THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY - VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HCMC

MIDTERM TEST
Date: April ... , 2009 • Duration: 90 minutes
SUBJECT:
Calculus I
Head of Department of Mathematics Lecturer:

Signature:

N.V. Thu, N. Dinh, J. Harris, N.N. Hai, M.D. Thanh

INSTRUCTIONS: Students choose FIVE out of 8 questions. Only these will be marked. Each
question carries 20 marks.

Document prohibited (except dictionaries and calculators).

Question 1. Find the following limits

1 2


(a) limx→1 (2x2 + x + 1), (b) limx→ π6 sin(2x), (c) limx→1 x−1
− x2 −1

|x| sin(x9 )
(d) lim .
x→0 x9

Question 2. (a) Calculate the derivative of y with respect to x if y is implicitly given by

sin(xy) = y.

(b) Find f 0 (x) if √

3
1+x
f (x) = .
(1 − x)3
Question 3. Let
x3 sin x1

if x 6= 0,
f (x) :=
0 if x = 0.
(a) [10 marks] Determine whether or not f 0 (0) exists.
(b) [5 marks] Find f 0 (x) (where it exists).
(c) [5 marks] Is the derivative f 0 (x) continuous at x = 0?
Question 4.
(a) [7 marks] Let y = f (x) = 1+e2−x . Find the equation of the tangent to the graph of
the function f at the point (0, 1).
(b) [7 point] Let r(x) = f (g(h(x))). Given that h(1) = 2, h0 (1) = 4, g(2) = 3,
g (2) = 5, and f 0 (3) = 6. Find r0 (1).
0

(c) [6 marks] Let A and B are arbitrary real numbers. Show that the function y =
Ae + Bxe−x satisfies the equation:
−x

y 00 + 2y 0 + y = 0.

• • • PLEASE TURN OVER • • •

1
Question 5. (a) Find √
(x − 1) 2 − x
lim .
x→1 x2 − 1
(b) Show that the equation x3 − 5x + 1 = 0 has at least one root.
Question 6. On the moon, if an arrow is shot upward with a velocity of 50 m/s, its
height H in meters after t second is given by H(t) = 50t − 0.083t2 .
(a) Find the velocity of the arrow after 10 seconds.
(b) When will the arrow hit the moon?
(c) With what velocity will the arrow hit the moon?
(d) Find the maximum height reached by the arrow.
Question 7. A clothing company finds that the cost C in dollars of manufacturing x
shirts is
C(x) = 200 + 0.8x + 0.006x2 .
The instantaneous rate of change of C with respect to x is called the marginal cost.
(a) Find the marginal cost when x = 100. What is the meaning of C 0 (100) to the
company. p
dy
(b) Find dx if y = 1 + ln2 x.
Question 8. Let N(t) be the number of admitted students at time t of the school of
Business Administration (BA) given annually from 2004 to 2008 in the following Table:

t N (t)
2004 27

2005 102

2006 95

2007 116

2008 89

(a) [15 marks] Give the best estimation (up to your opinion) the value of the derivative
N 0 (t) in the years 2005, 2006, 2007.
(b) [5 marks] Could you predict the value N(2009)?

∗ ∗ ∗ END OF QUESTION PAPER ∗ ∗ ∗

2
THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY(IU) - VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HCMC

SOLUTIONS TO MIDTERM EXAMINATION

CALCULUS I, April 17, 2009
(N.V. Thu, N. Dinh, J. Harris, N.N. Hai, M.D. Thanh)

Question 1.
(a)
lim (2x2 + x + 1) = 2(12 ) + 1 + 1 = 4 [5 marks]
x→1

(b)
√
3
limπ sin(2x) = sin(2π/6) = sin(π/3) = [5 marks]
x→ 6 2
(c) We have
1 2 x+1 2 x−1
− 2 = 2 − 2 = 2
x−1 x −1 x −1 x −1 x −1
x−1 1
= = [3 marks]
(x − 1)(x + 1) x+1
Thus
 
