Graphs of Functions & Their Derivatives (College Board AP® Calculus AB)

Exam Questions

58 mins30 questions
1
Sme Calculator
2 marks

x

0

20

40

60

80

100

f open parentheses x close parentheses

20

45

60

65

45

30

The table above shows selected values of f open parentheses x close parentheses, where f open parentheses x close parentheses is a differentiable function.

Must there exist a value of a, for 20 less than x less than 80, such that f to the power of apostrophe open parentheses a close parentheses equals 0? Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

2
Sme Calculator
2 marks

The rate at which people enter a sports stadium for an event is given by R open parentheses t close parentheses equals 360 square root of sin open parentheses t over 30 close parentheses end root where t is the number of minutes since the stadium is open for people to enter. This function is valid for 0 less than t less than 94 and R open parentheses t close parentheses is measured in people per minute.

After the stadium has been open for half an hour, is the rate at which people enter the stadium increasing or decreasing? Give a reason for your answer.

Did this page help you?

3
Sme Calculator
2 marks
The function g has an initial straight line segment that starts at (-3, 2) and touches the x-axis at -2. It then curves up to (-1, 3) before a second straight line segment down to (1, 2). Another straight line segment joins this point with (3, -2), crossing the x-axis at 2. Then a horizontal segment goes from (0=3, -2) to (4, -2). Finally the function curves up to the point (5, 0) before finally curing up to (6, 4).
Graph of g

The graph of the continuous function g, the derivative of the function f, is shown above for negative 3 less or equal than x less or equal than 6.

On what open intervals, if any, is the graph of f both decreasing and concave down? Give a reason for your answer.

Did this page help you?

4
Sme Calculator
1 mark
Graph with points connected by lines: (-3,-2), (-1,2), (0,0), (1,4), (4,1), (5,-1) on xy-plane with axes labelled.
Graph of f

The figure above shows the graph of the function f. For negative 4 less or equal than x less or equal than 12, the function g is defined by g open parentheses x close parentheses equals integral subscript 2 superscript x f open parentheses t close parentheses space d t.

Does the graph of g have a point of inflection at x equals negative 1? Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

5
Sme Calculator
2 marks
Graph of f on the interval -2<x<4. The function is made up of three straight line segments. The first goes from (-2, 4) to (0, 0), the second from (0, 0) to (2, 2) and the third from (2, 2) to (4, -2).
Graph of f'

The function f is differentiable on the closed interval open square brackets negative 2 comma space 4 close square brackets and satisfies f left parenthesis 0 right parenthesis equals 5. The graph of f apostrophe, the derivative of f, consists of three line segments, as shown in the figure above.

Find the absolute minimum value of f on the closed interval left square bracket negative 2 comma space 4 right square bracket. Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

1a
Sme Calculator
1 mark
A graph with two connected shapes: an semicircle from (-5, 0) to (-1, 0) and a line from (0, -2) to (1, 2), and a line from (1,2) to (5, -2).
Graph of f'

The function f is defined on the closed interval [-5, 5]. The graph of f to the power of apostrophe, the derivative of f, consists of two line segments and a semicircle, as shown in the figure.

Does f have a relative minimum, a relative maximum, or neither at x equals negative 3? Give a reason for your answer.

1b
Sme Calculator
2 marks

On what open intervals, if any, is the graph of f concave down? Give a reason for your answer.

Did this page help you?

2
Sme Calculator
2 marks

It is known for y equals a x square root of 16 minus x squared end root, where a is a positive non-zero constant, that the rate of change is fraction numerator d y over denominator d x end fraction equals fraction numerator 2 open parentheses a x squared minus 8 a close parentheses over denominator square root of 16 minus x squared end root end fraction. For a particular value of a, the maximum value of y is 40. Find the value of a.

Did this page help you?

3
Sme Calculator
3 marks
Graph showing a curve with vertical and horizontal asymptotes, crossing the x-axis, and labelled axes with x and y indicators.

Let f and g be the functions defined by f open parentheses x close parentheses equals ln open parentheses x plus 5 close parentheses and g open parentheses x close parentheses equals x to the power of 6 plus 2 x to the power of 5. The graphs of f and g, shown in the figure above, inersect at x equals A and x equals B, where A less than negative 1 and B greater than 0.

For A less or equal than x less or equal than B let h open parentheses x close parentheses be the vertical distance between the graphs of f and g. Is h increasing or decreasing at x equals negative 1? Give a reason for your answer.

Did this page help you?

4
Sme Calculator
2 marks

x

f open parentheses x close parentheses

0

0

0.9

2.2

5.1

-1.16

8.4

2.2

12

1.92

Selected values of the differentiable function f open parentheses x close parentheses are shown in the table above.

Justify why there must be at least one value of x for 0.9 less or equal than x less or equal than 8.4, at which f to the power of apostrophe open parentheses x close parentheses is equal to zero.

Did this page help you?

