Grade 12 Derivatives Practice — Medium

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Question 1 of 58: A function is differentiable at x = a if:

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Answer key for parents & teachers (58 questions)
  1. A function is differentiable at x = a if:f'(a) exists (the derivative limit exists). Differentiability requires the derivative limit to exist. Differentiability implies continuity, but not vice versa.
  2. If f is differentiable at x = a, then f is:Necessarily continuous at a. Differentiability implies continuity. A differentiable function cannot have jumps or holes.
  3. At a corner (like |x| at x=0), the function:Is not differentiable. At a corner, the left and right derivatives differ, so the limit doesn't exist — the function is not differentiable at that point.
  4. The equation of the tangent line to y = x² at (2, 4) is:y = 4x − 4. Slope = 4 at x=2. Using point-slope: y − 4 = 4(x − 2) → y = 4x − 4.
  5. The difference quotient for f(x) = x² at x = 1 with h = 0.1 is approximately:2.1. [(1.1)² − 1²]/0.1 = [1.21 − 1]/0.1 = 0.21/0.1 = 2.1. As h→0 this approaches f'(1) = 2.
  6. The instantaneous velocity of an object at time t equals:The derivative of the position function. Instantaneous velocity v(t) = s'(t) — the derivative of the position function with respect to time.
  7. f'(c) = 0 means:The tangent line at c is horizontal. f'(c) = 0 means the slope of the tangent is zero — the tangent line is horizontal (potential max, min, or inflection point).
  8. The average rate of change of f(x) = x² over [1, 3]:4. [f(3)−f(1)]/(3−1) = [9−1]/2 = 8/2 = 4.
  9. f''(c) > 0 at a critical point implies:Local minimum. Second Derivative Test: f'(c)=0 and f''(c)>0 implies local minimum (concave up). f''(c)<0 implies local maximum.
  10. d/dx[tan x] = ?sec²x. d/dx[tan x] = sec²x = 1/cos²x.
  11. Quotient rule: d/dx[f/g] = ?(f'g − fg')/g². Quotient rule: (f'g − fg')/g². Remember: "low d-high minus high d-low, over the square of what's below."
  12. Chain rule: d/dx[f(g(x))] = ?f'(g(x))·g'(x). Chain rule: f'(g(x))·g'(x). Differentiate the outer function (at the inner), multiply by the derivative of the inner.
  13. Differentiate f(x) = (3x + 1)⁵:15(3x+1)⁴. Chain rule: 5(3x+1)⁴ · 3 = 15(3x+1)⁴.
  14. Differentiate f(x) = sin(x²):2x·cos(x²). Chain rule: d/dx[sin(x²)] = cos(x²) · 2x = 2x cos(x²).
  15. Differentiate f(x) = e^(3x):3e^(3x). Chain rule: e^(3x) · 3 = 3e^(3x).
  16. Differentiate f(x) = ln(5x):1/x. Chain rule: d/dx[ln(5x)] = (1/5x)·5 = 1/x. Or: ln(5x) = ln5 + ln x, so d/dx = 1/x.
  17. Differentiate f(x) = x·eˣ (product rule):xeˣ + eˣ. Product rule: f'·g + f·g' = eˣ·eˣ? No: f=x, g=eˣ. f'=1, g'=eˣ. Result: 1·eˣ + x·eˣ = eˣ(1+x). Wait: both options B and D are equal! eˣ + xeˣ = eˣ(1+x).
  18. Differentiate f(x) = x²·sin(x):2x·sin(x) + x²·cos(x). Product rule: 2x·sin(x) + x²·cos(x).
  19. d/dx[x⁻³] = ?−3x⁻⁴. Power rule: d/dx[x⁻³] = −3x⁻⁴ = −3/x⁴.
  20. Differentiate f(x) = eˣ·cos(x):eˣ·cos x − eˣ·sin x. Product rule: eˣ·cos x + eˣ·(−sin x) = eˣ(cos x − sin x). Options A and D are equal.
  21. For xy = 10, find dy/dx:−y/x. Differentiate: y + x(dy/dx) = 0 (product rule). Solve: dy/dx = −y/x.
  22. For x³ + y³ = 9, dy/dx = ?−x²/y². 3x² + 3y²(dy/dx) = 0 → dy/dx = −x²/y².
  23. Find the slope of x² + y² = 25 at the point (3, 4):−3/4. dy/dx = −x/y = −3/4.
  24. For sin(y) = x, dy/dx = ?1/cos(y). Differentiate: cos(y)·(dy/dx) = 1 → dy/dx = 1/cos(y) = sec(y).
  25. Why can't we simply solve for y first in all implicit equations?Both B and C. Some equations (like x³+y³+xy=1) cannot be solved for y in closed form. Also, implicit differentiation is often faster even when explicit form exists.
  26. Implicit differentiation is based on the:Chain rule. The chain rule: when differentiating y (a function of x) with respect to x, we get dy/dx. This is the essence of implicit differentiation.
  27. Find where the tangent to x² + xy + y² = 7 is horizontal:Where dy/dx = 0. Horizontal tangent occurs where dy/dx = 0 (numerator of dy/dx = 0, denominator ≠ 0).
  28. For ln(x) + ln(y) = 3, find dy/dx:−y/x. 1/x + (1/y)·dy/dx = 0 → dy/dx = −y/x.
  29. For x³ + y = 4, the slope at (1, 3) is:−3. 3x² + dy/dx = 0 → dy/dx = −3x². At (1,3): dy/dx = −3(1)² = −3.
  30. Implicit differentiation works even when the function is defined by a relation that is:Both A and B. Implicit differentiation works for any differentiable relation, even curves that fail the vertical line test like circles.
