Related Rate Problems

Problem 1: (Depth) A conical (cone-shaped) tank (with vertex down) is 10 feet across the top

and 12 feet deep. If water is flowing into the tank at a rate of 10 cubic feet per minute, find the

rate of change of the depth of the water when the water is 8 feet deep.

Step 1: Identify what is given in the problem.

Top of conical tank has a diameter of 10 feet (radius = 5 feet).

Height of conical tank is 12 feet.

dV
Rate at which the water is flowing into the tank : = 10 ft3 /min 12 ’
dt
h
Want to find the rate of change of the depth of the water when water is
dh
8 feet deep: =?
dt

Step 2: Develop a model or formula

Figure 1: Conical Tank

In this problem we have a conical (cone) shaped tank.

1
V = πr2 h (Volume of a cone where, V = volume, h = height, r = radius)
3

Step 3: Use the model and the given information to solve the problem

1
V = πr2 h (1)
3
5
Substitute in r = h (see similar triangles section below) and simplifying we end up with
12

25
V = πh3 (2)
432

Differentiate both sides of equation(3) with respect to t (time)

dV 75 dh
= πh2 (3)
dt 432 dt

Equation (3) is called a related rate problem, because there is a relation between the rate at which
the water is flowing into the tank and the rate of change of the depth of the water.
dh dV
Solve for when height of the water is 8 feet (h = 8). Substitute in = 10 and h = 8 into
dt dt
equation (3),

75 dh
10 = π(8)2 (4)
432 dt

dh 9
Therefore, = feet/minute.
dt 10π

Similar Triangles:

12 r

r h
=
5 12
5
Solving for r, r = h
12
Problem 2: (Air Traffic Control) An airplane is flying at an altitude of 5 miles and passes directly

over a radar antenna. When the plane is 10 miles away (s = 10), the radar detects that the distance

s is changing at a rate of 240 miles per hour. What is the speed of the plane ?

Step 1: Identify what is given in the problem.

x
Plane is 10 (s = 10) miles away from the radar.

Plane is flying at an altitude of 5 miles. (Let y = 5 ) y

s
Rate at which the distance between the plane and radar is changing:
ds
= 240 miles / hour.
dt
Want to find the the speed of the plane when s = 10 ?

Note: speed = | velocity |.

dx Figure 2: Airplane
So we really want to find the velocity when s = 10 ? =?
dt

Step 2: Develop a model or formula

We must apply the Pythagorean Theorem: s2 = x2 + y 2

Step 3: Use the model and the given information to solve the problem

Using implicit differentiation,

ds dx dy
2s = 2x + 2y (5)
dt dt dt
dy
Since the plane is flying in the ”x-direction” then there is no change in y, hence = 0.
dt
Equation (5) becomes

ds dx
2s = 2x (6)
dt dt

This further reduces to

 ds dx
s =x (7)
dt dt
√ √
Looking at the above figure, when s = 10 and y = 5, implies that x = 102 − 52 = 5 3.
ds √ dx √
Substituting = 240, s = 10, and x = 5 3 into equation (7), we get that = 480/ 3 ≈ 277.13
dt dt
miles / hour. Therefore, the speed is 277.13 miles / hour.
Problem 3: (Electricity) The combined electrical resistance R of R1 and R2 , connected in parallel,

is given by
1 1 1
= + (8)
R R1 R2

where R, R1 , and R2 are measured in ohms. R1 and R2 are increasing at rates of 1 and 1.5 ohms

per second, respectively. At what rate is R changing when R1 = 50 ohms and R2 = 75 ohms ?

Step 1: Identify what is given in the problem.

dR1
Increasing rate at resistor 1: = +1 ohms/sec
dt

dR2
Increasing rate at resistor 2: = +1.5 ohms/sec
dt

dR
Want to find the the rate of R when R1 = 50 ohms and R2 = 75 ohms: =?
dt

Step 2: Develop a model or formula

In this case we are provided a model to work with.

1 1 1
= + (9)
R R1 R2

Step 3: Use the model and the given information to solve the problem

We can re-write equation (9) as

R−1 = R1−1 + R2−1 (10)

Using implicit differentiation on equation we get the following related rate equation,

1 dR 1 dR1 1 dR2
2
= 2 + 2 (11)
R dt R1 dt R2 dt
 dR
Solving for
dt
µ ¶
dR 1 dR1 1 dR2
= R2 2 + 2 (12)
dt R1 dt R2 dt

dR1 dR2
We are given , , R1 , and R2 but not provided with R. Using equation
dt dt
1 1 1
(9) we can solve for R: = + ⇒ R = 30
R 50 75
dR
Solving for :
dt
µ ¶
dR 1 1
= 302 2
(1) + 2 (1.5) (13)
dt 50 75

dR
Therefore, = 0.6 ohms/sec.
dt