RELATED RATES: Radius of the balloon

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Related rates problems are an application of derivatives and implicit differentiation that allow us to figure out how fast one thing is changing in relation to how fast something else is changing. For example, we might be interested in how fast the radius of an inflating balloon is increasing compared to how fast helium is being pumped into it.

Related rates problems allow us to do that by using implicit differentiation. We'll usually take the derivative of the equation, taking the derivative of every variable with respect to time t. Then we'll plug in for what we know and solve for the value we're interested in.

The key to related rates problems is getting the right equation set up. You need to figure out what equation you can write that will include the value you need to solve for. In addition to that, you may have to come up with a second equation that will give you the value for a missing variable that you need to plug into your first equation.

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Hi, I’m Krista! I make math courses to keep you from banging your head against the wall. ;)

Math class was always so frustrating for me. I’d go to a class, spend hours on homework, and three days later have an “Ah-ha!” moment about how the problems worked that could have slashed my homework time in half. I’d think, “WHY didn’t my teacher just tell me this in the first place?!”