LECTURE : 1
2.1 The Tangent and Velocity Problems:
In this section we see how limits arise when we attempt to nd the tangent
to a curve or the velocity of an object.
Tangent Problem:
The word tangent is derived from the Latin word tangens, which means
"touching". Thus a tangent to a curve is a line that touches the curve. In
other words, a tangent line should have the same direction as the curve at
the point of contact.
EXAMPLE-2.1.1:
Find an equation of the tangent line to the parabola y = x2 at the point
P (1, 1).
Solution:
Table 1:
X mP Q
2 3
1.5 2.5
1.1 2.1
1.01 2.01
1.001 2.001
Table 2:
X mP Q
0 1
0.5 1.5
0.9 1.9
0.99 1.99
0.999 1.999
From table 1 and 2 we nd the slope of the tangent line to be 2. Hence,
the equation of the tangent line passing through (1, 1) is
(y − 1)/(x − 1) = 2.
1
The Velocity Problem:
If you watch the speedometer of a car as you travel in city tra c, you see
that the needle doesn't stay still for very long; that is, the velocity of the car
is not constant. We assume from watching the speedometer that the car has
a de nite velocity at each moment, but how is the instantaneous" velocity
de ned? Let's investigate the example of a falling ball.
Example 2.1.3:
Suppose that a ball is dropped from the upper observation deck of the CN
Tower in Toronto, 450m above the ground. Find the velocity of the ball after
5 seconds.
SOLUTION: Through experiments carried out four centuries ago, Galileo
discovered that the distance fallen by any freely falling body is proportional
to the square of the time it has been falling. (This model for free fall ne-
glects air resistance.) If the distance fallen after seconds is denoted by s(t)
and measured in meters, then Galileo's law is expressed as
s(t) = 4.9t2
The di culty in nding the velocity after 5s is that we are dealing with a
single instant of time(t=5), so no time interval is involved. However, we can
approximate the desired quantity by computing the average velocity over the
brief time interval of a tenth of a second from to t=5 to t = 5.1:
change in position
average velocity =
time elapsed
s(5.1) − s(5))
=
0.1
4.9(5.1)2 − 4.9(52 )
= = 49.49m/s
0.1
The following table shows the results of similar calculations of the average
velocity over successively smaller time periods. It appears that as we shorten
Time interval Average velocity(m/s)
5≤t≤6 53.9
5 ≤ t ≤ 5.1 49.99
5 ≤ t ≤ 5.05 49.245
5 ≤ t ≤ 5.01 49.049
5 ≤ t ≤ 5.001 49.0049
2
the time period, the average velocity is becoming closer to 49m/s. The
instantaneous velocity when t=5 is de ned to be the limiting value of
these average velocities over shorter and shorter time periods that start at
t = 5. Thus the (instantaneous) velocity after 5s is
v = 49m/s
Exercise-2.1.6:If a rock is thrown upward on the planet Mars with a
velocity of 10 m/s, its height in meters t seconds later is given by y =
10t − 1.86t2 .
(a) Find the average velocity over the given time intervals:
(i)[1, 2] (ii)[1, 1.5] (iii)[1, 1.1] (iv)[1, 1.01] (v)[1, 1.001]
(b) Estimate the instantaneous velocity when t = 1.
Solution:
a) The position function y(t) at t=1 is y(1) = 10 − 1.86 = 8.14 and the
average velocity over the time interval [1, 1 + h] is: vave = y(1+h)−y(1)
(1+h)−1
=
6.28h−1.86h2
h
= 6.28 − 1.86h when h 6= 0. Now, the average velocities in the
following time intervals are evaluated as followes:
i) In the interval [1, 2] with h = 1, the average velocity vave = 6.28−1.86 =
4.42m/s
ii) In the interval [1, 1.5] with h = 0.5, the average velocity vave =
6.28 − 1.86 x 0.5 = 5.35m/s
iii) In the interval [1, 1.1] with h = 0.1, the average velocity
vave = 6.28 − 1.86 x 0.1 = 6.094m/s
iv) In the interval [1, 1.01] with h = 0.01, the average velocity
vave = 6.28 − 1.86 x 0.01 = 6.2614m/s
v) In the interval [1, 1.001] with h = 0.001, the average velocity vave =
6.28 − 1.86 x 0.001 = 6.27814m/s
b) The instantaneous velocity is the limiting value of the average velocities
over shorter and shorter time periods that start at t=1 is approximately
equal to 6.27m/s.
