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Differentiation

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Question 467

A laboratory-grown synthetic crystal takes the form of a regular tetrahedron, which consists of 4 congruent equilateral triangular faces meeting at 4 vertices. The side length of the tetrahedron is denoted by L mmL\text{ mm}L mm.

a.

Show that the total surface area, S mm2S\text{ mm}^2S mm2, of the tetrahedron is given by

S=3L2 S = \sqrt{3}L^2 S=3​L2
[2]
b.

Given that the volume, V mm3V\text{ mm}^3V mm3, of the tetrahedron is given by

V=L362 V = \frac{L^3}{6\sqrt{2}} V=62​L3​

show that dVdS=624L\dfrac{\text{d}V}{\text{d}S} = \dfrac{\sqrt{6}}{24}LdSdV​=246​​L.

[3]
c.

The surface area of the crystal is increasing at a constant rate of 0.14 mm2 s−10.14\text{ mm}^2\text{ s}^{-1}0.14 mm2 s−1.

Find the rate of change of the volume of the crystal when L=6L = 6L=6, giving your answer to 2 significant figures.

[3]
Markscheme

Differentiation Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Maths
  3. /Differentiation

717 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Maths Differentiation, covering 9.1 Differentiating sin x and cos x, 9.2 Differentiating exponentials and logarithms, 9.3 The Chain Rule, 9.4 The Product Rule, 9.5 The Quotient Rule, 9.6 Differentiating Trigonometric Functions, 9.7 Parametric Differentiation, 9.8 Implicit Differentiation, 9.9 Using Second Derivatives, and 9.10 Rates of Change. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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