MAT401 Engineering Mathematics 1

Assignment 3, Trimester 3, 2016

Description Marks out of Weighting (%) Due date
Assignment 3 80 40 16 Feb 2017

To be submitted after completing Module 6 and 7.

Submit your assignment on A4 paper, not this sheet, and include the learning diary.
Answer all the questions and submit online.

Criteria for marking

When an assignment is marked consideration will be given to
the following, as appropriate:
• accurate mathematical calculations and working
• inclusion of a logical sequence of solution steps
• evidence of understanding mathematical concepts
• clarity of written communication
• accurate drawing and labeling of graphs/diagrams/tables/charts
• answer the question correctly.

In addition, the learning diary must be completed.

To complete each assignment satisfactorily you must normally obtain

at least 40% of the marks allocated for each assignment. If an
assignment is unsatisfactory then you might be asked to either
resubmit the assignment or complete extra work.

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(80 marks total)

Question 1

(a) What is the difference between the average rate of change and instantaneous
rate of change?

(b) What is the instantaneous rate of change at a function’s minimum or maximum

tipping/stationary point?

(3 marks)

Question 2

The distance travelled by a car for a 6 hour period is given by the function:
3 2
D (t ) = - t + 6t + 75t , where D is the distance in kilometres and t is the time in hours.

(a) Draw a graph of distance travelled over this 6 hour period.

(b) Find the derivative of D(t) and graph this derivative on a new set of axes.

(c) If the speed limit for the entire journey was 80 km/hr

(i) use the graph from (b) to estimate the times when the car is
exceeding the speed limit

(ii) confirm your answers to (c) (i) algebraically.

(d) Describe the acceleration of the car when the car was speeding.

(e) Find the distance the car had travelled while it was speeding.

(f) Convert the equation for D(t) to produce distance in metres.

(g) Convert the equation for speed to produce metres/sec.

(11 marks)

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Question 3

For the general quadratic function f (x) = ax2 + bx + c

(a) Find f(x + h)

(b) Find f(x – h)

g ( x ) = f ( x + h ) - f ( x - h)
(c) Expand in terms of x and h
2h

(d) Find the derivative f’(x). Show that f’(x) = g(x).

(e) Find g(h)/h2 and simplify.

(6 marks)

Question 4

Differentiate the following functions with respect to x:

(a) h(x) = 1 -

(b) k(x) = e4 + 3ex

(c) w(x) = p + ln x

(d) t (x) = 2 sin x - cos x

(e) f(x) = - 2x-3 + 1

(10 marks)

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Question 5

Consider the function f (x) = (x2 - 3)(x2 -1)

(a) Find the vertical and horizontal intercepts.

(b) Using calculus, calculate the exact values of the stationary points.

(c) Determine whether the stationary points are maximum or minimum

stationary points.

(d) Comment on the continuity of the graph.

(e) Draw a sketch of the graph.

(f) For the function f(x), what is the average rate of change between the
point (- , -1) and the maximum? (to 2 d.p.)

(10 marks)

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Question 6

Let f(x) be the function graphed below. It consists of straight lines and two
quarter-circles.

(a) Find the shaded area, using standard formulae for calculating the area
of triangles and circles.

(b) Using your results from (a), evaluate:

(Hint: There is a difference between simply evaluating the integral and finding the area
between a graph and the x-axis)

(10 marks)

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Question 7.

Find the following indefinite integrals:

(a)

(b) d
(4 marks)

Question 8.

Evaluate the following definite integrals:

(a) +

(b)

(c) Use a suitable geometric approximation to check your answer to

(b).

(6 marks)

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Question 9.

A driver’s velocity varies according to the function v(t) = 55 + 6t − t 2 , where t is in

seconds and v is in ms-1

(a) What is the driver’s velocity at t = 0, 10, 11 and 12 seconds?

(b) Use calculus to find the driver’s acceleration as a function a(t).

(c) What was the driver’s acceleration at t = 0, 10, 11 and 12 seconds?

(d) Use calculus to find the driver’s displacement as a function s(t).

(e) What was the drivers displacement at t = 0, 10, 11and 12?

(f) Sketch all three functions v(t), a(t) and s(t) (on separate graphs)

(g)
(i) Consider the car between 10 and 12 seconds. Explain what the car
is doing in terms of velocity.

(ii) Find the area between the velocity curve and the t-axis from t =
0 to t =12.

(iii) Compare your answers to (g)(ii) and (e) when t = 12 and comment.

(14 marks)
Question 10.

