A REPORT ON

“APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVE”

A PROJECT WORK SUBMITTED FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENT IN MATHEMATICS OF CLASS XI

Submitted By

Name:

Class:

Section:

Roll No:

NEB registration No:

Submitted To

Department Of Mathematics

Global School of Science

Mid-Baneshwor Kathmandu, Nepal

Submission date:

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 Acknowledgement
I am very pleased to dedicate this work to all the people and institution that provide me moral
and technical support and guidance for the successful completion of this project report. I would
like to thank my subject teachers ………………, ……………… and ………………
Mathematics Department, Global School of Science for introducing me to the topic as well as for
the all support, useful comments, remarks and encouragement through the learning process of
this project report. In addition, I would like to thank Mr. Bimal Pandeya (Head of the
department of Mathematics, Global School of Science) for comments and encouragement during
completion of this project work. I would like to thank all faculty members of Mathematics of
Global School of Science who have supported me throughout the entire process.

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 APPROVAL SHEET
We have examined the project report entitled “………………………………………” presented
by ................................................. as the project report of class XI section …… we hereby certify
that the project report is acceptable.

Name: Name:

Signature: Signature:

Subject teacher Head of department

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 Table of Contents

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Objectives 2
1.3 Rationale of the project 3
2 Literature Review 4
3 Methodology 6
4 Analysis and Interpretation 7
5 Summary and Conclusion 14
Reference 15

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 Abstract

This project delves into the practical applications of derivatives in real-world scenarios,
elucidating the significance of differentiation techniques in various fields. The study begins by
providing a concise overview of the concept of derivatives, outlining its fundamental meaning
and mathematical underpinnings. It further explores the background and necessity of derivatives,
highlighting their indispensable role in solving complex problems across different disciplines.
One of the central focuses of this project is to investigate why techniques of differentiation are
effective and how they facilitate the analysis of functions. By examining optimization problems,
such as finding minimum and maximum values of functions, the research showcases the utility
of derivatives in optimizing outcomes in engineering, economics, and other domains.
Additionally, the study explores the role of derivatives in determining rates of change, crucial for
understanding dynamic systems and predicting future behavior. Furthermore, the research
examines the use of derivatives in modeling instantaneous activities to forecast future trends,
particularly relevant in fields like finance and economics. Business analysis benefits from
derivative techniques, offering insights into market dynamics, growth, and decay patterns.
Moreover, derivatives play a vital role in determining the equations of tangents and normal to
curves, as well as analyzing the angles of intersection between curves. This application finds
relevance in engineering, physics, and geometry. Finally, the study investigates the implications
of derivatives in assessing the nature of growth and decay in markets, providing valuable insights
for decision-making processes.

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 Chapter I
Introduction
1.1 Background
Functions are an integral part of Mathematics. Functions can be considered as some machines
which take some input value and give an output value. While there are changes in input value,
output value may also change. Here, in derivative, we mainly study the rate of change of output
value with change in the input value. That means to say we are interested in “For a very small
change , what is the change in ( )”. And that is exactly the wholesome summary of derivatives.
th
At the beginning of the 17 century, after mathematicians had already got victory over how to
find the area under a curve, mathematicians were really interested in finding the slope of a curve
at a point as that would help us predict a lot of instantaneous phenomena. It’s really interesting to
find that we already had integration even before differentiation came.

People came up with a lot of different ideas for finding slopes of tangents of different types of
functions. For example: - for finding slope of tangent of circle at given point on circumference,
we can first find out equation of line joining center and point on circumference using double
point form and then using the property that tangent at the same point on circumference is
perpendicular to radius, we can use the slope of radius to find the slope of tangent as 1 × 2 = −1
for perpendicular pairs. Thus, we can find the equation of tangent given that now we have its
slope and the point on the circumference through which it passes. And there is even a more
rigorous way to find the slope of the tangent of the parabola if it had not been for the calculus.
So, we initially had a lot of ideas for finding slopes of different functions differently. But slowly
and gradually, people started seeing patterns in the slopes of the functions which gradually led to
the discovery of calculus.

