Basic Calculus: Differentiation usage

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves determining the rate of change of the area of a rectangle given the lengths of its sides and their respective rates of change. The subject area is basic calculus, specifically differentiation in the context of related rates.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster presents two approaches to the problem and seeks validation on their correctness. Participants question the choice of a specific time value in one approach and discuss the implications of limits as time approaches zero.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing feedback on the original poster's approaches and raising questions about the assumptions made. Some guidance has been offered regarding the correctness of derivatives and the presentation of solutions.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the importance of adhering to forum guidelines regarding the presentation of work, specifically the preference for typed solutions over images. There is also mention of potential confusion regarding the use of time values in the calculations.

EEristavi
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Problem:
How fast is the area of a rectangle changing if one side is I0 cm
long and is increasing at a rate of 2 cm/s and the other side is 8 cm
long and is decreasing at a rate of 3 cm/s?I have 2 approach and I want to know which is correct, why and what am I missing
 

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Hello EE, :welcome:

Why do you use t=2 in the second approach ? Why not 1, 1/2, 1/10 or 1/1000 ? What is the limit for ##t\downarrow 0## ?

Oh, and read the PF rules -- they in fact don't allow me to answer your post as is...
 
EEristavi said:
Problem:
How fast is the area of a rectangle changing if one side is I0 cm
long and is increasing at a rate of 2 cm/s and the other side is 8 cm
long and is decreasing at a rate of 3 cm/s?I have 2 approach and I want to know which is correct, why and what am I missing

You should type out your solution; most helpers will not look at images of handwritten work. Read the thread "Guidelines for students and helpers", by Vela, for more on this issue.
 
Ray, I thought micromass posted the guidelines (link in post #2 -- and I see EE was indeed reading them :smile: Good!)

EE: In fact you worked out s alright in approach 2. ##80 - 14 t - 6 t^2##. The derivative is correct too: ## {dS\over dt} = 14 - 12 t ## and my
BvU said:
Why do you use t=2 in the second approach ?
was mistaken.
the rate of growth at ##t=0## comes out the same: ##-14## (but you forgot the minus sign in 1).

The rate of growth for other ##t## comes out the same too if you fill in the correct ##b## and ##a## !


And I agree with Ray about typing instead of posting a picture. But I ve seen a lot of pictures a lot worse than yours -- and this Is your first thread.
 
BvU said:
But I ve seen a lot of pictures a lot worse than yours
I've seen a lot that were better, too. The image posted here is very small and not well lit, making it harder to read.
 
Thank you everyone for helping me and giving tips :)
 

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