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Lesson 2 - Estimating Instantaneous Rates of Change

The document discusses estimating the instantaneous rate of change of a function at a specific value using average rates of change over small intervals near that value. It defines preceding, following, and centered intervals and the difference quotient formula. It then provides three examples calculating instantaneous rates of change using interval methods and the difference quotient.

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34 views2 pages

Lesson 2 - Estimating Instantaneous Rates of Change

The document discusses estimating the instantaneous rate of change of a function at a specific value using average rates of change over small intervals near that value. It defines preceding, following, and centered intervals and the difference quotient formula. It then provides three examples calculating instantaneous rates of change using interval methods and the difference quotient.

Uploaded by

kristenstephens87
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lesson 2 – Estimating the Instantaneous Rate of Change

Terminology

Instantaneous Rate of Change: An estimate of the rate of change of a function y  f (x) at a specific value
of the independent variable x  a ; estimated using average rates of change for small intervals of the
independent variable very close to x  a . THE SLOPE OF THE TANGENT LINE

Preceding Interval: an interval of the independent variable of the form a  h  x  a , where h is a small
positive value; used to determine an average rate of change.

Following Interval: an interval of the independent variable of the form a  x  a  h , where h is a small
positive value; used to determine an average rate of change.

Centered Interval: an interval of the independent variable of the form a  h  x  a  h , where h is a small
positive value; used to determine an average rate of change. The instantaneous rate of change can be
estimated by squeezing the centered intervals

Difference Quotient: if P(a, f (a)) and Q(a  h, f (a  h)) are two points on the graph of y  f (x) , then the
instantaneous rate of change of y with respect to x at P can be estimated using

THE DIFFERENCE QUOTIENT


y f (a  h)  f (a)

x h
where h is a very small number. This expression is called the difference quotient.

Example 1 A small pebble is dropped into a 3.0m tall cylindrical tube filled with thick glycerine. A motion
detector recorded the time and the total distance that the pebble fell after its release.

Time, t(s) 6.0 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0


Distance, 208.39 221.76 235.41 249.31 263.46 277.84
d(t) (cm)
a) Estimate the instantaneous rate of change when t = 6.4 seconds using the preceding interval method.
b) Estimate the average rate of change when t = 6.4 seconds using the centered interval method.

c) Is it possible to use the difference quotient instead of the interval methods?

Example 2
A balloon is being inflated. The volume of air at any radius r can be determined according to the formula
4
V (r )  r 3 . Estimate the instantaneous rate of change of the cylinder when r = 5 cm.
3

Example 3
A pebble is tossed upwards from a cliff that is 120m above water. The height of the rock above
the water is modeled by h(t )  5t 2  10t  120 , where h(t ) is the height in meters and t is time in seconds.
Estimate the instantaneous rate of change 1 second after the pebble is tossed.

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