Chapter 3

DIFFERENTIATION
 Introduction

Techniques

Differentiation

Some derivatives

Higher derivatives
An Introduction to the Derivative:
Tangent
 Tangent lines
 The derivative
 Relationship between the graphs of f and f’
 Existence of derivatives
 Continuity and differentiability
 Derivative notation
Tangent lines

Which line is the tangent line of the curve y=f(x)

at the point P?
Tangent lines

 To
find the tangent line of a curve at a point P,
we must find its slope.
 How can we find its slope?
Tangent line
y
P

M
M
M
M
M

O x
Slope of a line tangent to a graph at a
point
At the point P  x0 , f  x0 , the tangent line to the graph of
f has slope given by the formula
f  x0  x   f  x0 
mtan  lim
x 0 x
provided this limit exists.
The derivative
Let f be a function defined in an open interval consisting
x0 . The derivative of f at x  x0 is given by
f  x  x   f  x 
f '  x   lim
x  0 x
provided this limit exists.
Alternatively, we can write
f t   f  x 
f '  x   lim
tx tx
where t  x  x .
The derivatives

Note:
 If
the limit of the difference quotient exists, the
we say that the function f is differentiable at x.
 The value of a derivative depends only on the
limit process and not on the symbols used in that
process.
 Notice that the derivative of a function is itself a
function.
The derivative

Example. Differentiate f t   t .

Example. Estimate the derivative of f  x   cos x at x 
6
by evaluating the difference quotient
  
cos   x   cos
y 6  6

x x

near the point x  .
6
Equation of a line tangent to a curve at
a point
If f is a differentiable function at x0 , the graph of y  f  x 
has a tangent line at the point P  x0 , f  x0  with slope
f '  x0  and equation
y  f '  x0  x  x0   f  x0 .
Tangent line

Example.
Find an equation of the tangent line to the graph of
at the point P(-1;1).
Relationship between the graphs of f
and f’
Since slope is measured by f’, it follows that at point x
where
 f’(x)>0, the tangent line must be tilted upward, and the
graph is rising.
 f’(x)<0, the tangent line must be tilted downward, and
the graph is falling.
 f’(x)=0, the tangent line is horizontal at x, so the graph
“flattens”.
Relationship between the graphs of f
and f’
Relationship between the graphs of f
and f’
Example. The graph of a function f is shown in the following figure

Sketch a possible graph for the derivative f’.

Relationship between the graphs of f
and f’
Existence of derivatives

 At
points where function f is not differentiable,
we say that the derivative of f does not exist.
 Three common ways for a derivative to fail to
exist at a point (c, f(c)) in the domain of f
Existence of Derivatives
A function that does not have a
derivative at a corner
 Show that the absolute value function f(x)=|x| is
not differentiable at x=0.
A function that does not have a
derivative at a corner
Continuity and differentiability

Theorem. If a function f is differentiable at c, then

it is also continuous at c.
The converse is not true in common. If a function is
continuous at x=c, then it may or may not be
differentiable at that point.
Continuity and Differentiability
Continuity and Differentiability

 Example.Give an example of a function that is

continuous at x=1 but not differentiable at x=1.
Derivative notation
Instead of using the notation f’(x) to denote the derivative,
dy
we can also use the notation .
dx
This notation is called the Leibnitz notation.
Derivative at a point with Leibnitz
notation
dy
Find if y  x 3 .
dx x 1
Procedural rules for finding derivatives
Some fundamental derivatives
Derivative of a constant function
Theorem (Constant rule)
A constant function f  x   k has derivative f '  x   0 ; in
Leibnitz notation,
Derivative of a power function
Theorem (Power rule)
For any real number n, the power function f  x   x n has
the derivative f '  x   nx n1;
In Leibnitz notation,
Differentiation of the trigonometric
functions
The six basic trigonometric functions sinx, cosx, tanx, cscx,
secx, and cotx are all differentiable wherever they are
defined, and
d d d 2
sin x  cos x sec x  sec x tan x tan x  sec x
dx dx dx
d d df
cos x   sin x csc x   csc x cot x cot x   csc 2 x
dx dx dx
Derivatives of exponential functions
Theorem. (Derivative rule for the natural exponential)
x
The natural exponential function e is differentiable for all
x , with derivative
d x
dx
 e e .
x
Derivative rule for the natural logarithm
function
The natural logarithmic function ln x is differentiable for all
x  0, with derivative
d 1
ln x   .
dx x
Example
Differentiate
a) f  x   2 x 4  3cos x  sin a , for constant a .
b) f  x   x .sin x
2

t
c) h t   .
cos t
d) f  x   e x sin x  ln 2 x
Higher-order derivatives
The nth derivative of f , denoted by f   is the derivative of
n

 n 1
f .
Example
Find the second derivative of
The limit of a log

If g is a continuous function and b  1, then


lim log b g  x   log b lim g  x  .
x  x 

The limit of the log is the log of the limit.

Example. Find lim log 2  x 2  5 .

x2