(a) Find the points at which these two equations intersect:

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y = 5 + x - x and y = x + 4

(b) Use integration techniques to find the area enclosed between the two
plots of these equations.

(c) Referring to the area calculated in Question 10b., there is an additional

area below that is bounded by the two sides of the parabola, the line, and
the x-axis. Again using integration techniques find this area.

(6 marks)

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Graphmatica introductory guide
This section will give you a brief guide to the main functions of Graphmatica. There is also a
comprehensive HELP file available with the program. If you have any further difficulty with
the program, please contact your tutor. We assume you have just loaded the program, so
when you first open Graphmatica a screen similar to the one below should appear. Spend
some time looking at the features of this screen. Look at the pull down menus and then start
inputting some graphs.

By pressing F1 or selecting Help/Operator table, you can get a table of the mathematical
functions and operators that Graphmatica recognises. Try clicking F1 to see this table.

1. Inputting equations
1.1 The program will allow you to input only two variables, where y is the dependent
variable and x is the independent. The standard graph will have the x and y -axes

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 labeled.
Type in the equation y=2x+3. You do not have to type any spaces between the numbers
or letters, and make everything in lower case. To draw the graph, press enter or the icon

. Your screen should look something like this.

You may wish to limit the domain of the graph. For example typing in y=2x+3{–3,0}, limits
the domain to between x = –3 and x = 0.

1.2 You may wish to add another graph. Delete the equation and type in another, e.g.
3x+2y=1. Notice the graph of the first equation remains.

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 If you want to amend the first graph, click on the graph itself and the first equation is
then displayed.

2. The scale
2.1 To change the range on the graph, go to view/grid range; you can change the limits on
both the x and y -axis. See the example below.

Try changing the scale, and press OK when you are ready to see the new graph.

2.2 To change the increments on the axes

If you want more or less detail on the axes, go to options/graph paper/legends. The
frequency of numbering on the axes, and the frequency of gridlines, can be customised by
selecting the Custom Spacing button and then adjusting the legends and Gridlines boxes.

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2.3 To give graphs a title or re-label axes.

Go to Options/Graph Paper/Labels. You will see a number of changes that can be made
here including changing the axes label – e.g. you may want the x-axis label to be t instead.
you may also choose to see these labels on the screen of your graph and not just in the final
printed version.

3. Graph paper
To change the graph paper, go to options/graph paper. Your graph should have
Rectangular clicked. You will see others in later sections.

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4. Drawing more than one graph
You can draw multiple graphs on the same graph screen and you can either hide other graphs
or delete them. Using the arrow, click on the graph you wish to hide or delete. The equation
of the graph will appear below the graph. To delete the graph click the delete graph icon

; to hide the graph click the hide graph icon . You can also clear the screen of all

graphs (clear screen icon ), but you can redraw them by clicking on the redraw icon

5. Colours
Multiple graphs can be drawn in different colours and you can change the colours by going
to Options/graph paper/colors. You can change other colours on the graph using this menu.
You may wish to change the background to white.

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6. Copying into documents
If you want to place your graphs into a document, go to Edit/copy graphs BMP and choose

color or monochrome. You can also use the copy icon . This will copy a monotone
bitmap of the graph. Then go to your document and select paste. You can then adjust the size
of the graph in the document.

7. Saving your document

To save your file, go to File/save and save it in appropriate place on your computer. Use a
.gr extension, so it recognises it as a Graphmatica file.

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8. The zoom feature
You will need to use this feature in modules 3 and 6.

If you want to zoom into one section of the graph, click near the area of interest then drag the
pointer horizontally until you have the area you want. In the example below, I’m only

interested in the area 0< x <50. Click the zoom-in icon and the new screen will have the
domain and range changed. You can zoom-in even more by repeatedly clicking the zoom-

in icon. The zoom-out icon can be used to reverse the enlargement.

9. Trigonometric equations
In module 4, you will be asked to draw many trigonometric functions. Graphmatica uses
radians as the units for angles.

If you type in y=sin x (with a space between the sin and the x) or y=sin(x), with brackets
around the x, Graphmatica assumes you are in radian mode and will draw the graph like the
one below:

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You can scale your graph so it depicts the x-axis in terms of increments of π (Graphmatica
recognises π but you must type in ‘pi’). Go to options/graph paper and click on the trig
option. Notice the change in the units on the x-axis.

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You can change the scale by going to view/grid range and altering the values for the
domain/range of the graph. For example, putting the left and right range as –2pi and 2pi
respectively will show the above graph.

