CE 403 – Numerical Solutions to CE Problems

Lecture No. 1

I. The physical meaning of derivatives and integrals

A. Real Life Applications of Derivatives

1. Automobiles

In an automobile there is always an odometer and a

speedometer. These two gauges work in tandem and
allow the driver to determine his speed and his
distance that he has traveled. Electronic versions of
these gauges simply use derivatives to transform the
data sent to the electronic motherboard from the tires
to miles per hour (mph) and distance (km)

2. Radar Gun

Keeping with the automobile theme form the

previous slide, all police officers who use radar guns
are actually taking advantage of the easy use of
derivatives. When a radar gun is pointed and fired at
your care on the highway. The gun is able to
determine the time and distance at which the radar
was able to hit a certain section of your vehicle. With
the use of derivative it is able to calculate the speed at
which the car was going and also report the distance
that the car was from the radar gun.

3. Business

In the business world there are many applications

for derivatives. One of the most important
application is when data has been charted on
graph or data table such as excel. Once it has been
input, the data can be graphed and with the
applications of derivatives you can estimate the
profit and loss point of certain ventures.
 B. Applications of Derivatives in Various Fields /Sciences

1. Derivatives in Physics

In physics, the derivative of the displacement of a

moving body with respect to time is the velocity of
the body, and the derivative of velocity with the
respect to time in acceleration.

Newton’s second law of motion states that the

derivative of the momentum of a body equals the
force applied to the body.

2. Derivatives in Biology
Population growth is another instance of the derivative used in the sciences.
Suppose n = f(t) is the number of individuals in some animal or plant population at time t. the
change in the population size between time t1 and t2 Δn = f(t2) - f(t1)
The average rate of growth is then:
Average rate of growth = (Δn/Δt) = (f(t2)-f(t1))/(t2-t1)
or (Δn/Δt) = (f(t+h)-f(t))/h
The instantaneous rate of growth is the derivative of the function n with respect to t, i.e.
Growth rate = lim(Δt→0) (Δn/Δt) = (dn/dt)

The instantaneous rate of change does not make exact sense in the previous example because the
change in population is not exactly a continuous process. However, for large population we can
approximate the population function by a smooth (continuous) curve.

Example: Suppose that a population of bacteria doubles its population, n, every hour.
Denote by no the initial population i.e. n(0) = no. In general then,

n(t) = 2t no

Thus the rate of growth of the population at time t is

(dn/dt) = no2tln2

3. Derivatives in Economics

Let x represent the number of units of a certain commodity produced by some company. Denote
by C(x) the cost the company incurs in producing x units. Then the derivative of C(x) is what’s
called the marginal cost:

Marginal Cost = (dC/dx)

Furthermore, suppose the company knows that if it produces x units, they can expect the revenue
to be R(x), i.e. The revenue is a function of the number of units produced. Then the derivative of
R(x) is what’s called the marginal revenue:

Marginal Revenue = (dR/dx)

If x units are sold, then total profit is given by the formula:

 P(x) = R(x) - C(x)

The derivative of profit function is the marginal profit:

Marginal Profit = (dR/dx) - (dC/dx)

4. Derivatives in Chemistry
One use of derivatives in chemistry is when you want to find the concentration of an element in a
product.
Derivative is used to calculate rate of reaction and compressibility in chemistry.

5. Derivatives in Mathematics
The most common use of the derivatives in Mathematics is to study functions such as:
 Extreme values of function
 The Mean Values of function
 Monotonic functions
 Concavity & curve sketching
 Newton’s Method etc.

C. Some other Applications of Derivatives

Derivatives are also use to calculate:
1. Rate of heat flow in Geology
2. Rate of improvement of performance in psychology
3. Rate of the spread of a rumor in sociology

Derivatives are constantly used in everyday life to help measure how much something is
changing. They’re used by the government in population censuses, various types of sciences, and
even in economics. Knowing how to use derivatives, when to use them, and how to apply them
in everyday life can be a crucial part of any profession, so learning early is always a good thing.

