Q.A stone is dropped in a calm and quiet pond. The generated waves move in a circular form with 4 cm/sec speed. Find out with what speed the area covered by the waves is increasing when the radius of the travelling circular waves is 10 cm.
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Related Rates
The idea: quantities that change together
Many real situations involve two or more quantities that all vary with time, linked by a fixed relationship. Inflate a balloon and its radius and volume both grow; slide a ladder down a wall and the top's height and the foot's distance both change. A related-rates problem gives you the rate at which one quantity is changing and asks for the rate of another, at some instant.
The key insight: if the quantities are tied together by an equation, then their rates are tied together too. We uncover that link by differentiating the equation with respect to time t.
The core mechanism: differentiate with respect to time
Every variable is a function of t, so differentiating brings in the chain rule — each variable's derivative picks up a factor of its own rate. For example, if the volume of a sphere is V=34πr3, then differentiating both sides with respect to t gives
dtdV=4πr2dtdr.
This single equation connects the rate the volume grows, dtdV, to the rate the radius grows, dtdr. Knowing one (and the current r) gives the other.
The standard procedure
Solving a related-rates problem
- Identify the quantities that change with time and the rate you want.
- Write an equation relating those quantities (geometry, a formula, etc.).
- Differentiate both sides with respect to t, treating every variable as a function of t.
- Substitute the known values and the known rate at the given instant.
- Solve for the unknown rate.
Worked example
Air is pumped into a spherical balloon at dtdV=100 cm3/s. How fast is the radius increasing when r=5 cm?
From dtdV=4πr2dtdr, substitute dtdV=100 and r=5:
100=4π(5)2dtdr=100πdtdr⟹dtdr=π1 cm/s. …
Area A = πr², so dA/dt = 2πr·dr/dt with dr/dt = 4 cm/s. …
With A = πr² and dr/dt = 4, dA/dt = 2πr(4) = 8πr; at r = 10 this is 80π cm²/s.
The waves form expanding circles. Given dr/dt = 4 cm/s. Find dA/dt at r = 10 cm.
Step 1: Area of a circle A = πr².
Step 2: Differentiate with respect to time t:
dA/dt = 2πr·(dr/dt).
…
Showing the 12 most recent of 15 on this concept.
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.The edge of a variable cube is increasing at the rate of 3 cm/s. The volume of the cube is increasing at the rate of __________ while the edge is 10 cm long.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Use V=e3 and the chain rule dV/dt=3e2de/dt.
Let e be the edge; V=e3, so dtdV=3e2dtde.
Given dtde=3 cm/s and e=10 cm:
…
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.The radius of an air bubble is increasing at the rate of 1/2 cm/s. At what rate is the volume of the bubble increasing when the radius is 1 cm?
›Reveal solutionSolution
Use V=34πr3 and dtdV=4πr2dtdr.
Given dtdr=21 cm/s, at r=1 cm:
…
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Radius of a circle is increasing at the rate of 1/π m/s. Rate of change of its circumference is:(a) 4π m/s(b) 2 m/s(c) 2π m/s(d) 4 m/s
›Reveal solutionSolution
Since C=2πr, differentiating both sides w.r.t. time gives dtdC=2πdtdr directly.
The circumference of a circle of radius r is C=2πr.
Differentiating with respect to time t:
dtdC=2πdtdr
Given dtdr=π1 m/s, substitute: …
- CBSE 2025Set 65/2/11 markMCQQ.A cylindrical tank of radius 10 cm is being filled with sugar at the rate of 100π cm3/s. The rate at which the height of the sugar inside the tank is increasing is: (A) 0.1 cm/s (B) 0.5 cm/s (C) 1 cm/s (D) 1.1 cm/s
›Reveal solutionSolution
The volume of a cylinder is V=πr2h. Since the radius is constant, the rate of change of volume with respect to time is dtdV=πr2dtdh. Given dtdV=100π cm³/s and r=10 cm, solving gives dtdh=1 cm/s. The correct option is (C).
This is a classic Related Rates problem. The core idea is that when two quantities are linked by a geometric formula (here, volume and height of a cylinder), their rates of change with respect to time are also linked. You differentiate the relationship with respect to time, plug in what you know, and solve for the unknown rate.
