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The Second Differential: Ib SL/HL Adrian Sparrow

The document discusses the second differential and its notation. It provides examples of taking the first and second differentials of various functions. The differentials are then graphed to show their general shapes. The second differential is useful for finding the nature of turning or stationary points on a graph.

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212 views7 pages

The Second Differential: Ib SL/HL Adrian Sparrow

The document discusses the second differential and its notation. It provides examples of taking the first and second differentials of various functions. The differentials are then graphed to show their general shapes. The second differential is useful for finding the nature of turning or stationary points on a graph.

Uploaded by

Espee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Second Differential

IB SL/HL

Adrian Sparrow

www.ibmaths.com
Notation

Function or equation y f (x)

dy
1st differential f (x)
 dx

2
d y
2nd differential
 2
f (x)
dx
The process
Differentiate each of these twice, using the correct notation:
2
dy d y
1. y  x  2x  3  2x  2 2
2
2
dx dx

2. f (x)  x  4 x  5x  1
3 2

f (x)  3x  8x  5
2
f (x)
  6x  8


2
3. y  e 4 x  dy d y
 4e 4x
2
 16e 4x

dx dx

4. f (x)  cos 2 x f (x)  2cos x sin x f (x)  2sin x  cos x 



 2 2


Graphing 1
Consider the graph of the equation,
y  x 2  2x  3.

Now graph the 1st


differential.
dy
 2x  2
dx

Now graph the 2nd


differential.
2
d y
2
2
dx

Did you have an idea about the type of graph the first and second
differentials would be from the shape of the original curve?
Graphing - a cubic
Below is a graph of y=f(x). Answers
y = f (x)



y = f (x)


Sketch the general shape of,
The original graph is an +x3.
y = f (x) and y = f (x). The differential will be +x2.
The second differential will be
y=mx+c.
Graphing - a cubic again
Below is a graph of y=f(x). Answers

y = f (x)



y = f (x)
Sketch the general shape of,
y = f (x) and y = f (x). The original graph is an -x3.
The differential will be -x2.
The second differential will be
y=-mx+c.
Why do we need the 2nd differential?

The second differential is useful so that we can find


the nature of turning, or stationary, points.

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