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Differentiation Lecture Notes

This document discusses the rules and applications of differentiation in mathematics, emphasizing the measurement of change in functions. It covers various differentiation rules such as the Constant Rule, Linear Function Rule, Power Function Rule, and others, along with examples. Additionally, it touches on the application of differentiation in business contexts, particularly in analyzing profit functions.

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Timoth Mbwilo

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

5 views34 pages

Differentiation Lecture Notes

Uploaded by

Timoth Mbwilo

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

Available Formats

Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Differentiation

Chapter 4
1.Rules of Differentiation
2.Applications

1
Differentiation is all about measuring change!
Measuring change in a linear function:

y = a + bx
a = intercept
b = constant slope i.e. the impact of a unit
change in x on the level of y

y2  y1
b = y =
x x2  x1
2
If the function is non-linear:
40
e.g. if y = x2
30
y=x2

0
0 1 2 3
X 4 5 6

y y 2  y1
x
= x2  x1
gives slope of the line
connecting 2 points (x1, y1) and (x2,y2) on a
curve
(16-4)
 (2,4) to (4,16): slope = /(4-2) = 6
 (2,4) to (6,36): slope = (36-4)/(6-2) = 8 3
The slope of a curve is equal to the slope of
the line (or tangent) that touches the curve
at that point
Total Cost Curve

25
y=x2

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

which is different for different values of x

4
Example:A firms cost function is
Y = X2
X X Y Y
0 0
1 +1 1 +1
2 +1 4 +3
3 +1 9 +5
4 +1 16 +7

Y = X2
Y+Y = (X+X) 2
Y+Y =X2+2X.X+X2
Y = X2+2X.X+X2 – Y
since Y = X2  Y = 2X.X+X2
Y
X
= 2X+X

The slope depends on X and X

5
The slope of the graph of a function
is called the derivative of the
function

dy y
f ' ( x )   lim
dx x 0 x
• The process of differentiation involves
letting the change in x become arbitrarily
small, i.e. letting  x  0
• e.g if = 2X+X and X 0
  = 2X in the limit as X 0
6
the slope of the non-linear
function
Y = X2 is 2X
• the slope tells us the change in y that
results from a very small change in X
• We see the slope varies with X
e.g. the curve at X = 2 has a slope = 4
and the curve at X = 4 has a slope = 8
• In this example, the slope is steeper
at higher values of X 7
Rules for Differentiation

1. The Constant Rule

If y = c where c is a constant,
dy
0
dx

dy
e.g. y = 10 then dx 0

8
2. The Linear Function Rule
If y = a + bx
dy
b
dx
dy
6
e.g. y = 10 + 6x then dx

9
3. The Power Function Rule
If y = axn, where a and n are constants
dy
n.a .x n  1
dx

dy 0
i) y = 4x => dx 4 x 4

dy
ii) y = 4x 2
=> dx 8 x

-2dy 3
iii) y = 4x => dx  8 x
10
4. The Sum-Difference Rule
If y = f(x) g(x)
dy d [ f ( x )] d [ g ( x )]
 
dx dx dx

If y is the sum/difference of two or more

functions of x:
differentiate the 2 (or more) terms
separately, then add/subtract
dy
(i) y = 2x2 + 3x then 4 x  3
dx
dy
(ii) y = 5x + 4 then dx 5 11
5. The Product Rule

If y = u.v where u and v are functions of x,

(u = f(x) and v = g(x) ) Then
dy dv du
u v
dx dx dx

12
Examples

dy dv du
If y = u.v u v
dx dx dx

2
i) y = (x + 2 )(a x + b x )
 x  2 2 ax  b  ax 
dy 2
 bx
dx

ii) y = (4 x 3-3 x + 2 )(2 x 2+ 4 x )

dy   4 x 3  3 x  2  4 x  4   2 x 2  4 x   12 x 2  3 
dx      
13
6. The Quotient Rule
• If y = u/v where u and v are functions of x
(u = f(x) and v = g(x) ) Then

du dv
v  u
dy dx dx
 2
dx v
14
du dv
v  u
u dy
If y  then  dx 2 dx
v dx v

Example 1

y
x  2
x  4

dy

x  4 1 x  2 1

 2
dx x  4 2
x  42

15
7. The Chain Rule
(Implicit Function Rule)

• If y is a function of v, and v is a function of

x, then y is a function of x and

dy dy dv
 .
dx dv dx

16
dy dy dv
 .
Examples dx dv dx
2 ½
i) y = (ax + bx)
let v = (ax2 + bx) , so y = v½
1
dy 1
dx 2
 2

 ax  bx 2 .2ax  b 

3 4
ii) y = (4x + 3x – 7 )
3 4
let v = (4x + 3x – 7 ), so y = v
dy
dx
 3 3
2
4 4 x  3 x  7 . 12 x  3 
17
8. Differentiating Exponential Functions
x
If y = exp(x) = e where e = 2.71828….
dy x
then dx e
More generally,
rx
If y = Ae
dy rx
then dx rAe ry
18
Examples

2x
dy 2x
1) y = e then dx = 2e

-7x
dy -7x
2) y = e then dx = -7e

19
9. Differentiating Natural Logs
Recall if y = ex then x = loge y = ln y
If y = ex dy
then e x = y
dx

From The Inverse Function Rule

dx 1
y = e  dy  y
x

Now, if y = ex this is equivalent to writing

x = ln y

Thus, x = ln y  dx 
1
dy y
20
More generally,
dy 1

if y = ln x  dx x

NOTE: the derivative of a natural log

function does not depend on the co-efficient
of x
dy 1
Thus, if y = ln mx  
dx x
21
Examples
dy 1
1) y = ln 5x (x>0)  
dx x

2) y = ln(x2+2x+1)
let v = (x2+2x+1) so y = ln v
dy dy dv
Chain Rule:  dx  dv . dx
dy 1
 2 .2 x  2 
dx x  2x 1
dy 
 2
2 x  2
dx 
x  2x 1 
22
3) y = x4lnx
Product Rule: 
dy 1
x 4  ln x .4 x 3
dx x
= x 3
 4 x 3
ln x = x 3
1  4 ln x 
4) y = ln(x3(x+2)4)
Simplify first using rules of logs
 y = lnx3 + ln(x+2)4
 y = 3lnx + 4ln(x+2)
dy 3 4
 
dx x x  2
23
3.1. 2. Application to Business