5a
Sme Calculator
3 marks
Graph of f starting with a straight line segment between (-3, -2) and (-1, 0). A semicircle arches up from (-1, 0) and comes back down to (3, 0). A second straight. line segment goes from here up to (5, 2) and a final straight line segment goes between (5, 2) and (6, -2).
Graph of f

Let f be the continuous function defined on open square brackets negative 3 comma space 6 close square brackets whose graph, consisting of three straight line segments and a semicircle, is given above. Let g be the function g open parentheses x close parentheses equals integral subscript 1 superscript x f open parentheses t close parentheses space d t.

Find the x-coordinate of each point at which the graph of g has a horizontal tangent line. For each of these points, determine whether g has a relative minimum, relative maximum or neither a minimum or maximum at the point. Justify your answers.

5b
Sme Calculator
2 marks

For negative 3 less than x less than 6, find all the values of x for which the graph of g has a point of inflection. Explain your reasoning.

Did this page help you?

1a
Sme Calculator
2 marks
A graph with a semicircle starting at (0,0), peaking at (2,1), and dipping to (4,0). A straight line then descends to (10,-6) and ascends to (12,-2).
Graph of f'

Let f be a differentiable function. On the interval 0 less or equal than x less or equal than 12, the graph of f to the power of apostrophe, the derivative of f, consists of a semicircle and two line segments, as shown in the figure above.

Find the x-coordinates of all points of inflection of the graph of f for 0 less than x less than 12. Justify your answer.

1b
Sme Calculator
2 marks

Let g be the function defined by g open parentheses x close parentheses equals f open parentheses x close parentheses plus 2 x. On what intervals, if any, is g decreasing for 0 less or equal than x less or equal than 12? Show the analysis that leads to your answer.

1c
Sme Calculator
2 marks

Given that f open parentheses 0 close parentheses equals 0, find the absolute maximum value of the function g open parentheses x close parentheses defined in part (b) on the interval 0 less or equal than x less or equal than 12. Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

2
Sme Calculator
2 marks
Line graph on a grid with line segments between points at (-6, 0), (-4, 4), (-3, 2), (1, 6), (6, -4); axes labelled x and y.
Graph of f

Let f be a continuous function defined on the closed interval negative 6 less or equal than x less or equal than 6. The graph of f, consisting of four line segments, is shown above. Let G be the function defined by G open parentheses x close parentheses equals integral subscript 0 superscript x f open parentheses t close parentheses space italic d t.

Find the average rate of change of G on the interval [-6, 6]. Does the Mean Value Theorem guarantee a value c, negative 6 less than c less than 6 for which G to the power of apostrophe open parentheses c close parentheses is equal to this average rate of change? Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

3a
Sme Calculator
3 marks

Birds enter an area of woodland at a rate modeled by the function E open parentheses t close parentheses equals 40 plus 12 sin open parentheses fraction numerator pi t over denominator 6 end fraction close parentheses. Birds leave the area at a rate modeled by the function L open parentheses t close parentheses equals 12 plus 2 to the power of 0.01 t squared end exponent. Both E open parentheses t close parentheses and L open parentheses t close parentheses are measured in birds per hour, and t is measured in hours since midnight open parentheses t equals 0 close parentheses.

At what value of t, for 0 less or equal than t less or equal than 24, is the greatest number of birds in the area of woodland? Justify your answer.

3b
Sme Calculator
2 marks

Is the rate of change in the number of birds in the area of woodland increasing or decreasing at noon open parentheses t equals 12 close parentheses? Explain your reasoning.

Did this page help you?

4
Sme Calculator
4 marks
A graph of the function f described inn the question, consisting of line segments between (-2, 1) and (3, 0), and between (3, 0) and (3, -3), and a quarter circle connecting (3, -3) to (6, 0)

The continuous function f is defined on the closed interval negative 2 less or equal than x less or equal than 6. The figure above shows the graph of f, consisting of two line segments and a quarter of a circle centered at the point open parentheses 6 comma space minus 3 close parentheses.

The function g is given by g open parentheses x close parentheses equals integral subscript negative 2 end subscript superscript x f open parentheses t close parentheses space italic d t. Find the absolute maximum value of g on the interval negative 2 less or equal than x less or equal than 6. Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

5
Sme Calculator
2 marks

The rate at which a hot object cools down is proportional to the difference between its current temperature and the ambient temperature of the surrounding environment. If F open parentheses t close parentheses is the temperature of the object in degrees Farenheit at time t hours, and the surrounding temperature is constant at 60°F, the rate of change of the temperature is given by:

fraction numerator d F over denominator d t end fraction equals negative 1 fourth open parentheses F minus 60 close parentheses

Initially, at t equals 0, the temperature of the object is 220°F.

Find fraction numerator d squared F over denominator d t squared end fraction in terms of F. Use fraction numerator d squared F over denominator d t squared end fraction to explain why the graph of F cannot resemble the following graph.

Graph of the temperature of the water (in degrees Farenheit) as a function of time (in hours). The curve starts at 220 degrees on the y-axis and decreases at a slow rate. The curve is steeper in the central section then becomes less steep again towards the end of the time as it approaches 60 degrees Farenheit.

Did this page help you?