  31. For y² = x, dy/dx = ?1/(2y). 2y·(dy/dx) = 1 → dy/dx = 1/(2y). This is consistent with the explicit form: y=√x → y'=1/(2√x).
  32. For y² − x² = 1 (hyperbola), dy/dx = ?x/y. 2y·dy/dx − 2x = 0 → dy/dx = 2x/(2y) = x/y.
  33. The tangent to the unit circle x²+y²=1 at (√2/2, √2/2) has slope:−1. dy/dx = −x/y = −(√2/2)/(√2/2) = −1.
  34. A circle's radius grows at 2 cm/s. dA/dt when r = 5:20π cm²/s. A = πr². dA/dt = 2πr(dr/dt) = 2π(5)(2) = 20π cm²/s.
  35. A cube's side shrinks at 1 m/s. How fast is the volume decreasing when s = 3 m?−27 m³/s. V = s³. dV/dt = 3s²(ds/dt) = 3(9)(−1) = −27 m³/s. Negative since shrinking.
  36. For the balloon: V = (4/3)πr³ and dV/dt = 100 cm³/s. Which equation gives dr/dt?Both are equivalent. dV/dt = 4πr²(dr/dt) → dr/dt = dV/dt/(4πr²) = 100/(4πr²). Options A and B are the same.
  37. A point moves along y = x². At x = 3 and dx/dt = 2, find dy/dt:12. y = x². dy/dt = 2x(dx/dt) = 2(3)(2) = 12.
  38. For x² + y² = r² (constant), differentiating with respect to t gives:2x(dx/dt) + 2y(dy/dt) = 0. Differentiating implicitly with respect to t: 2x(dx/dt) + 2y(dy/dt) = 0.
  39. If volume V of a sphere increases at 36π cm³/s, find dr/dt when r = 3:1 cm/s. dV/dt = 4πr²(dr/dt). 36π = 4π(9)(dr/dt) → dr/dt = 36π/36π = 1 cm/s.
  40. If A = (1/2)bh and b is constant, dA/dt = ?(1/2)b(dh/dt). If b is constant, d/dt[bh] = b(dh/dt). So dA/dt = (1/2)b(dh/dt).
  41. A particle moves along y = 2x + 1. If dx/dt = 3, find dy/dt:6. y = 2x + 1. dy/dt = 2(dx/dt) = 2(3) = 6.
  42. The perimeter of a square grows at 4 cm/s. When the side is 10 cm, how fast is the area growing?20 cm²/s. P = 4s, so dP/dt = 4(ds/dt) = 4 → ds/dt = 1 cm/s. A = s², dA/dt = 2s(ds/dt) = 2(10)(1) = 20 cm²/s.
  43. The Second Derivative Test: at a critical point c with f'(c) = 0, if f''(c) < 0, then c is:A local maximum. f''(c) < 0 means the function is concave down at c — like the top of a hill — so c is a local maximum.
  44. An inflection point occurs where:f''(x) changes sign. An inflection point is where the concavity changes — f''(x) changes sign (positive to negative or vice versa).
  45. If f''(x) > 0 on an interval, f is:Concave up. Positive second derivative ↔ concave up (bowl shape).
  46. To find the tangent line to y = x³ at (2, 8):y − 8 = 12(x − 2). f'(x) = 3x². f'(2) = 12. Tangent: y − 8 = 12(x − 2) → y = 12x − 16.
  47. f(x) = x³ − 3x has critical points at:x = ±1. f'(x) = 3x² − 3 = 3(x²−1) = 0 → x = ±1.
  48. For f(x) = x³ − 3x: classify x = 1:Local min. f''(x) = 6x. f''(1) = 6 > 0 → local minimum at x = 1.
  49. For f(x) = x³ − 3x: classify x = −1:Local max. f''(−1) = −6 < 0 → local maximum at x = −1.
  50. Absolute (global) maximum on a closed interval [a,b] must be found by checking:Critical points AND endpoints. The Extreme Value Theorem guarantees a max and min on [a,b]. Check all critical points in (a,b) AND the endpoints a and b.
  51. f''(c) = 0 implies:The Second Derivative Test is inconclusive at c. If f''(c) = 0, the Second Derivative Test is inconclusive — c could be a min, max, or inflection point.
  52. The first derivative test: if f'(x) changes from positive to negative at c, then c is:Local maximum. Positive f' then negative f' means the function increased then decreased — so c is a local maximum.
  53. Linear approximation: f(x) ≈ f(a) + f'(a)(x − a) near x = a. This is called:Linearization of f at a. The linear approximation (linearization) uses the tangent line to approximate f near a point.
  54. A critical number c is a global minimum on [a,b] if f(c) ≤ f(x) for:All x in [a,b]. A global minimum on [a,b] satisfies f(c) ≤ f(x) for ALL x in the closed interval [a,b].
  55. The normal line to a curve at a point is:Perpendicular to the tangent line. The normal line is perpendicular to the tangent line at the point of tangency.
  56. If f'(a) = m, the normal line at (a, f(a)) has slope:−1/m. Perpendicular lines have slopes that are negative reciprocals: m_normal = −1/m.
  57. A ball thrown upward has position s(t) = −16t² + 64t. Maximum height occurs when:t = 2 s. v(t) = s'(t) = −32t + 64 = 0 → t = 2 s. Both options A and D are equivalent.
  58. At t = 2 s, the ball's maximum height is:64 ft. s(2) = −16(4) + 64(2) = −64 + 128 = 64 ft.