MAT 135 – Calculus

Group Work for 3.6: Derivatives of Logarithmic Functions

Review: Using implicit differentiation, we developed rules for taking the derivative of a logarithmic function.
The derivative of a the logarithm base a (where a is any positive number other than 1) is:

d 1
[loga x] =
dx x ln a
And as a special case of this rule (where a = e), the derivative of the natural logarithm is

d 1
[ln x] =
dx x

The main reason we care about derivatives of logarithmic functions is that log functions have a
particular shape that is good for modeling certain kinds of behavior. All log functions basically
look like this:

−1

−2

−3

−4

−5
0 1 2 3 4 5

(The axes have been pushed to the sides so that you can focus on the overall shape of this family
of functions.)

1. Give two different quantitative situations which you think might exhibit this kind of behave
like a logarithmic function. State what the independent variable and dependent variable
might be, and be prepared to explain why you think the shape would be logarithmic. One
possibility: The height of a child as a function of time. Babies are born small but grow
length-wise very rapidly, but the rate of growth slows as they move through childhood (prior
to puberty).

2. On the web, go to

http://www.kidsgrowth.com/stages/viewgrowthcharts.cfm?id=BH036

1
 This is a standard doctor’s chart showing the expected length (height) of a boy from birth
to age 36 months. There are actually nine different graphs here, each one corresponding
to a different percentile. The 50th percentile, which would be the graph for the “perfectly
average” boy, is thicker than the others and is in the middle of the collection of graphs. Using
this graph, estimate the length/height of a boy in the 50th percentile for ages 3 months, 6
months, 9 months, and so on up to 24 months of age.

3. Place the data you collected from the chart into an Excel file with one column for age (in
months) and another column for length (in inches). Make a scatterplot of the data and fit
the data with a LOGARITHMIC trendline. Display the equation on the chart.

4. How fast is a boy in the 50th percentile growing when he is 24 months old? At that rate, how
tall will he be by age 3 years? 4 years? How about age 18 years? How about age 38 years?

5. Which of the forecasts you just made in the previous question do you believe? What could
be some warnings you might give to a person using this model to predict heights?

6. Bonus question for further thought: Try adding in an extra data point to your Excel sheet
for age 0 months (birth) and see what happens with the logarithmic trendline. Why does this
happen?