How To Sketch The Graph of The Derivative
How To Sketch The Graph of The Derivative
the Derivative
What is the Graph of the Derivative Function?
The derivative is the value of the gradient of the original function.
The y coordinates at each point on the derivative function show
the value of the gradient at the corresponding point on the
original function.
For example, the blue arrow shows where the gradient of the original
function is negative. Here the graph is going downwards from left to
right.
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Therefore the derivative function is negative here, with the derivative
function shown below the axis.
The red arrow shows where the gradient is positive. Here the graph is
going upwards from left to right.
Turning points are where the graph turns around. There are two
turning points on the graph shown below.
Step 2. Draw the derivative graph above the x-axis where the
function is increasing
In the graph shown, the function is increasing on the left of the first
turning point.
It is also increasing on the right of the second turning point.
Therefore, the derivative graph will be above the x-axis on the left of
the first zero and on the right of the second zero as shown below.
The graph is decreasing between the two turning points. Therefore the
derivative graph is below the x-axis between its two zeros.
We do not know how high the turning point is and therefore this a
sensible guess is made in the sketch.
The original function is a cubic function with two turning points.
Quadratic Linear
Cubic Quadratic
Quartic Cubic
Exponential Exponential
Logarithmic Rational
Sine Cosine
Cosine Sine
We can see that the gradient is negative to the left of the minimum
point and positive to the right of the minimum point. Therefore the
derivative function is negative on the left (below the x-axis) and then
positive on the right (above the x-axis). The minimum point is in the
same position as where the derivative function crosses the x-axis.
Cubic graphs can either have a maximum point first and then a
minimum point or they can have a minimum point first and then a
maximum point.
The derivative graphs of both types of cubic graph are shown below.
The x-axis intercepts (zeros) of the derivative graphs are in the same
location as the turning points of the cubic graphs. This are shown by
the purple dots in the image below.
In the first instance, the cubic graph starts as an increasing function,
then it decreases between the maximum and minimum points and
finally increases again.
The graph of its derivative starts negative, is positive between the two
zeros before becoming negative again. It is a concave down parabola
with a maximum point that is in line with the location of the inflection
point of the original cubic function.
The image below shows the derivative graph for functions of the
form .
For the function , the graph of the derivative is identical to .
At points of inflection, .
To sketch the second derivative graph from a given graph use these
steps:
Inflection points are found where the curvature of the graph changes
direction.
The two inflection points are shown with pink dots on the image
above.
The regions where the original graph is concave-up are shown inside
red boxes on the image above. That is, to the left of the first inflection
point and to the right of the second inflection point.
Therefore, the second derivative is above the x-axis on the left of the
first inflection point and it is below the x-axis on the right of the
second inflection point.