Sample Problems;

1. The equation of a rectilinear movement is: d(t) = t³ − 27t. At what moment is the velocity
zero? Also, what is the acceleration at this moment?
2. What is the speed that a vehicle is travelling according to the equation d(t) = 2 − 3t² at the
fifth second of its journey? In this instance, space is measured in meters and time in seconds.
3. The growth of a bacterial population is represented by the function p(t) = 5,000 + 100t²,
where t is the time measured in hours. Determine:
a. The average growth rate.
b. The instantaneous rate of growth.
c. The instantaneous growth rate at t0 = 10 hours.
4. Suppose the total cost = 6x2 + 7x + 5, find the marginal cost when x value is 5?
5. Find the marginal cost when total cost = 4x3 + 7x2 + 2 when x value is 3?
6. Find the marginal revenue when total revenue = 6x2 + 5 when x value is 1.
7. Calculate the maximum profit and the quantity produced when p = 300-3x and TC = 15 + 2x2
 D. Real-Life Applications of Integrals

The integral of a function can be geometrically interpreted as the area under the curve of the
mathematical function f(x) plotted as a function of x. You can see yourself drawing a large
number of blocks to approximate the area under a complex curve, getting a better answer if you
use more blocks.

Some applications of integrals are:

 Displacement, which is the integral of velocity with respect to time.
 Change in velocity, which is the integral of acceleration with respect to time.
 Averages of functions between set boundaries.
 Work in terms of an applied force moving an object.

Calculus is used to improve the architecture not only of buildings but also of important
infrastructures such as bridges. In Electrical Engineering, Calculus (Integration) is used to
determine the exact length of power cable needed to connect two substations, which are miles
away from each other
Integration is a way of adding slices to find the whole. Integration can be used to find areas,
volumes, central points and many useful things.

E. Applications of Derivatives and Integrals in Civil/Sanitary Engineering

Derivative is used to determine the maximum and minimum values of particular functions
(e.g. cost, strength, amount of material used in a building, profit, loss, etc.). Derivatives are met
in many engineering and science problems, especially when modelling the behavior of moving
objects.

Concepts developed from calculus, are used all the time in civil engineering. Any time there
is a rate of change of something then the derivative is an efficient way to characterize it. Any
time there is an area under some function describing behavior then the integral is an efficient
way to quantify it.

For example, in earthquake engineering calculus is used to measure the slope or calculate the
area when dealing with earthquake time histories. The acceleration is the second derivative of
the displacement and the velocity the first derivative of the displacement. Going the other way,
the displacement is the double integral of the acceleration and the velocity the integral of the
acceleration.

Structural Reliability is one very broad application of stochastic calculus in Civil

Engineering. The probability of failure of structure with respect to the loads can be determined
and other variables which influence the same.
 Using calculus, you can do many optimization things. for stream, the area of the region can
be found, which is not regular, length of a curve, Volume of the solids, centroid of the region,
center of mass...etc.

Civil engineering is the design and maintenance of public works such as roads, bridges,
water, energy systems, ports, railways, and airports.

In all aspects of engineering, when confronted with a problem, one usually defines the
problem with a model using mathematical equations describing the relationships of the different
aspects of the problem, usually through calculus.

The simple beam formula to calculate the stress in a beam with various forms of end
attachment from fixed (buried in concrete for example) to pinned like the attachment points on
many bridge supports and with various loads from distributed loads to point loads. The
derivation of each comes from a combination of algebra and calculus. You can derive the shear
stress distribution from algebra and get the moment distribution by integrating the shear stress

Taylor Series Expansion

A Taylor series is a series expansion of a function about a point. A one-dimensional Taylor

series is an expansion of a real function about a point is given by

Taylor series of some common functions include

b.) sin x =

c.) tan x =

d.) =

e.) =

f.) lnx =

Taylor Series represents the accumulation of several calculus topics, and I would name it as one
of the most significant results in calculus, just behind both fundamental theorems and the mean
value theorem. Taylor series can be used to prove a multitude of identities, including the famous
Euler's formula.
Seatwork:

1. The position of a particle is given by x (t) = t3/3 – 4t2 + 12t. In which time interval (s) does the
particle have a positive velocity?

2. The position of a particle in meters is given by f(t) = = t3/3 – 7/2t2 + 6t. When is particle at
rest?

3. Suppose that the cost function for a manufacturer is given by C(x) = (10−6 )x3 − .003x2 + 5x +
1000 dollars. Find the marginal cost when x value is 1000.

4. The demand equation for a certain product is p = 6−1/2x dollars. Find the marginal revenue
equation.

5. Suppose that the demand equation for a monopolist is p = 100 − .01x and the cost function is
C(x) = 50x + 10,000. Find the value of x that maximizes the profit.

6. Given the cost function C(x) = x3 − 6x2 + 13x + 15, find the minimum marginal cost.