NAME: Daniel Baldwin

PARTNER(S): Insert names of people you worked with

MTH 251 Application Project
Grading
Presentation
Grammar
Completion
Part 2
TOTAL

/3
/2
/5
/24
/34

CHAPTER 3 & 4 Project: Part 2

A steel ball is rolling along a 20-inch long straight track so that its
distance from the midpoint of the track is d=3 sint inches after t
seconds have past. Note positive distances mean the ball is to the
right of the center and negative distances mean its to the left of the
center.
1. Sketch a picture of the track. Then sketch (very
accurately) the distance as a function of time. (You may take the
pictures of your sketch copy and paste the images below.)
Insert picture of track:

Insert graph of distance as a

function of time:

2. Explain why it makes sense for the distance function to be

a sinusoidal function. Include an explanation of the balls initial
value, an explanation of the period and amplitude, etc.

A sinusoidal function is a function that can be created by shifting ,

stretching, or compressing a sine function. It makes sense to use this
type of function due to the distance function oscillating between
positive and negative values, giving the ball right and left motion. The
initial distance is equal to 0 because at t=0, the distance from the
midpoint is also equal to 0. The period of the function is 2 , due to 2
being the period of a sine function. The amplitude is 3 due to the
function being 3*sin(t), therefore every value is three times larger.
3. Give a formula for the velocity as a function of time in
seconds. Then, sketch the function and include a picture below.
d '(t)=3 cos(t )

4. Describe the distance from the midpoint as well as the

balls velocity at 0 seconds, 3 seconds, and 5 seconds.
At t=0, the ball has a velocity of 3 and is at the midpoint.
At t=3, the ball has a velocity of -2.96 and is 0.1570 to the right of the
midpoint.
At t=5 the ball has a velocity of 0.8509 and is 2.876 to the left of the
midpoint.
d(0)=3, d(3)=-2.96, d(5)=0.8509
d(0)=0, d(3)=0.1570, d(5)= -2.876
5. Where is the ball when the velocity is positive, negative,
and when it equals zero? Include a description of the velocity in
terms of the distance function.

When velocity is positive the ball is moving from minimum to the

maximum. The negative is from the maximum to the minimum. When
the velocity equals zero the ball is either at the maximum or minimum.
Velocity is the speed of the ball at a certain time.
6. How far from the midpoint of the track does the ball get?
How can you tell?
The ball extends to both the right and left from the midpoint by
3. This is known by finding the maximum and minimum of the distance
equation.
Maximum=3
Minimum=-3
7. How fast is the ball going when it is at the midpoint of the
track? Does it ever go faster than this? How can you tell?
At the midpoint d=0, V=3. The ball does not go faster than this
due to the maximum being equal to 3 (in/sec).
8. What is the minimum and minimum velocity? Explain both
in terms of what this means in context as well as how you can
solve for this using calculus.
Minimum= -3, Maximum= 3. This shows that the ball travels at speeds
being 3 (in/sec) and -3 (in/sec). This is solved by taking the derivative
of the velocity function (d(t)=3cos(t)) to find the acceleration function
(d(t)=-3sin(t)). Once acceleration is found you set it equal to zero to
find the critical points to plug back into the velocity function. This gives
you the maximum and minimum points on the velocity graph.