.
4. What is the derivative of the energy needed to compress a gas with respect
to the volume it occupies? Answer: pressure
5. What is the derivative of distance driven down a road with respect gas in
your tank? Answer: gas mileage
6. What is the derivative of money paid at the pump with respect to gas in
your tank? Answer: per-gallon price
7. What is the derivative of gas in your tank with respect to distance driven?
Answer: gallons per mile, the reciprocal of miles per gallon.
8. What is the derivative of potential energy with respect to position? An-
swer: force

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 9. What is the derivative of temperature with respect to heat? Answer: heat
capacity
10. What is the derivative of total mass with respect to volume considered?
Answer: density
11. What is the derivative of distance you’ve driven down the road with re-
spect to how many times the wheels have revolved? Answer: the diameter
of the wheel
12. What is the derivative of the height of the ocean with respect to volume of
water that melts off continental ice shelves and into the ocean? Answer:
the reciprocol of the surface area of the ocean
13. A shark smells blood in the water and is trying to get to it. What does
this have to do with derivatives? Answer: The shark should swim in the
direction that maximizes the derivative of the density of blood.
14. At the end of a 200m race, is the derivative of a runner’s position (distance
from start line) positive or negative? Positive. The runner is getting
further away from the start line. For a 400m race, the answer is reversed,
because the runner is approaching the start line having completed nearly
one lap.
15. What about the second derivative of position? Answer: A tricky ques-
tion, because the runner is slowing down, which would make the second
derivative negative, but the runner is also moving more directly away from
the start line due to the curve of the track, which would make the sec-
ond derivative positive. Using some reasonable dimensions for an outdoor
track, I find the second derivative is positive whenever v 2 /1m > 150dv/dt
with v the magnitude of the runner’s velocity and 1m one meter. This
condition should be met unless the runner is “pulling up” early.
16. When parachuting, which of the following are positive and which negative:
height above ground, first derivative of that height, second derivative of
height, third derivative of height, fourth derivative of height? Answer:
Height above ground is positive. You’re falling, so the first derivative with
respect to time is negative. Gravity accelerates you down, so the second
derivative is also negative. Wind resistance pushes you back up, and the
wind resistance increases with time because you’re going faster. That
makes the third derivative positive. Your speed reaches an asymptote,
so the rate at which wind resistance increases falls down towards zero,
so the fourth derivative with respect to time is probably negative. Once
you reach terminal velocity, you can change these derivatives by going
spreadeagle, diving headfirst, etc.
17. Suppose you know how many miles per gallon you get while driving. What
other information do you need to calculate how much gas you’ll use in the
next minute? Answer: your speed

3
18. Suppose P (x) is the percentage of people who live to at least age x. What
d
is P (0)? What is P (∞)? What is the interpretation of dx P (x)? Answer:
d
P (0) = 1, P (∞) = 0. dx P (x) is the probability density for age of death. It
is highest at the ages people are most likely to die and lowest at the ages
people are unlikely to die.

19. When a function is at a local minimum, what can you say about the value,
first derivative, and second derivative of the function? Answer: You can’t
say anything about its value, except that it has one. The first derivative
must be zero, while the second derivative must be positive, or possibly
also zero if some higher even derivative is positive.