MATH 221 SAMPLE EXAM I Page 1 of 12

3
1. Let f ( x) = . Which of the following is the correct value of f ′(−2) ?
x4
3 3
A. f ′(−2) = D. f ′(−2) =
−
4 8
3 3
B. f ′(−2) =− E. f ′(−2) =
4 16
3
C. f ′(−2) =
8
2
2. − x + b is tangent at some point to the graph of y = x . Determine the value of b .
Suppose the line y =
2

3
A. b=0
1
B. b=
9
1
C. b= −
9
D. b =1

E. b = −1

3. Let f ( x) = x . Which of the following gives the equation of the tangent line to the graph of f ( x)
when x = 4 ?

1
A. y= x
2
1
B. =
y x +1
2
1
C. =y x+2
2 2
1
D. =
y x+3
4
1
E. =
y x +1
4
Page 2 of 12 SAMPLE EXAM I MATH 221

f ( x + h) − f ( x )
4. Let f =
( x) x 2 − x . Which of the following is equivalent to ?
h

x2 − x + h
A.
h

x2 − x + h − x2 − x
B.
h

( x − h) −x−h − x2 − x
2

C.
h

( x + h) −x−h − x2 − x
2

D.
h

( x + h) −x+h − x2 − x
2

E.
h

5. How many lines have a slope of 6 and are tangent to the graph of f ( x) = x ?
3

A. 0 D. 3

B. 1 E. 4

C. 2

x 2 + 2 x − 15
6. The function f ( x) = is well-defined for all x except for x ≠ −5 . Define f ( x) at the exceptional
x+5
point in such a way that makes f ( x) continuous for all x .

A. f (−5) =
8

B. f (−5) =−8

C. f (−5) =
5

D. f (−5) =−5

E. f (−5) =
0
MATH 221 SAMPLE EXAM I Page 3 of 12
3x − 2
2
7. Find the exact value of lim .
x →∞ 4 x − 3x 2
3
A. −1 D.
4
B. 0 E. The limit is undefined.

C. 1

x−2
8. Find the exact value of lim .
x →2 x2 − 4

A. 0 D. 4
1
B. E. The limit does not exist
4
C. 1

5
 2 1 2
9. Find the derivative of f ( x)=  x − x +  .
 x
3
5 2 1 2
A. f ′(=
x) x −x+ 
2 x
3
5 2 12  1 
B. f ′=
( x) x −x+   2x −1− 2 
2 x  x 
3
5 2 1 2  1 
C. f ′=
( x)  x − x +   2x −1 + 2 
2 x  x 
3

D. f ′=
( x)
5 2 1 2
 x − x +  2x −1 − x
2 x
(2
)
3

E. f ′=
( x)
5 2 1 2
 x − x +  2x −1 + x
2 x
(2
)
Page 4 of 12 SAMPLE EXAM I MATH 221

10. The graph of f ( x) is shown below. Which of the following statements is true?

x
0 2 4

A. f ( x) is continuous at x = 4 .

B. lim f ( x) = 6
x →4

C. f (4) = 6

D. lim f ( x) = 3
x →4

E. f ( x) is differentiable at x = 4 .

11. Which of the following four statements is/are true regarding differentiability and continuity of a function f ( x)
at x = a ?

I. If f ( x) is continuous at x = a , then f ( x) is differentiable at x = a .

II. If f ( x) is differentiable at x = a , then f ( x) is continuous at x = a .

III. If f ( x) is non-differentiable at x = a , then f ( x) is discontinuous at x = a .

IV. If f ( x) is discontinuous at x = a , then f ( x) is non-differentiable at x = a .

A. Only I and III are true D. Only II and IV are true

B. Only II and III are true E. Only II is true

C. Only I and IV are true

MATH 221 SAMPLE EXAM I Page 5 of 12

1
12. Which of the following is the second derivative of =
y +3
2x
1
A.
x3
1
B. −
6x 4

C. − 6x 4

1
D.
6x 4
4
E.
x3

4 3 dV
13. Let V = π r . Compute
3 dr r = 2

16π
A.
9
B. 8π
C. 16π
32
D.
3
E. 48π

1024
14. If the price (in dollars) of a product is given by P=
( x) + 1500 , where x represents the demand for the
x
product, find the rate at which the price changes when the demand is 32 units.

A. $ –1/unit

B. $ 32/unit

C. $ –32/unit

D. $ 1/unit

E. $ 64/unit
Page 6 of 12 SAMPLE EXAM I MATH 221

15. The cost in thousands of dollars for producing x units of a product is given by C ( x) = x3 − 2 x 2 + 3 x + 2 . Find
the marginal cost at a production level of 10 units.