Now, at the present time, Wolfram Alpha can give the derivative of even the most complicated
function in just a single click using the derivative. It’s been a lot of debate and discussion for
who discovered calculus. Newton and Leibniz are believed to come up with the idea at the same
time with their own individual work. Even with that, Leibniz also provided us with the notion
that derivative is in fact a fraction of infinitesimals

which helped to solve a million more

problems which otherwise would have remained unsolved. At the present day, calculus is
everywhere. In the speedometer of a bike, in the slope of a curve, in the cost function in business,
in the measurement of rate of change of dependent quantity with respect to another quantity, in
getting the acceleration of a body from the velocity time graph, in calculating the exponentiation
of bacteria at a place, discovering the behaviors of meteorological phenomena, determining the
speed of chemical reaction, estimating an economic growth rate to make the right decisions in
investment, derivative is everywhere. In the recent decades, derivatives have led us into a new
notion of anti-derivative which has been the most powerful tool ever discovered. The volume
occupied during the revolution of a plane can be known in a second which was almost a
complete nightmare a few centuries ago. We can clearly see how there was a vague proof for
finding volumes of solid shapes like cone, spheres until anti-derivative came into existence.
Using anti-derivatives, just knowing our instantaneous velocity can help us find the entire
distance that we have traveled. That is a complete godliness calculus has provided to us
ingenious humans. Here, we can clearly see that derivative is not a boring topic at all and this
project work will prove it further. We will see a lot of ingenious applications of derivatives in the
upcoming pages. In this project work, we will go through an interactive and adventurous journey
on applications of derivatives.

1.2. Objectives

Every project works has certain aims and objectives. Project Work on “Application of
Derivative” also has a lot of objectives. We would try to explore each and every topic on
application of derivatives as easily and as detailed. This project aims to explore the practical
applications of derivatives in real-world situations and provide a concise explanation of the
meaning of derivatives and their application. Some of the specific objectives of this project are
listed below.

❖ Give a brief insight on the meaning of derivative

❖ Give background and necessity of derivative

❖ Give brief insights on why techniques of differentiation work

❖ Find the application of derivative in:

i. Optimizing the minimum and maximum value of a function

ii. Finding rate of change of a quantity
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 iii. Business Analysis
iv. Finding the equation of tangents and normal to the curve as well as the angle of
intersection of two curve

1.3. Rationale of the project

Learning is for making life easier. If we cannot use what we learn in our daily life then there is
no use in learning a thing. With the same notion, we are given project work to research on the
applications of derivatives. Derivatives have been exploited a lot till the date, applying it in every
possible way we can in physics, chemistry, math, biology, business, economics, finance,
statistics, rate analysis, forecasting, engineering, social sciences, etc. But still there are a lot of
fields, where they can be applied, a lot of ideas to further exploit the derivative, a lot of new
techniques to observe the behavior of derivatives and in fact many things to be still discovered.
So, arousing such curiosity would be the main intention of this study work. Some of the
importances of this study are:-

❖ Development of research skill

❖ Development of habit of learning by doing

❖ Facilitating Student oriented learning

❖ Development of soft skills such as collaborations, interaction, communication and other

interpersonal skills
❖ Help readers better understand the concept of derivative
❖ Help readers understand the applications of derivative in Real life

❖ Develop a sense of curiosity on the fields of application of derivative

❖ Arouse curiosity in the readers to apply derivative in newer and broader fields

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 Chapter: Two

Literature Review

Calculus, known in its early history as infinitesimal calculus, is a mathematical discipline

focused on limits, continuity, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. Everyone knows that
Newton and Leibniz are the founders of calculus. Some may think it suffices to know just this
one fact, but there is a long journey in the discovery of this one of the most powerful tools,
Calculus. As earlier mentioned, the historical development starts with integration; computing
areas (by method of exhaustion), volumes (a much more cumbersome exhaustion) or lengths of
arcs (using pi) were the first problems occurring in the history of calculus.

The most ingenious method of Archimedes for finding area under curve still exists today. The
method of exhaustion where he found the area of the inscribed polygons under curve and
circumscribed polygons up the curve and took their average to find the area is almost as accurate
as today’s integration. And if we start increasing the polygons to infinite, the area is very exact.
In fact, it is much later that we realized, integration is the inverse process of differentiation.
Knowing about the derivative has helped us a lot to understand the integration as well.

When Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz first formulated differential calculus, they
effectively made use of the concept of an infinitesimal, which they referred to as an infinitely
small number. At that time before non-standard analysis, the concept of infinitesimals was very
fuzzy and bothered many mathematicians. However, the concept of infinitesimals was essential
to the development of differential calculus. The need for these infinitely small (and nonexistent)
quantities was removed, and replaced by a notion of quantities being "close" to others. So, the
derivative and the integral were both reformulated in terms of limits. In the nineteenth century
the German mathematician Karl Weierstrass introduced the epsilon-delta process, which
provided a rigorous basis for calculus and discouraged students from using the infinitesimal
concept.

Then in 1960 Abraham Robinson found a way to provide a foundation for infinitesimals and
thus infinitesimals were acceptable. Robinson called his formulation non-standard analysis. The

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purpose of this material is to explain, illustrate and justify the non-standard analysis formulation
of infinitesimals. These days, we have standard techniques of differentiation for taking the
derivative. These have made our works a lot easier and faster. The applications of derivative
have also been widespread to the sectors of physics, Chemistry, engineering, market, business,
aeronautics, and many more. Derivative is getting popular in every sectors of our life these days

Some of the terms used in the project work are Limit:

The limit of a function = ( ) (as approaches a number ) is something like the ultimate trend of the values of (near = ).
The limit notation, lim
→
( ) = , stands for the phrase: “The values of get closer and closer to
= L as the -values approach .”

Continuous: We say that a function is continuous at a point = if the value of ( ) matches the predicted value coming from the limit as → . That is,lim ( ) = ( ), In more
→

intuitive terms, this means that there is no break or hole in the graph at = . A function is continuous on an
interval if it’s continuous at each individual point in that interval. Some teachers say that a function is
continuous on an interval if “you can draw the graph without lifting your pencil off the paper” on that
interval.

The derivative of a function is a (typically different) function ′ that measures the rate of change of the -value of with respect to change in the -value.
Another notation for the derivative is . The derivative value ′( ) also measures the slope of the tangent line to the
curve at the point ( , ( )).

There are a number of formulas that go along with this definition. First and foremost, the limit
definition of the derivative is based finding the slope of the tangent line using a limit. It’s valid
for all functions but is hard to work with, especially for complicated functions.
( + ℎ) − ( )
′( ) = lim
ℎ→0 ℎ

Other formulas, such as the Power Rule, Product and Quotient Rules, and Chain Rule, serve
to find derivatives of all kinds of functions.

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Velocity (Acceleration)

Suppose an object moves along a straight line over time, and suppose the function ( ) measures the position of the object at any time . Then the velocity of the object, as a
function of time, is the derivative of position. That is, ( ) = ′( ).

The reason for this is that velocity is the rate of change of position. The rate of change of
velocity is called acceleration. And so acceleration is the derivative of velocity. In other words,
acceleration is the second derivative of position.

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 Chapter III

Methodology

The research is of course neither a haphazard work nor a one-day work. It is done under a certain
methodology carefully analyzing each and every aspect of research and might take one or two
weeks. This research is also not an exception. To be honest, this research does not have any
specific methodologies. The best friends of mine during the research were Google and Coursera
from where I got a lot of insights on what actually is a derivative. Some of the methods I used
are:

i) Using Google to know about earlier research works on these topics

ii) Spending a lot of time to know the actual reason behind why something exists
iii) Thoroughly going through a lot of problem for selecting a best problem to be included
in research
iv) Consulting books for how I can explain the things better
v) Consulting Teachers on how do we make research paper effective
vi) Consulting Friends, brothers and sisters to know their perspective on a certain topic
vii) Demonstrating the applications of derivatives in a layman’s language to the family
members and checking if they get it or not to check in fact if I myself have really
understood it or not.
viii) Study hours mini researches on curious approach to differentiation problems

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 Chapter: IV

Analysis and interpretation

Brief Insights on Meaning of Derivative In calculus, the derivative is a fundamental concept that
represents the rate at which a function changes with respect to its input. It provides important
information about the behavior of a function at a specific point and is widely used in various
fields such as physics, economics, and engineering. Here are some key insights into the meaning
and significance of derivatives:

1. Rate of Change:

The derivative measures the rate at which a function's output (dependent variable) changes
concerning its input (independent variable). The derivative at a specific point represents the
instantaneous rate of change of the function at that point. It provides information about the
behavior of the function at a very small scale, essentially capturing the slope of the tangent line
to the graph of the function at that point. For instance, if you have a function describing the
position of an object over time, the derivative of that function gives the object's velocity at any
given moment. Detail in rate of change is presented in the following figure.

