Suppose a particular tissue culture has area AA(tt) at time tt and a
potential maximum area MM. Based on properties of cell division, it is reasonable to assume that
the area AA grows at a rate jointly proportional to �AA(tt) and MM − AA(tt); that is
dddd
dddd = kk�AA(tt) [MM − AA(tt)]
where kk is a positive constant.
1 You may wish to begin your research by consuming the following articles:
Robert Eisner, The Misunderstood Economics: What Counts and How to Count It, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994, pp.
196-199 and Robert H. Frank, Microeconomics and Behavior, 2nd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994, pp. 656-657.
4 | P a g e
a. Let RR(tt) = AA′
(tt) be the rate of tissue growth. Show that RR′
(tt) = 0 when AA(tt) = MM/3.
b. Is the rate of tissue growth greatest or least when AA(tt) = MM/3? [Hint: Use the first
derivative test or second derivative test.]
c. Based on the given information and what you discovered in part (a), what can you say
about the graph of AA(tt)?
a.
b.
If increases.
If decreases.
The rate of tissue growth is greatest when
c.
when
If is concave up.
If is concave down.
The graph of has an inflection point when
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