1 2 1 1 1
lim − 2 = lim = = [2 marks]
x→1 x−1 x −1 x→1 x + 1 1+1 2
(d) METHOD 1
Suppose first that 0 < x ≤ π/4. Using the unit circle we have 0 < sin x ≤
x which implies that
sinx
0< ≤ 1.
x
Similarly, for −π/4 ≤ x < 0. So for 0 < |x| ≤ π4 ,
sinx
0< ≤ 1. [1 mark]
x
Consequently, for 0 < |x| ≤ ( π4 )1/9 ,

sin(x9 )
0< ≤ 1. [1 mark]
x9
So for 0 < |x| ≤ ( π4 )9 ,

sin(x9 )
0 < |x| ≤ |x|. [1 mark]
x9
1
We know limx→0 |x| = 0. So by the Squeeze theorem,

x sin(x9 )
limx→0 =0 [2 marks]
x9

METHOD 2 We can write

|x| sin(x9 ) sin(x9 )
lim = lim |x| · lim . [1 mark]
x→0 x9 x→0 x→0 x9
We know
lim |x| = 0. [1 mark]
x→0
sin(x9 )
Now consider limx→0 x9
. If u = x9 then u → 0 iff x → 0. So,

sin(x9 ) sin u
lim 9
= lim = 1. [2 marks]
x→0 x u→0 u

Hence
|x| sin(x9 )
lim = 0 · 1 = 0. [1 mark]
x→0 x9

Question 2.
a) Taking derivatives of both sides with respect to x we have

d dy
sin(xy) =
dx dx
or
cos(xy)(xy)0 = y 0 [3 marks]
⇔ (y + xy 0 ) cos(xy) = y 0 [3 marks]
So
y 0 (1 − x cos(xy)) = y cos(xy) [2 marks]
Therefore
dy y cos(xy)
y0 = = [2 marks]
dx 1 − x cos(xy)

b) METHOD 1

2
 Taking logarithms of both sides, we have (for −1 < x < 1)
√3
1+x 1
ln f (x) = ln = ln(1 + x) − 3 ln(1 − x) [3 marks]
(1 − x)3 3
Differentiating both sides gives
1 0
(ln f (x))0 = ln(1 + x) − 3 ln(1 − x)
3
or
f 0 (x) 1 3
= + [LHS: 2 marks, RHS: 3 marks]
f (x) 3(1 + x) 1 − x
Thus,
√3
0
 1 3  1+xh 1 3 i
f (x) = f (x) + = + . [2 marks]
3(1 + x) 1 − x (1 − x)3 3(1 + x) 1 − x

METHOD 2
By quotient rule and chain rule,
√ √
0 (1 − x)3 ( 3 1 + x)0 − 3 1 + x[(1 − x)3 ]0
f (x) = [4 marks]
(1 − x)6
2 √
(1 − x)3 13 (1 + x)− 3 + 3 1 + x · 3(1 − x)2
= [4 marks]
(1 − x)6
2 √ √
1
3
(1 − x)(1 + x)− 3 + 3 3 1 + x 3
1+xh 1 3 i
= (= + ). [2 marks]
(1 − x)4 (1 − x)3 3(1 + x) 1 − x

Question 3.

x3 sin x1

if x 6= 0,
f (x) :=
0 if x = 0.
(a) When x 6= 0,
f (x) − f (0) 1
lim = lim x2 sin . [4 marks]
x→0 x−0 x→0 x
Since
1
0 ≤ |x2 sin | ≤ x2 ,
x
3
we get
1
lim x2 sin = lim x2 = 0. [4 marks]
x→0 x x→0
Therefore,
f (x) − f (0) 1
lim = lim x2 sin = 0,
x−0
x→0 x→0 x
0 0
which ensures that f (0) exists and f (0) = 0. [2 marks]
(b) Find f 0 (x), x ∈ R.
• If x = 0 then by (a), f 0 (0) = 0. [1 mark]
3 1
• When x 6= 0 then f (x) = x sin x which is differentiable. Its derivative
is:
1 1 1
f 0 (x) = 3x2 sin + x3 (− 2 ) cos
x x x
1 1
= x(3 sin − cos ). [3 marks]
x x
Thus,
x(3 sin x1 − cos x1 )

0 if x 6= 0,
f (x) = [1 mark]
0 if x = 0.

Question 4.
(a) Using the chain rule,
(−1)2 2e−x
f 0 (x) = · (e−x 0
) = . [3 marks]
(1 + e−x )2 (1 + e−x )2
So
2 1
f 0 (0) = 2
= . [2 marks]
(1 + 1) 2
So the tangent line has gradient m = 21 .
Using y − y1 = m(x − x1 ), the equation of the tangent line is
1
y−1 = (x − 0)
2
1
y = x+1 [2 marks]
2
(b) Since r(x) = f (g(h(x))), we have

r0 (x) = f 0 (g(h(x))) · g 0 (h(x)) · h0 (x), [3 marks]

4
and hence,

r0 (1) = f 0 (g(h(1))) · g 0 (h(1)) · h0 (1). [1 mark]

So

r0 (1) = f 0 (g(2)) · g 0 (2) · h0 (1)

= f 0 (3) · 5 · 4 = 6 · 5 · 4 = 120. [3 marks]

(c) We have

y 0 = −Ae−x − Bxe−x + Be−x = e−x (B − A − Bx), [2 marks]

y 00 = e−x (−2B + A + Bx). [2 marks]