The average rate of change of a function ( ) over interval [ , ] is also known as the difference
.
( + )− ( )

quotient and is defined by the formula: ( +ℎ)−

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2. Tangent Line:

Geometrically, the derivative at a point is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the
function at that point. This tangent line provides a linear approximation of the function's
behavior near that point. Well, it may seem a complex concept initially, but once you understand
the process in detail, you will find it much easier to explain the derivatives geometrically. So, we
will start with the following figure which represents a derivative of the function graphically. We
have explained how to interpret or create this graph in detail below the figure.

❖ Suppose a function = ( ) is represented by a curve as shown in the above graph.

❖ Now, the next step is to choose two points on the curve, let say they are P and Q.

❖ We have joined the points P and Q by a straight line. This line is called the secant line of
the curve and is drawn in blue color in the above graph.
❖ Join the point P and Q by a straight horizontal and vertical lines to both x-axis and y-axis. The point P joins
the x-axis and we have named it as . The point at which the point P joins the y-axis is called as ( ).
❖ We repeat the process for point Q and name the points where it joins the x-axis and y-axis as ( + ℎ) and ( + ℎ) respectively.

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 ❖ Draw a horizontal line from point P so that it touches the vertical line from point Q to x-axis at point R. The
distance between the point P and R is known as ℎ. Hence, in other words, we can say that ℎ is equal to PR.
❖ Now, we can determine the coordinates of the points P and Q.
❖ The coordinate of the point P are ( ,( )) and the coordinates of the point Q are ( +

❖ We know that the formula for finding a derivative of the function is

ℎ , ( +ℎ)).

( + ℎ) − ( )
′( ) = lim
ℎ→0 ℎ

❖ Now, you can determine the ( + ℎ) from the graph which is a vertical line from point Q touching the x-axis.

❖ Similarly, ( ) is a straight vertical line from point R to the x-axis. The difference between ( + ℎ) and ( ) is also represented in the graph.

❖ Now, if you notice we have got a triangle PQR. If you look at this triangle carefully, you will get to know that ( + ℎ) − ( ) is QR and h is equal to PR.

❖ Since, PQR is a right angle triangle; therefore you can interpret the above ratio as a trigonometric function. We know, tan = .

❖ In the above ratio, QR is perpendicular and PR is the base. Hence, this ratio is equal to
tan . We can write it mathematically as: lim tan = QR

❖ A chord PQ which tends to be tangent at point P. Hence, we have drawn a tangent line
PR
ℎ→0

passing through the point P. This tangent line is represented in green color in the above
graph.
❖ Hence, we can say that the derivative of the function is the slope of this tangent line.

If we are asked to conclude the above complicated procedure of geometric interpretation of a

derivative function, then we can say that the tangent line is actually the geometrical or graphical
representation of the derivative. We know that different functions have different derivatives.
Hence, the interpretation of these derivatives on the graph will be different and according to the
situation or context. But regardless of the function type and its derivative, one thing is common

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in all the derivatives and that is they take the form of a tangent line to the function graph or we
can say that derivatives are equal to the slope of the tangent line.

3. Interpretation in Physics:

In physics, derivatives play a crucial role. For example, the derivative of the position function
gives the velocity, and the second derivative gives the acceleration. This relationship is
fundamental in describing the motion of objects.

4. Optimization:

Derivatives are used to find maximum and minimum points of a function. When the derivative is
zero, it indicates a potential extreme (maximum or minimum), and the second derivative test can
determine whether it is a maximum or minimum.

5. Derivative Rules:

Differentiation rules, such as the power rule, product rule, and chain rule, allow us to find
derivatives of more complex functions by combining derivatives of simpler functions. These
rules provide a systematic way to find derivatives in a variety of situations. Understanding
derivatives is crucial in calculus, as they provide a powerful tool for analyzing and modeling the
behavior of functions. The derivative is not just a mathematical concept but has broad
applications in various real-world scenarios, making it a fundamental concept in calculus and
applied mathematics

6. Business Analysis

In a business, the demand of calculators when its price per unit is Rs.1200 is 4000. When the
price increases to Rs.1500, only 3000 calculators are demanded. And, the fixed cost like wages,
machines for the goods for the producer is Rs.192 and the variable cost for each additional unit
of good is Rs. 20. What is the maximum profit that can be made by the company?