The key insight: the tank’s radius is fixed at 10 cm. So as sugar pours in, the height increases, but the cross-sectional area stays the same. That means the volume increases at a constant rate per unit height — specifically, each 1 cm rise in height adds π(10)2=100π cm³ of volume. Since sugar is being added at exactly 100π cm³/s, the height must be rising at 1 cm/s.
Let’s work it out formally.
- Write the relationship between volume and height. For a cylinder, V=πr2h. Here r=10 cm, so
V=π(10)2h=100πh.
-
Differentiate both sides with respect to time t.
Since r is constant, dtdV=100πdtdh.
This is the related rates equation — it tells us how fast the volume changes in terms of how fast the height changes.
-
Substitute the given rate.
We know dtdV=100π cm³/s. So:
100π=100πdtdh.
- Solve for dtdh. Divide both sides by 100π: …
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Radius of a circle is increasing at the rate of 2 m/s. Rate of change of its circumference is:(a) 4π m/s(b) 2 m/s(c) 2π m/s(d) 4 m/s
›Reveal solutionSolution
Differentiate the circumference formula C=2πr with respect to time and plug in dtdr.
Given dtdr=2 m/s. Circumference C=2πr.
Differentiating both sides with respect to time t: …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markQ.The radius of a circle is increasing uniformly at the rate of 3 cm/s. Find the rate at which the area of the circle is increasing when the radius is 10 cm.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Use related rates: differentiate A=πr2 w.r.t. time and substitute the given dtdr and r.
Given dtdr=3 cm/s, find dtdA at r=10 cm.
A=πr2⇒dtdA=2πrdtdr
…
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markQ.The radius of a circle is increasing at the rate of 0.7 cm/s. What is the rate of increase in its circumference?
›Reveal solutionSolution
Differentiate the circumference formula C=2πr with respect to time.
The circumference of a circle of radius r is
C=2πr.
Given dtdr=0.7 cm/s. Differentiating with respect to t: …
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The radius of a circle is increasing at the rate of 0.3 cm/sec. The rate of increase of its perimeter is(a) 0.4π cm/sec(b) 0.6π cm/sec(c) 0.8π cm/sec(d) none of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
This is a related-rates problem: differentiate the perimeter formula w.r.t. time.
Perimeter (circumference) P=2πr. Differentiating w.r.t. time t: dtdP=2πdtdr.
…
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Radius of a circle is increasing at the rate of 3 cm/sec. Find the rate of change of area when radius of circle is 10 cm.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Differentiate A=πr2 with respect to time and substitute r=10, dr/dt=3.
Area of circle: A=πr2. Differentiating both sides with respect to t:
dtdA=2πrdtdr
…
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The radius of a circle is increasing at the rate of 0.7 cm/s. The rate of increase of its circumference is –(a) 7.1 cm/s(b) 4.0 cm/s(c) 3.9 cm/s(d) 4.4 cm/s
›Reveal solutionSolution
Differentiate C=2πr with respect to time and substitute the given rate of change of the radius.
Circumference C=2πr. Differentiating with respect to time t:
dtdC=2πdtdr.
Given dtdr=0.7 cm/s: …
- CBSE 2018Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The volume of a spherical balloon is increasing at the rate of 25 cm3/sec. The rate of increase of its surface area when its radius is 5cm is(a) 5 cm2/sec.(b) 10 cm2/sec.(c) 15 cm2/sec.(d) 20 cm2/sec.
›Reveal solutionSolution
related rates: relate dV/dt to dr/dt, then dS/dt to dr/dt
Volume V=34πr3⇒dtdV=4πr2dtdr.
At r=5: 25=4π(25)dtdr⟹dtdr=100π25=4π1.
Surface area S=4πr2⇒dtdS=8πrdtdr.
…
- CBSE 2018Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The angle x which increases twice as fast as its sine is(a) 3π(b) 2π(c) π(d) 23π
›Reveal solutionSolution
Translate "x increases twice as fast as sin x" into dx/dt=2d(sinx)/dt and solve for x.
"x increases twice as fast as its sine" means dtdx=2dtd(sinx)=2cosxdtdx …
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