Rates of Change

You have seen how the derivative is used to determine

slope.
The derivative can also be used to determine the rate of
change of one variable with respect to another.
Applications involving rates of change occur in a wide
variety of fields.
A few examples are population growth rates, production
rates, water flow rates, velocity, and acceleration.
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Rates of Change
A common use for rate of change is to describe the motion
of an object moving in a straight line.
In such problems, it is customary to use either a horizontal
or a vertical line with a designated origin to represent the
line of motion.
On such lines, movement to the right (or upward) is
considered to be in the positive direction, and movement to
the left (or downward) is considered to be in the negative
direction.
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Rates of Change
The function s that gives the position (relative to the origin)
of an object as a function of time t is called a position
function.
If, over a period of time t, the object changes its position
by the amount s = s(t + t) s(t), then, by the familiar
formula
the average velocity is

Example 9 Finding Average Velocity of a Falling Object

If a billiard ball is dropped from a height of 100 feet,
its height s at time t is given by the position
function
s = 16t2 + 100
Position function
where s is measured in feet and t is measured in seconds.
Find the average velocity over each of the following time
intervals.
a. [1, 2]
b. [1, 1.5]
c. [1, 1.1]

Example 9(a) Solution

For the interval [1, 2], the object falls from a height of
s(1) = 16(1)2 + 100 = 84 feet to a height of
s(2) = 16(2)2 + 100 = 36 feet.
The average velocity is

Example 9(b) Solution

contd

For the interval [1, 1.5], the object falls from a height of
84 feet to a height of 64 feet.
The average velocity is

Example 9(c) Solution

contd

For the interval [1, 1.1], the object falls from a height of 84
feet to a height of 80.64 feet.
The average velocity is

Note that the average velocities are negative, indicating

that the object is moving downward.

Rates of Change
In general, if s = s(t) is the position function for an object
moving along a straight line, the velocity of the object at
time t is

In other words, the velocity function is the derivative of the

position function.
Velocity can be negative, zero, or positive.
The speed of an object is the absolute value of its velocity.
Speed cannot be negative.

Rates of Change
The position of a free-falling object (neglecting air
resistance) under the influence of gravity can be
represented by the equation

where s0 is the initial height of the object, v0 is the initial

velocity of the object, and g is the acceleration due to
gravity.
On Earth, the value of g is approximately
32 feet per second per second or
9.8 meters per second per second.

Example 10 Using the Derivative to Find Velocity

At time t = 0, a diver jumps from a platform
diving board that is 32 feet above the water
(see Figure 2.21). The position of the diver
is given by
s(t) = 16t2 + 16t + 32

Position function

where s is measured in feet and t is

measured in seconds.
a. When does the diver hit the water?
b. What is the divers velocity at impact?
Figure 2.21

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Example 10(a) Solution

To find the time t when the diver hits the water, let s = 0 and
solve for t.
16t2 + 16t + 32 = 0
16(t + 1)(t 2) = 0
t = 1 or 2

Set position function equal to 0.

Factor.
Solve for t.

Because t 0, choose the positive value to conclude that

the diver hits the water at t = 2 seconds.

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Example 10(b) Solution

contd

The velocity at time t is given by the derivative

s(t) = 32t + 16.
So, the velocity at time is t = 2 is s(2) = 32(2) + 16
= 48 feet per second.

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Definition. Any motion along a straight line is called rectilinear motion.

Suppose a particle is moving along a straight line according to the formula

from a fixed point at t units of time, then

, where s units is the directed distance of the particle

s f t
s0

s0

s0

O
Origin of the motion
(fixed point)

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f t

f t h

th

On the time interval t , t h , the particle

f t h of
f t
traveled a distance
, then

f t h f t f t h f t

average velocity:
t h t
h
f t h f t
instantaneous velocity: v t lim
h0
h
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Remark:
ds
v t f ' t
dt
This is a physical interpretation of the derivative
of a function at a number .
If v > 0, the object is moving towards the right.

If v < 0, the object is moving towards the left.

If v = 0, the object is at rest (there can be a
change in the direction of the
movement).
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Example 1. Find the velocity of a

particle moving on a straight line,
3
obeying the law s 2t 5t 2 (s in cm)
at 1, 3, 5 seconds.

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Example 2. A particle is moving along a

2
straight line
according
s 16t 64t to the law of motion
where s is in ft and t is in sec.
a. Find the velocity of the body at , 3, 8
sec.
b. Find the instant when the
instantaneous velocity is zero.
c. Find the interval of time when the
particle is moving towards the
left/right.
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Remark:
d 2s
a t v ' t 2 f '' t
dt
Acceleration

If a > 0, the velocity is increasing.

If a < 0, the velocity is decreasing.
If a = 0, the velocity is not
changing.
The speed of a particle at any time is the
absolute value of the instantaneous velocity.

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Example 3. A rocket is fired vertically upward from

the ground with an initial velocity of 560 ft/sec.
a. Write an equation of the motion of the rocket
using
2

s 16t v0t s0

Solution:
v0 = 560 ft/sec ; s0 = 0

s 16t 2 560t
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b. Find how high the rocket will go and how

long it takes the rocket to reach the
highest point.

s (t ) 16t 560t
2

v(t ) s '(t ) 32t 560

v(t ) 0 32t 560 0 t 17.5sec
s (17.5) 16(17.5) 560(17.5)
2

4900 ft
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c. Find the instantaneous velocity of the

rocket at 10 sec and 25 sec.

s (t ) 16t 560t
2

v(t ) s '(t ) 32t 560

v(10) 32(10) 560 240 ft / sec
v(25) 32(25) 560 240 ft / sec
d. Find the speed of the rocket at 10 sec and 25 sec.

speed when t = 10 sec: |v(10)| = 240 ft/sec

speed when t = 25 sec: |v(25)| = 240 ft/sec

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e. Find the speed of the rocket when it

reaches the ground.

s (t ) 16t 560t
2

s (t ) 0

16t 2 560 0 16t 35 t 0

t 0sec and t 35sec

v(35) 32(35) 560 560 ft/ sec

speed when t = 35 sec: |v(35)| = 560 ft/sec

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