Let us first introduce some terminologies related to the above problem. For the instance, and
denotes the price and quantity of the goods.

➢
Total Revenue (TR) = ×

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 ➢ Total Cost (TC) = Fixed Cost + Variable Cost
➢ Profit (π) = TR – TC

This is quite a good application of mathematics in business analysis. It shows how derivative
helps us to maximize the profit by giving us exactly how many quantities are required to be
produced for the maximum benefit. And that is the power of derivative, exactly how many
quantities, in numbers and in the precise decimal places.

Let = − be the demand equation. Substitute (4000,1200) and (3000,1500) to get the following equations.
1200 = − 4000 ;
1500 = − 3000 ;

Solving the equations

= 2400 and = 0.3. So, the demand equation is = 2400 − 0.3 .
Now, = . = (2400 − 0.3 ) = 2400 − 0.3 2
= 192+20 ;
(Profit) = − = 2400 – 0.3 2
− 192 − 20 = 2380 − 0.3 2 − 192

Since the curve is concave down, local maxima occur at stationary point.
= 2380 − 0.6
or, 0 = 2380 − 0.6
or, 0.6 = 2380
or, = 2380

or,
0.6

= 3966.67
∴ (3966.67) = 2380 × 3966.67 − 0.3 × (3966.67)2 − 192 = 47, 20,141.33

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Thus, the company can make maximum profit of 47,20,141.33 when quantity produced is
3967.Thus, it is really helpful in business analysis and be safe from losses with mathematics. The
most interesting thing in it is it gives us the exact quantity (even in decimals) that we need to
produce for the maximum profit in market analyzing every recent trend in demands and the
linear growth of cost.

7. Equation of tangent and normal

Finding the equation of tangent and normal to the curve as well as the angle of intersection of two curves Okay, the first part is the equation of
tangent of the parabola. Let’s say we have = 2 + 2 − 3. Then, for the equation of the tangent at the point ( , ), first take the derivative of the curve
evaluated at ( , ) which will give you the slope of the tangent to the parabola
evaluated at that point. For this question, ′( ) = 2 + 2 and evaluating at ( , ) it is 2 + 2. Now, since the tangent passes through the point ( , ), equation of the tangent in point slope

form is ( − ) = (2 + 2)( − ). Without derivative, it might take you one page or so to find the same equation. Next, for equation of the normal, the slope can be found out by the
relation 1 × 2 = −1, Where 1 and 2 are the slopes of the tangent and normal. Thus, the slope of

the normal is −1
and the equation of the normal is ( − ) =
−1

2 +2

( − ).
2+2

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 Chapter: Five

Summary and Conclusion

The topic “Applications of Derivative” has been analyzed at minuscule in this Project Work.
Almost around 10 applications are discussed at details making the readers really feel excited
about how amazing uses it has. First a brief insight on the meaning of derivative was given.
Background and necessity of derivative were also discussed to give the reader a reason for
continue studying the project. Next, the project presented a brief insight on why techniques of
differentiation work. We then found the application of derivative in Optimizing the minimum
and maximum value of a function, finding rate of change of a quantity, curve sketching,
modeling the instantaneous activity at the present to predict the future behavior, business
Analysis, The project indeed involved somewhat of a brainstorming and researches for the
researcher to come up with the ideas presented in this project work. It also involved consultation
of a lot books and teachers who gave us with some of the wonderful ideas used in the project
work. It feels like this project has been successful in arousing the motivation towards studying
differentiation in readers. I can say it without doubt that Derivative is in fact one of the simplest
but the most powerful tool in Calculus.

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 Reference

Wainwright, K. (2005). Fundamental methods of mathematical economics.

McGraw-Hill.

Koirala, S.P (2014), algebra, Kathmandu: Vidyarthi Prakasan private limited.

Somanathan, T. V., & Nageswaran, V. A. (2015). The economics of derivatives.

Cambridge University Press.

Bakri, S. R. A., Ying, L. C., Khium, C. C., Hua, T. M., & Ching, L. S. (2021).
Bridging the Gap Between the Derivatives and Graph Sketching in Calculus. Asian
Journal of University Education, 16(4), 121-136.

Bajracharya, B.C. (2080). Basic Mathematics. Sukunda Pustak Bhawan.

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