Instantaneous rate of change: gradients of curves worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A cup of tea is cooling. Its temperature, in °C, is plotted against time, in minutes, since it was poured. At t = 4 minutes, the gradient of the tangent to the graph is −3.2. What does this tell you about the tea at t = 4 minutes?

2.A sprinter's distance from the start line, in metres, is plotted against time, in seconds. A tangent to the graph at t = 2 seconds has gradient 6. A tangent at t = 8 seconds has gradient 9.5. Which statement correctly compares the sprinter's speed at these two times?

3.A tangent to a curve at the point where x = 3 passes through the points (1, 4) and (5, 20). Work out the gradient of the tangent at x = 3, and hence the instantaneous rate of change of y with respect to x at that point.

4.The population of a town, P thousand, is plotted against time, t years, since 2020. A tangent to the graph at t = 6 has gradient 2.5. What does this gradient represent?

5.The height of a ball, in metres, above the ground is plotted against time, in seconds, after it is thrown. The tangent to the graph at t = 1.5 seconds has gradient 2. Which of these four statements about the ball at t = 1.5 seconds is correct?

6.An ice-cream van's daily takings, in £, are modelled by a curve plotted against the average temperature that day, in °C. At a temperature of 22°C, the gradient of the tangent to this curve is 14. What does this gradient tell you about the takings at 22°C?

7.A curve has equation y = 2x² + 5. Work out an estimate for the gradient of the curve at x = 3, using a chord between the points where x = 2 and x = 4.

8.A hiker's distance from the start of the trail, in kilometres, is plotted against time, in minutes, since she set off. At t = 45 minutes she stops to rest, so her distance from the start is neither increasing nor decreasing at that instant. Which statement about the tangent to the distance–time graph at t = 45 minutes is correct?

9.The volume of water in a paddling pool, in litres, is plotted against the time since the tap was turned on, in minutes. What are the units of the gradient of a tangent to this graph?

10.A cyclist's speed, in metres per second, is plotted against time, in seconds, since she sets off. Which statement correctly pairs the gradient of a tangent to this graph, and the area between the graph and the time-axis, with what each one represents?

11.The total cost, in pounds, of manufacturing a batch of components is plotted against the number of components produced. A tangent to this graph at a particular point has gradient 3.60. What does the value 3.60 represent?

12.The tangent to a curve at the point where x = 4 has equation y = 3x − 2. Work out the instantaneous rate of change of y with respect to x at x = 4.

13.The depth of water in a tank, in cm, is recorded every 10 seconds: at t = 10, depth = 32; at t = 20, depth = 45; at t = 30, depth = 56. Use the most appropriate chord from these readings to estimate the instantaneous rate of change of depth at t = 20.

14.A tangent to a curve at the point where x = 3 passes through the points (1, 2) and (5, 14). A candidate says: "The gradient of the tangent at x = 3 is 3, because 14 − 2 = 12 and 12 ÷ 4 = 3." Which statement is correct?

15.The cost, in pounds, of hiring a minibus is modelled against the number of passengers booked. A tangent to the cost graph at 20 passengers passes through the points (16, 184) and (24, 216). Work out the instantaneous rate at which the cost increases with each extra passenger, at 20 passengers.