A. 263 thousand dollars per unit

B. 832 thousand dollars per unit

C. 863 thousand dollars per unit

D. 265 thousand dollars per unit

E. 290 thousand dollars per unit

16. Consider the following graph of the function f ( x) . Which of the following is/are true?

I. The function increases for all x .

II. The function has absolute minimum values when x ≈ 1 and x ≈ 4 .

III. The function has an inflection point for some value of x such that 1 < x < 4 .

A. Only I is true D. Only III is true

B. Only I and II are true E. Only II and III are true

C. Only I and III are true

MATH 221 SAMPLE EXAM I Page 7 of 12

17. The graph of a function f ( x) is shown to the right and has

an inflection point at (1, 0). Which of the following describes
the slope of the graph?

A. The slope increases for x < −1 and also for x > 3 ; f ( x)

The slope decreases for −1 < x < 3 .

B. The slope decreases for x < 3 ;

The slope increases for x > 3 .

C. The slope decreases for x < 1 ;

The slope increases for x > 1 .

D. The slope increases for x < 1 ;

The slope decreases for x > 1 .

E. The slope decreases for x < −3 and also for 1 < x < 5 ;
The slope increases for −3 < x < 1 and also for x > 5 .

18. United States electrical energy production (in trillions of kilowatt-hours) in year t (with 1900 corresponding to
t = 0 ) is given by f (t ) , where f is graphed below.

Approximate the year in which energy production was growing at the greatest rate.

A. 1900

B. 1960

C. 1970

D. 2000

E. It’s impossible to determine from this graph.

Page 8 of 12 SAMPLE EXAM I MATH 221

19. Consider the graph of y = f ( x) shown below. The function has a relative minimum value when x = 0 , a
relative maximum value when x = 2 , and an inflection point when x = 1 . Which of the following statements
is/are true?

I. For x < 1, f ′′( x) > 0

II. For x < 0 and x > 2, f ′( x) < 0

III. For 0 < x < 1, f ′( x) > 0 and f ′′( x) > 0

A. Only I and II are true D. None of the statements are true

B. Only II and III are true E. All of the statements are true

C. Only I and III are true

MATH 221 SAMPLE EXAM I Page 9 of 12

20. A graph of a function f ( x) is shown to the right.

Which graph below is the graph of f ′( x) ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.
Page 10 of 12 SAMPLE EXAM I MATH 221

The following questions are free response. All answer must be supported by appropriate work. Answers without
supporting work will earn zero points.

21. A ball is thrown straight up. Its height, in feet, at time t seconds is given by the equation
s (t ) =
−16t 2 + 192t + 10 .

a. What is the average velocity of the ball between 3 and 4 seconds? (4 points)

b. What is the instantaneous velocity of the ball at 4 seconds? (4 points)

22. The number of people riding a certain subway daily is a function, N , of the cost in x cents. If N (235) = 3400
and N ′(235) = −100 , approximate the number of daily riders when the cost is 237 cents. (4 points)
MATH 221 SAMPLE EXAM I Page 11 of 12

All answer must be supported by appropriate work. Answers without supporting work will earn zero points.

1
23. Use the limit definition of derivative to determine f ′( x) if f ( x) = . (8 points)
x
Page 12 of 12 SAMPLE EXAM I MATH 221
FREE RESPONSE SOLUTIONS
21. A ball is thrown straight up. Its height, in feet, at time t seconds is given by the equation
s (t ) =
−16t 2 + 192t + 10 .

a. What is the average velocity of the ball between 3 and 4 seconds?

( ) (
s (4) − s (3) −16 ( 4 ) + 192 ( 4 ) + 10 − −16 ( 3) + 192 ( 3) + 10
=
2 2
)
4−3 1
= 522 − 442
= 80 feet/second

b. What is the instantaneous velocity of the ball at 4 seconds?

s′(t ) =
v(t ) = −32t + 192

v(4) =
− 32(4) + 192
v(4) = 64 feet/second

22. The number of people riding a certain subway daily is a function, N , of the cost in x cents. If N (235) = 3400
and N ′(235) = −100 , approximate the number of daily riders when the cost is 237 cents.

N (237) ≈ N ′(235) ⋅ 2 + N (235)

≈ − 100(2) + 3400
≈ 3200 riders
1
23. Use the limit definition of derivative to determine f ′( x) if f ( x) = .
x
f ( x + h) − f ( x )
f ′( x) = lim
h →0 h
1 1
−
= lim x + h x
h →0 h
x − ( x + h) 1
= lim ⋅
h →0 x ( x + h) h
−h
= lim
h →0 h ⋅ x ⋅ ( x + h )

1
= lim −
h →0 x ( x + h)
1
= −
x2