AP Calculus BC

Homework 2.1 - 2.3

Problem 1
Use the definition of derivative to find:
√ 1
(a) f 0 (x) if f (x) = x (b)f 0 (x) if f (x) =
x

Problem 2
Let the function f be given by f (x) = x2 − 2x. Which of the following limits
can be used to find f 0 (5)?
x2 − 2x + h x2 − 2x − 15
(a) lim (b) lim
h→0 h x→5 x−5

x2 − 2x + 15 x2 − 2x − 15
(c) lim (d) lim
x→5 x−5 x→0 x

Problem 3
The function f is shown in the figure. Order the tangent lines at the given points
in order from least to greatest.

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Problem 4
(a) Let the function f be defined by f (x) = 4x3 − 10x2 + 15x. What is f (2)?
√
(b)Let the function f be defined by f (x) = 2x + 8 x − x12 . What is f 0 (1)?
(c) Let the function f be defined by f (x) = x3 − 12x2 + 50x − 3. For what
value(s) of x does the line tangent to the graph of f have a slope of 5?
(d)Let the function f be defined by f (x) = x3 − 12x2 + 50x − 3. For what
value(s) of x does the line tangent to the graph of f have a slope of 5?
(e) Let f (x) = x4 + 2x3 − 5x2 + 3. What is the instantaneous rate of change
of f when x = −2?

Problem 5
x5 − 2x2 − 3
 
d
Find
dx x2

Problem 6
(a) Find the derivative of f (x) = (x3 − 2x + 5)(2x2 + 3x + 1) when x = 1.
(b)Find the derivative of g(x) = (x3 + 9x)(5x3 + 3x − 8) when x = 0

Problem 7
Let the function g be given by g(x) = 4x2 · f (x). If f (−2) = 3 and f 0 (−2) = 5,
what is the value of g 0 (−2)?

Problem 8
√
The graph of the function g(x) is shown in the figure. Let f (x) = 2 x · g(x).
What is the value of f 0 (1)?

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Problem 9
 
d 3x − 5
Find the derivative:
dx x+2

Problem 10
x2 − 3
What is f 0 (2) given that f (x) = ?
x2 + 1

Problem 11
x+1
For what value(s) of x does the line tangent to the graph of f (x) = have
x+2
a slope of 1?

Problem 12
f (x)
Let h(x) = . Selected values of the function f and g are given in the table
g(x)
below:
x f (x) f 0 (x) g(x) g 0 (x)
3 5 -2 7 1

What is the value of h0 (3)?

Problem 13
x2
The graph of the function g is shown in the figure. Let f (x) = g(x) . What is
f 0 (3)?

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Problem 14
The graph of the function f is shown in the figure. For what value of x is the
graph of f continuous, but not differentiable?

Problem 15
√
Let the function g be defined by x + 5. Which of the following statements
about g are true?
(a) g is continuous but not differentiable at x = −5
(b)g is differentiable but not continuous at x = −5
(c) g is neither continuous nor differentiable at x = −5
(d)g is both continuous and differentiable at x = −5

Problem 16
ax2 − bx + 10

x>1
Let the function f be defined by f (x) = . For what value
2x3 + bx2 x61
of a and b will f (x) be continuous and differentiable?

Problem 17
Water is draining from a tank. The volume of water in the tank is given by
V (t) = 1000 + (20 − t)3 , where V is in gallons and t is the number of hours since
the water began draining. Answer the following questions using correct units.
(a) How much water is in the tank initially?
(b)How fast is it draining after 10 hours?
(c) Will the tank have been completely drained after two days? Why?

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Problem 18
There’s dust on my guitar! The total amount of dust after t days is given by
g(t). I know that g(30) = 270 milligrams and g 0 (30) = 5. a) Estimate g(32). b)
What are the units of g 0 (t)?

Problem 19
Find:
p
(a) The equation of the tangent line to the curve y = x2 − 3 at the point
(2, 1)
(b)The equation of the tangent line to the curve y = 3x4 − 2x + 1 that is
parallel to the line y − 10x − 3 = 0
(c) The equation of each line tangent to y = x2 − 1 that passes through
P (3, −2)