Therefore,

y 00 + 2y 0 + y = e−x (−2B + A + Bx) + 2e−x (B − A − Bx) + Ae−x + Bxe−x

= 0,

which means that the function y = Ae−x + Bxe−x satisfies the equation
y 00 + 2y 0 + y = 0. [2 marks]

Question 5.
(a) We have
√ √
(x − 1) 2 − x (x − 1) 2 − x
lim = lim [5 marks]
x→1 x2 − 1 x→1 (x − 1)(x + 1)
√
2−x
= lim [2 marks]
x→1 x + 1

1
= . [3 marks]
2
(b) Let f (x) = x3 − 5x + 1.
Since f is a polynomial, it is continuous on R. [1 marks]
We have

f (0) = 1 > 0 and f (1) = −3 < 0. [4 marks]

Thus, by the Intermediate Value Theorem [2 marks], there is a point c be-

tween 0 and 1 such that f (c) = 0 [2 marks]. This means that c is a root of
f (x). So the equation x3 − 5x + 1 = 0 has at least one root. [1 mark]

5
 Question 6.
(a) v = dH
dt
= 50 − 1.66t [3 marks]
After 10 seconds, v(10) = 50 - 16.6 = 33.4 [1 mark]
So the velocity of the arrow is 33.4 m/s. [1 mark for units]
(b) The arrow hits the moon when H = 0. [1 mark]
50
H(t) = t(50 − 0.83t) = 0 has solutions t1 = 0 and t2 = 0.83 = 60.24 [2
marks]
t1 is when the arrow is fired. So the required solution is t2 . [1 mark]
So the arrow hits the moon after 60.2 seconds. [1 mark for units]
(c) From part (a), v = 50 − 1.66t.
So when the arrow hits the moon, v = v(60.24) = 50−1.66(60.24) = −50.
[3 marks]
So the velocity is −50 m/s, i.e. 50 m/s downwards. [2 marks]
(d) At maximum height, v = dHdt
= 0. [1 mark]
50
That is when v = 50 − 1.66t = 0, t = 1.66 = 30.1. [1 mark]
2
Then, H(30.1) = 50(30.1) − 0.83(30.1) = 753. [2 marks]
So the maximum height reached is 753 m. [1 mark for units]

Question 7.
(a) Using the Chain Rule we get

dy d 1 1 1 d
= (1 + ln2 x) 2 = (1 + ln2 x)− 2 (1 + ln2 x) [4 marks]
dx dx 2 dx
1 2 − 12 d
= (1 + ln x) (2 ln x) ln x [3 marks]
2 dx
ln x
= p [3 marks].
x 1 + ln2 x
(b) The marginal cost is C 0 (x) = 0.8 + 0.012x [3 marks]
When x = 100, we have C 0 (100) = 0.8 + 1.2 = 2 [2 marks]
So the marginal cost is $2 per shirt. [2 marks for units]
C 0 (x) represents the rate of change of the total production cost with
respect to quantity produced. C 0 (100) = 2 means that at a production level
of 100 shirts, the production cost is increasing at a rate $2 /shirt. So the
cost of producing the 101th shirt is approximately $2. [3 marks]

Question 8.

6
 0 0
(a) N (t) is the rate of increase of N(t). Let us first consider N (2005).

0 N (2005 + h) − N (2005)
N (2005) = limh→0
h
So for small values of h,

0 N (2005 + h) − N (2005)
N (2005) ≈ .
h
For h = 1, we get

0 N (2006) − N (2005)
N+ (2005) ≈ = −7
1
(This is the average rate of increase between 2005 and 2006.)
For h = −1, we have

0 N (2004) − N (2005)
N− (2005) ≈ = 75
−1
which is the average rate of increase between 2004 and 2005.
We get more accurate approximation if we take the average of these two
values:
0 1
N (2005) ≈ (75 − 7) = 34.
2
This means that in 2005 the number of students admitted was increasing
at a rate of about 34 people/year.

Similar calculations for t = 2006 and t = 2007 gives the following values.
0
Table of approximate values for the derivative N (t).

0
t N (t)
2005 34

2006 7

2007 -3

7
 [Suggested markscheme: Value for one year correct, with appropriate
explanation: 7 marks. Value for other two years: 4 marks each. If students
only calculate values from one direction, maximum 8 marks.]

(b) We observe that N− (2008) ≈ N (2007)−N

−1
(2008)
= −27 is a negative number.
So we can expect the number of BA students admitted this summer to be
lower than the number admitted last summer.
[Predict N (2009) < N (2008): 2 marks. Explanation: 3 marks.]