[Math] How to find the rate at which something is increasing

calculus

Certain pieces of antique furniture increased very rapidly in price in the 1970s and 1980s. For example, the value of a particular rocking chair is well approximated by

V = 105 (1.75)^t,
where V is in dollars and t is the number of years since 1975. Find the rate, in dollars per year, at which the price is increasing.

rate = _____ dollars/year

  1. I have tried taking the derivative.
  2. I tried tried plugging in 5 for t.
    I'm not sure exactly how to approach this problem, the methods I'm trying are not working

Best Answer

As a general rule, for $a>0$, the derivative of $a^{t}$ is $$\frac{d}{dt}a^{t}=a^{t}\ln(a)$$ Here's the proof for this formula: we will start by proving the derivative formula $$\frac{d}{dt}\log_{a}(t)=\frac{1}{t\ln(a)}$$

Using the change of base formula, $$\log_{a}(t)=\frac{\ln(t)}{\ln(a)}$$ we have $$\frac{d}{dt}\log_{a}(t)=\frac{1}{\ln(a)}\cdot \frac{1}{t}=\frac{1}{t\ln(a)}$$ Now, for any invertible function $f$, the equation $(f\circ f^{-1})(x)=x$ holds for all x in the domain of $f^{-1}$. The Chain Rule then yields $$f'(f^{-1}(x))(f^{-1})'(x)=1$$ for all $x$ in the domain of $f^{-1}$. Equivalently, $$(f^{-1})'(x)=\frac{1}{f'(f^{-1}(x))}$$ Thus, since $a^{t}$ is the inverse function to $\log_{a}(t)$, we have $$\frac{d}{dt}a^{t}=\frac{1}{\frac{1}{a^{t}\ln(a)}}=a^{t}\ln(a)$$ For your problem, Chris, use $a=1.75$.

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