You can ‘force’ Graphmatica to work in degrees by multiplying the x variable by “d”. You
must select the rectangular graph paper option, change the grid range (view/grid range) and
increment scale (options/graph paper/legends).

10. Other equations

To input equations of a higher degree, you use the ^ symbol. For the function
3 2
y = 2 x + 3 x + 4 , you would type in y=2x^3+3x^2+4. You need to think of an appropriate

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domain and range, and choose the best grid range. To help you do this, select
View/Scrollbar. You can then scroll around your graph to view sections that are not
displayed on the current axes range.

To input exponential equations, type in y=e^x, since Graphmatica recognises ‘e’.

To input more complicated equations, you may have to insert brackets. As a precaution, if in
3 2
doubt, put in brackets! For example y = 2 x + 3 x + 4

is input as y=(x^2+2)/(x+1)
t -4
x=e , is input as y=e^(x–4). Here you would change the x-axis label to t.

A circle would be input as x^2+y^2=25.

To input absolute functions, type in ‘abs’. For example y = x + 2

type y = abs(x+2)

11. Point Tables and Data Plot Editor

You can get a listing of co-ordinate pairs for the equations that you have plotted. The default
x co-ordinates will be the same as the grid-spacing. To alter this, go to
Options/settings/point tables and change to custom increment.

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You can plot points on a graph and get Graphmatica to fit a curve to these points.

The type of curve fitted may be altered by selecting options shown in the diagram above.

12. Calculus
The last two modules of this course require Graphmatica, specifically using the calculus
menu. Module 6 is on differentiation and module 7 on integration.

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12.1 Differentiation

You can use the pull down menu or the icons to find the derivative, draw the derivative and
draw the tangent at a point.

You can activate the tangent dialogue box by selecting options/settings/tangent line and
then clicking the Show Draw Tangent Line dialogue box. The next time that you use the
tangent icon, the following box should appear at the bottom of your graph:

12.2 Integration

Clicking on the integrate button will allow you to find the actual area under the curve. You
must give the limits of integration by placing the cursor on the required graphed function at
the start of the required area and then dragging across the screen until the end of the integral
domain.

Should you need to integrate between two graphed functions, the cursor must be placed on
one of the graphed functions above the start of the integral domain and then dragged to the
other graphed function at the end of the integral domain.

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To alter integration options, click Options/Settings/Integration. This option allows you to
choose the integration method.

A useful option is the ‘Show Integrate Curve dialogue box’ (in the diagram above) as you
can select/alter the integration domain more accurately in this box than can be done using the
cursor.

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If you alter the current domain, or the equations used in the integration, you must press the
calculate key to obtain the new area value.

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 Assignment 3 - Learning diary

Name: ________________________________________________________ _

Student number: ____________________ _ Date: ___________________ _

Attach this Learning diary when submitting Assignment 3.

1. Write down the most important thing that you have learnt in maths from
doing Assignment 3.

2. Write down one thing that you found difficult.

3. At the moment, how do you feel studying maths? (Circle the words that
apply to you.)

interested relaxed worried

successful tired clever

happy confused keen

frustrated satisfied rushed

excited bored anxious

determined confident relieved

Write down one more word of your own:

4. How could you improve your knowledge of the topics of

mathematics that you had difficulty with in Assignment 3?

5 Comment on your results from Assignment 2. Were you happy with

your results? The feedback? Have you gone over any errors in
understanding from this assignment?

6. You have now completed all the modules required for this course.

It is designed to prepare you for tertiary study. It seeks to develop mathematical skills and appropriate
study processes. As a part of this course, you have had to complete a number of assignments. Each
assignment had two parts to it: a part which dealt with questions to assess your mathematical skills and
a learning diary which dealt with the 'human side' of studying mathematics.

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Read over what you have written for all your learning diary entries for the assignments. Spend a short
time reflecting on your own learning and experiences in the course and then write ( or type) a properly
constructed essay of about 200-300 words that describes:

a. The way you felt about studying mathematics.

How did you feel about studying mathematics during this course? Did your feelings about studying
mathematics change during the course? If so ... how? If not ... why?

b. The study strategies you used.

What were some of the things you did during this course to make your study of maths successful? Why
did they make your study successful? What were some of the things you did that did not help you in
your study? Why didn't they help?

c.Your performance in course MAT401

Do you think you have successfully studied mathematics? Why /Why not?

d. Your strategy for future mathematics study.

Imagine you have to study a subject (as part of your future tertiary course) which involves some
mathematics. What strategies might you now employ to successfully study the subject? What attitude
will you have?

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