Limits and Derivatives Solutions National MA Convention 2012
1. B definition of
e
.
2. D or E The series looks like the expansion of
x
e except the powers of
x
are decreased
by 1 and there is no 1 term.
3. C
12cos3 sin 4sin3 cos
12cos3 sin 4sin3 cos
dr
d
+
. Evaluating at
4
gives the correct answer.
4. C
1 1
lim 1
3sin cos 3 3
x
x
x x
!. B The second derivative of parametric is
d dy
dx dx
dx
dt
_
,
. Therefore the 2
nd
derivative is
2
"
" "
2#
t t
t
+
$ which simplifies to
!
2 2
%
t
t
.
". B &sing chain rule$ our derivative is
2
1
1 x x
. Evaluating at 2 x yields the desired
result.
#. C '()opital once we get
( )
2
lim !
x
x x x
+
. *ultiply by the con+ugate and the limit is
approaching
!
2
.
,. D &sing product rule -don(t forget to apply the chain rule for arcsin3x .$ yields the
desired result.
%. A /y definition of an inverse ( ) ( )
f g x x
. Therefore the numerator is and so is the
limit.
1. E '()opital once gives
( )
2
sin cos
2
lim
sec
x
a x b x
x
+
. 0lugging in gives a b .
11. A
( )
2
12
2
3ln 1 4 "
4 12
ln lim ln lim 3 ln 12
1 4 "
x x
x x
x
y y y y e
x x x
+
_
+
,
12. 1hanged to 1 from B Taking the derivative of both$ the only solution that satisfies the
given conditions is /.
13. C &sing chain rule for the natural log derivative we get
sin 2
tan 2
cos 2
x
x
x
.
14. 1hanged to 2 or E B 2
1
y
x
. The graph crosses the
x
axis at
1
2
x
. The slope
is
1
4
$ which is also the tangent of the angle.
Limits and Derivatives Solutions National MA Convention 2012
1!. A
2 3
3 2
3
3
dy x y y
dx x xy
_ +
+
,
and when evaluated at ( ) 1$1
is 3 1.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
3 2 2 2 2 3 2 2
2
2 2
3 2
3 " 3 3 3 3 3 "
3
x xy xy x y y y x y y x y xyy
d y
dx
x xy
1
+ + + + + +
1
1
+
]
and when
evaluated at the point ( ) 1$1
and
1 y
gives .
1". C /asic limit
1#. A
2 2
1
12 " " 2 1 $ 1
2
y x x x x x + +
. 4ubstituting these values into
the derivative yield the desired answers.
1,. D 4 3 #.!
dx dz dx dx
x y
dt dt dt dt
.
1%. B
2
2!
dy x
dx
x
. Take the reciprocal to get the desired result.
2. B 5e need the 2
nd
derivative here so
" " 1 y x x
. The slope is increasing over
the interval where 1 x > .
21. C
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
2
1 cos cos 1 sin sin
1 cos
x x x x
f x
x
+
. 0lug in
2
to get 3 2.
22. E The function can only have a derivative if ( ) g c
.
23. B The sine function oscillates while the denominator grows without bound thus the
limit approaches .
24. A &se the general form of Taylor 0olynomials.
2!. D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
2 2
1 2 1 1 3 1 ! 1 3 2 3 1 #
lim lim !
" 2 2 2 2
n n
n n n n n n n n
n n n n
+ + + + _ _ + + _
,
, ,
2". A
2
3 "
2x
x x
2#. A /ased off of the given criteria$ the derivative must be a linear function and the
second derivative is the constant function thus either always concave up or concave
down. The only choice that fits this description is a parabola.
2,. E 6f continuous then
3
3 2
2
b a b a + +
. 6f differentiable then
2 4 2 " 4 b a b b + + . Their sum is
11
2
2%. C *ultiplying by the con+ugate yields
( )
2 2
2 2
lim
,
x
x
x x
+
+
. 2irect substitute to get the
correct answer.
Limits and Derivatives Solutions National MA Convention 2012
3. C
3 2
2 3 2 3 2 3 2
3 4 !
3 " 1 3 " 3 1 2 3 1
x x x
x x x x x x x x x x
x
+
+
which factors to ( ) ( )
2
2 1 1 x x + $ so the
x
values will be
1
2
and 1. 0lugging these
values into the derivative and summing those values gives you the desired answer.
