170 Chapter 3: Differentiation

In Example 6 we found that

+ 0.01 'IT) m2
aA = 'IT(10.1)2 - 'IT(10)2 = (102.01 - 100)'IT = (2'IT
-dA.
............-
error

so the approximation error is aA - dA = E/1r = 0.01'IT and E = 0.01 'IT/ /1r =

O.01'IT/O.I = O.I'IT m.

Proof of the Chain Rule

Equation (I) enables us to prove the Chain Rule correctly. Our goal is to show that if I( u)
is a differentiable function of u and u = g(x) is a differentiable function of x, then the
composite y = l(g(x)) is a differentiable function ofx. Since a function is differentiable
if and only if it bas a derivative at each point in its domain, we must show that whenever g
is differentiable at Xo and I is differentiable at g(xo) , then the composite is differentiable at
Xo and the derivative of the composite satisfies the equation

: I.~.o = /,(g(xo))' g'(xo).

Let I1x be an increment in x and let /1u and /1y be the corresponding increments in
u andy. Applying Equation (I) we have
/1u = g'(xo)11x + El I1x = (g'(xo) + E,)I1x,
where El --> 0 as /1x --> O. Similarly,

/1y = /,(uo)/1u + E2/1u = (/'(uo) + E2)/1u,

where E2 --> 0 as /1u --> O. Notice also that /1u --> 0 as I1x --> O. Combining the equations
for /1u and /1y gives

/1y = (j'(uo) + E2)(g'(Xo) + El)l1x,

so

Since El and E2 go to zero as I1x goes to zero, three of the four terms on the right vanish in
the limit, leaving

-dyl lim -/1y = /,(uo)g'(xo) = /,(g(xo))' g'(xo).

dx X=Xo
=
&x~o 4x
Sensitivity to Change
The equation df = /,(x) dx tells how sensitive the output of I is to a change in input at dif-
ferent values of x. The larger the value of /' at x, the greater the effect of a given change dx.
As we move from a to a nearby point a + dx, we can describe the change in I in three ways:

True Estimated

Absolute change /11 = I(a + dx) - I(a) dl = /,(a)dx

/11 dl
Relative change
I(a) I(a)
/11 dl
Percentage change I(a) X 100 I(a) X 100
 3.9 Linearization and Differentials 171

EXAMPLE 7 You want to calculate the depth of a well from the equation s = 161 2 by
timing how long it takes a heavy stone you drop to splash into the water below. How sensi-
tive will your calculations be to a O.I-sec error in measuring the time?

Solution The size of ds in the equation

ds = 321dl
depends on how big 1 is. If 1 = 2 sec, the change caused by dl = 0.1 is about
ds = 32(2)(0.1) = 6.4 ft.
1bree seconds later at 1 = 5 sec, the change caused by the same dl is
ds = 32(5)(0.1) = 16 ft.
For a fixed error in the time measurement, the error in using ds to estimate the depth is
larger when the time it takes until the stone splashes into the water is longer. _

EXAMPLE 8 In the late 1830s, French physiologist Jean Poiseuille (''pwa-ZOY'')

discovered the formula we use today to predict how much the radius of a partially clogged
artery decreases the normal volume of flow. His formula,
V = kr',
says that the volume V of fluid flowing through a small pipe or tube in a unit of time at a
f'1xed pressure is a constant times the fourth power of the tube's radius r. How does a 10%
decrease in r affect V? (See Figure 3.45.)

Angiography Angioplasty

FIGURE 3.45 To unblock a clogged artery,

an opaque dye is injected into it to make the
inside visible under X-rays. Then a balloon-
tipped catheter is inflated inside the artery to
widen it at the blockage site.

Solution The differentials of r and V are related by the equation

dV = a; dr = 4kr 3 dr.

The relative change in V is

dV = 4kr 3 dr = 4dr
V kr' r .
The relative change in V is 4 times the relative change in r, so a 10% decrease in r will
result in a 40% decrease in the flow. _

EXAMPLE 9 Newton's second law,

d dv
F = dl (mv) = m dl = ma,
172 Chapter 3: Differentiation

is stated with the assumption that mass is constant, but we know this is not strictly true be-
cause the mass of a body increases with velocity. In Einstein's corrected formula, mass bas
the value

mo
m = -:-Vrl=_~';~/C=ii2'
where the ''rest mass" mo represents the mass of a body that is not moving and c is the
speed oflight, which is about 300,000 lan/sec. Use the approximation

1 1 2
~2 '" 1 + -2x (2)
vi - x
to estimate the increase ~m in mass resulting from the added velocity v.

Solution When v is very small compared with c, ,;/ c 2 is close to zero and it is safe to
use the approximation

Eq. (2) with x ~ *

to obtain

or

m Ri ma 1 2(1)
+ Zmov c2 . (3)

Equation (3) expresses the increase in mass that results from the added velocity v.
Converting Mass to Energy
Equation (3) derived in Example 9 bas an important interpretation. In Newtonian physics,
(1/2)mo'; is the kinetic energy (KE) of the body, and if we rewrite Equation (3) in the
form

we see that

or
(~m)c2 '" ~(KE).

So the change in kinetic energy ~(KE) in going from velocity 0 to velocity v is approxi-
mately equal to (~m)c2, the cbange in mass times the square of the speed oflight. Using
c '" 3 X 10 8 m/sec, we see that a small change in mass can create a large cbange in
energy.