Variation Equations (page 1 of 3)

Variation problems aren't hard once you get the hang of the lingo. The only real difficulty is learning the somewhat specialized vocabulary and the techniques for this classification of problems. Variation problems involve fairly simple relationships or formulas, involving one variable being equal to 2 one term. That term might be linear (something with just an "x"), quadratic (something in "x "), more than one variable (such as "r h"), a square root (something like " "), or something else. But it is always just the one term in the formula, multiplied by some number, usually denoted by "k" if you don't yet know the number's value; this number k is called "the constant of variation". An example of a variation equation would be the formula for the area of the circle: . In the language of variation, "the area A varies directly with the square of the radius r"; the constant of variation is . This formula is an example of "direct" variation. "Direct variation" means that, in the one term of the formula, the variable is "on top". On the other hand, "inverse variation" means that the variable is underneath, in the bottom of a fraction. Suppose, for instance, that you inherit a money market account containing $100,000, and you wonder how much money your rich uncle initially invested eight years ago. Depending on the average interest rate "r", the formula you would use would be:
2

...where P is the principal your uncle invested. (This formula is a variant of the compound-interest formula, by the way.) In the language of variation, this formula reads as "the principal P varies inversely with ", with the constant of variation being

k = 100,000.

The other case of variation is "jointly". "Joint variation" means "directly, but with two or more variables". An example would be the formula for the area of a triangle with base "b" and height "h": 1 words, "the area A varies jointly with b and h"; the constant of variation is k = /2. To review: "F varies as x" means "F varies jointly as x and y" means "F varies as x + y" means . In

"F varies inversely as x" means

Be careful with those middle two. Almost always, when you translate word problems from English into math, "and" means "plus" or "added to". But in joint variation, "and" just means "both of these are together on the same side of the fraction" (usually on top), and you multiply. If you are supposed to add two

variables, they'll use the format in that third bulleted example above, or they'll say "varies as the sum of x and y.

Translating variation problems isn't so bad, once you get the hang of it. But then they want you to move on to setting up and solving word problems. These generally fall into two categories: the ones where they want you to find the value of "k", and the ones where they want you to find some other value, but only after you've found "k" first. Here are some examples: If y varies directly as x , and y =
2

8 when x = 2, find y when x = 1.

2

Since this is direct variation, the formula is "y = kx ". The reason they've given me the data point(x, y) = (2, 8) is that I have to be able to find the value of "k". So I'll plug in the information they've given me, and solve for k:

y = kx2 8 = k(22) 8 = 4k 2=k

Now that I have k, I can rewrite the formula completely: question they actually asked: "Find y when x = 1."

y = 2x2. With this, I can answer the

y = 2x2 y = 2(1)2 y = 21 y=2

Then the answer is:

y = 2Copyright Elizabeth Stapel 2000-2011 All Rights Reserved 5 when x = 3 and z = 4,

If y varies directly as x and z, and y = then find y when x = 2 and z = 3.

Translating the formula from English to math, I get:

y = kxz
Plugging in the data point they gave me, and solving for the value of k, I get:

5 = k(3)(4) 5 = 12k 5 /12 = k

Now that I have the value of k, I can plug in the new values, and solve for the new value of y:

y = ( 5/12)xz y = ( 5/12)(2)(3) y = ( 5/12)(6) y = 5 /2

Then the answer is: y =
5

/2

Variation Equations (page 2 of 3)

Suppose that y is inversely proportional to x, and that y = 2.5. Find ywhen x = 4. Translating, I get the formula:

0.4 when x =

y = k/x
Plugging in the data point they gave me, I can solve for the value of k:

y = k/x 0.4 = k/(2.5) (0.4)(2.5) = k = 1

Now that I have found the value of the variation constant, I can plug in the x-value they gave me, and find the value of y:

y = 1/x y = 1/4
Then the answer is:

y = 1 /4

Most word problems, of course, do not come all neatly arranged like the above examples. Instead, you have to figure out what values go where. According to Hooke's Law, the force needed to stretch a spring is proportional to the amount the spring is stretched. If fifty pounds of force stretches a spring five inches, how much will the spring be stretched by a force of 120 pounds? "Is proportional to" means "varies directly with", so the formula for Hooke's Law is " F = kd", where "F" is the force and "d" is the distance. (Note that, in physics, "weight" is a force. These Hooke's Law problems are often stated in terms of weight, and the weight is the force.) First I have to solve for the value of k. They've given me the data point (d, plug this in to the formula:

F) = (5, 50), so I'll

F = kd 50 = k5 10 = k
Now I know that the formula for this particular spring is "F = 10d". (Hooke's Law doesn't change, but each spring is different, so each spring will have its own "k".) Once I know the formula, I can answer their question: "How much will the spring be stretched by a force of 120 pounds?"

