What is the rate of change of the volume of a cone given that both its radius and height are increasing at 12 centimeters per second?

The volume of a cone is calculated using the formula:

V = \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2 h

Where:

  • V = Volume of the cone
  • r = Radius of the base of the cone
  • h = Height of the cone

In this scenario, both the radius (r) and the height (h) are increasing at a constant rate of 12 centimeters per second. We need to find the rate of change of volume (\frac{dV}{dt}) with respect to time.

Using the chain rule of differentiation, we can express \frac{dV}{dt} as follows:

\frac{dV}{dt} = \frac{dV}{dr} \cdot \frac{dr}{dt} + \frac{dV}{dh} \cdot \frac{dh}{dt}

First, we calculate \frac{dV}{dr} and \frac{dV}{dh}:

  • Finding \frac{dV}{dr}:
  • V = \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2 h

    \frac{dV}{dr} = \frac{d}{dr} \left( \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2 h \right) = \frac{2}{3} \pi r h

  • Finding \frac{dV}{dh}:
  • \frac{dV}{dh} = \frac{d}{dh} \left( \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2 h \right) = \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2

Now, we can plug in values for \frac{dV}{dr}, \frac{dV}{dh}, \frac{dr}{dt}, and \frac{dh}{dt}:

Given:

  • \frac{dr}{dt} = 12 cm/s
  • \frac{dh}{dt} = 12 cm/s

Thus, the rate of change of volume becomes:

\frac{dV}{dt} = \left(\frac{2}{3} \pi r h \cdot 12 \right) + \left( \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2 \cdot 12 \right)

Factoring out the common terms:

\frac{dV}{dt} = 12 \cdot \frac{\pi}{3} \left(2rh + r^2 \right)

Therefore, the rate of change of the volume of the cone, where radius and height both increase at a rate of 12 centimeters per second, can be represented by:

\frac{dV}{dt} = 4\pi \left(2rh + r^2 \right) cm^3/s

This formula efficiently describes how the volume of the cone changes as both the height and radius increase, offering a clear understanding of the dynamics involved.

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