When solving these types of problems, you first draw of picture and pick out the type of geometric figure involved. The key here is to write down as many equations as you can think of and then use only the ones that seem to apply. Sometimes, especially with cones, you need to come up with relationships that might not be very intuitive. We will show you some things to watch for. Once you have a figure with all the parts labeled, you can write down the equations involved.

On the main related rates page, we discuss two ways to work these problems based on when you take the derivative, either before combining equations or after. Especially with volume problems, it is often better NOT to combine equations too soon, since the equations can get quite messy very quickly.

What do you do with constants that are given in the problem? First of all, you never want to just go in and plug in all your constants before you take the derivative.

Safe Answer - - Wait and plug in your constants only after you have the derivative. So, you would label all distances with variables, take the derivative with respect to t and then plug in all your given constants. This is what you need to do when you first start learning to work related rates problems. After you have some experience, you can go on to the more experienced technique.

Experienced Answer - - Once you learn the basics of related rates problems, you will have a feel for which constants you can plug in right away and which ones you can't. The difference you need to look for is
- if the variable is NOT changing, then you can substitute the constant in before taking the derivative;
- but, if the variable is changing over time, then you must wait until after you take the derivative before you can substitute the constant into the equation.

Problems involving cylinders (also called right-circular cylinders) and cylindrical tanks are usually pretty straightforward. One of the major variations is the orientation of the tank.
- If the tank is on end, then the volume equation is just the area of the circular cross-section times the height of the tank or the depth of the fluid in the tank, i.e. \(V = \pi r^2 h\).
- The other orientation you may come across is a tank on it's side. In this case, you have to be careful to note if the fluid in the tank is above or below the center line. The equations are different in each case.
Probably, if the problem statement does not say that the tank is on it's side, you can usually assume that it is sitting on end. However, check with your instructor to confirm this.

Sphere problems show up in three main types.
1. If you have a sphere, like a balloon that is a complete sphere. In this case, you use the equation of the volume of a sphere with radius \(r\) as \(V = 4\pi r^3 / 3\).
2. If you have a spherically shaped tank and it is only partially full of fluid. In this case, you need have to notice if the tank level is above or below the half-way point. The equations are different in each case.
3. For the surface area of a sphere, the equation you need is \( A = 4 \pi r^2 \). [Note: Although these problems use the word 'area', we include them on this page since the shape is 3-dimensional.]

These types of problems include troughs (tanks) that have some kind of geometric shape that is the same for the entire length of the trough when you look at the cross-section. The volume equation for these types of tanks is just the area of the cross-section times the length.
Key - It is important to notice that the cross-section of the tank is exactly the same no matter where along the tank you look at the cross-section.
If you have a triangular cross-section, you will end up with similar triangles. See the precalculus similar triangles page for a review on how to set up the ratios for use in related rates problems.