F = 10d 120 = 10d 12 = d

Note that they did not ask "What is the value of 'd'?". Be sure to answer the question they actually asked. The final answer is: The spring will stretch twelve inches. Kepler's third law of planetary motion states that the square of the time required for a planet to make one revolution about the sun varies directly as the cube of the average distance of the planet from the sun. If you assume that Mars is 1.5 times as far from the sun as is the earth, find the approximate length of a Martian year. This one is a bit different. The variation relationship is between the square of the time and the cube of the distance. The formula is:Copyright Elizabeth Stapel 2000-2011 All Rights Reserved

t2 = kd3
If I take "d = 1" to mean "the distance is one AU", an AU being an "astronomical unit" (the distance of earth from the sun), then the distance for Mars is 1.5 AU. Also, I will take "t = 1" to stand for "one earth year". Then, in terms of the planet Earth, I get:

(1)2 = k(1)3 1=k

Then the formula, in terms of Earth, is:

t2 = d3
Now I'll plug in the information for Mars (in comparison to earth):

d = 1.5:

t2 = (1.5)3 t = sqrt(3.375)
In other words, the Martian year is approximately the length of one year and ten months).

1.837 earth years (or just over

Variation Equations (page 3 of 3)

The weight of a body varies inversely as the square of its distance from the center of the earth. If the radius of the earth is 4000 miles, how much would a 200-pound man weight 1000 miles above the surface of the earth? Remembering that "weight" is a force, let the weight be designated by "F". The distance of a body from the center of the earth is "d". Then the formula is the following:

F = k / d2
Plug in the given data point of (d,

F) = (4000, 200) and solve for k:

200 = k / (4000)2 (200)(16,000,000) = k = 3,200,000,000

(Hey; there's nothing that says that k has to be small!) Since the distance is always measured from the center of the earth, if the guy is in orbit a thousand miles up, then his distance is the 4000 miles from the center to the surface plus the1000 miles from the surface to his ship. That is, d = 5000. Plug this in, and solve for F:

F = (3,200,000,000) / (5000)2 F = 128 Copyright Elizabeth Stapel 2000-2011 All Rights Reserved
Then the guy weighs

128 pounds.

Under certain conditions, the thrust T of a propeller varies jointly as the fourth power of its diameter d and the square of the number n of revolutions per second. Show that, if nis doubled and d is halved, the thrust T is decreased by 75%. Your first instinct is to say, "What the heck?", and your second is to say, "But they didn't give us any data points! We've got no numbers!". Here's a tip: when you have no idea what to do, try playing around with what they gave you, and see if anything useful happens. At the very least, I can translate the formula from English into math:

T = k d4 n 2
Now what? Well, whatever the diameter used to be, my new diameter is now half the old diameter. And whatever the number of revolutions used to be, the new number is twice that 1 value. So I'll plug in "( /2 )d = d / 2" where "d" used to be, and plug in "2n" where "n" used to 4 2 be, and see if I can "find" the original "thrust" expression, k d n , within the results:

new T = k( d / 2 )4( 2n )2 = k( d 4 / 16 )( 4n2 ) = k( d 4 )( 1 / 16 )( 4 )( n2 ) = k( d 4n2 )( 4 / 16 ) = ( kd 4n2 )( 1 / 4 ) = ( 1 / 4 )( old T )

In other words, when I make the changes they said to make, my new thrust is one-fourth of the old thrust, which means that the thrust has been decreased by three-fourths, or 75%. The number of hours h that it takes m men to assemble x machines varies directly as the number of machines and inversely as the number of men. If four men can assemble12 machines in four hours, how many men are needed to assemble 36 machines in eight hours? First, translate the English into math:

h = kx / m
Plug in the given data point and solve for k:

4 = k ( 12 ) / ( 4 ) 16 = 12 k 16 /12 = k = 4/3
Now plug in the new information, and solve for the answer they want:

h = ( 4 /3 ) x / m 8 = ( 4/3 )( 36 ) / m 8 = 48 / m 8m = 48 m=6
Remember that they didn't ask for the value of the variable they did ask: "They will need six men."

m. I have to answer the question that

As an aside, note that the language of variation is often used by pundits and politicians when they're trying to sound smart, but they don't really know what the terms mean, so they use them incorrectly. They will say "this is directly proportional to that", when all they mean is that there is a positive statistical correlation between the two things (increasing one thing makes the other thing increase, too). They will say "this is inversely proportional to that", when all they mean is that there is a negative statistical correlation between the two things (increase one thing makes the other thing decrease). When listening to people, keep in the back of your head what is the actual definition of the terms (in case you're listening to, say, a scientist, who will use the terms properly) and also the common misuse of the terms (in case you're listening to, say, the evening news).