Calculus of Derivatives

Calculus is a very important branch of Mathematics. It was developed by Newton (1642-

1727) and Leibnitz (1646-1716) to deal with changing quantities. The gradient of a curve is an

example of such a quantity.

Differentiation
Differentiation deals with determining the instantaneous rate of change of one quantity with

respect to another. Some familiar examples include

Velocity: – the rate of change of displacement with time

Acceleration: – the rate of change of velocity with time

Let us consider the graph of the function f  x  . Consider also the points A  a, f  a   and

B  a  h, f  a  h   on the graph. As one moves from A to B along the curve, the average

f  a  h  f a
rate of change of f   slope of the line AB as shown in figure 1 . As B
h

approaches A along the curve the distance h becomes smaller and smaller and the secant line AB

approaches the tangent line to the curve at A and now we have, the instantaneous rate of change

f (a  h)  f (a)
of f  f  lim  slope of the tangent A as shown in figure 2
h 0 h
 figure 1 figure 2

The derivative at point A can be interpreted as :

 the slope of the curve at A

 the slope of the tangent line to the curve at A

Definition of tangent line with slope m

If f is defined on an open interval containing c and if the limit

y f (c   x)  f (c)
lim  lim  m exists, then the line passing through  c, f  c   is also
 x 0  x  x 0 x

called the slope of the graph of f at x  c

Example 1
 Find the slopes of the tangent lines to the graph f ( x)  x2  1 at the points  0,1 and  1, 2 

Solution

Let  x, f  x   represent an arbitrary point on the graph of f then the slope of the tangent line

at

 x, f  x   is given by

y f ( x   x)  f ( x) ( x   x)2  1  ( x 2  1)
lim  lim  lim
 x 0  x  x 0 x  x 0 x

x 2  2 x( x)  ( x)2  1  ( x 2  1)
= lim
 x 0 x

2 x( x)  ( x)2
= lim  lim (2 x   x)  2 x
 x 0 x  x 0

Hence the slope of the tangent line at any point  x, f  x   on the graph of f is m  2 x . At the

point  0,1 the slope is m = 2(0) = 0, and at  1, 2  the slope is 2(-1) = -2 as shown in figure 3
 figure 3

In general if y  f ( x) be a function of x, then any changes in x will result in a corresponding

change in y. The average rate of change of y with respect to x over the interval  x is given by

x
. If the interval  x is made smaller and smaller so that  x tends to zero and reduces in size
y

from an interval to a point, then no longer is it an average rate of change but an instantaneous

rate of change. By definition the instantaneous rate of change of y with respect to x is given by

dy y
 lim
dx  x  0 x

This is called the first derivative of y with respect to x or the first differential coefficient.
 Definition of the derivative

f ( x   x)  f ( x)
The derivative of f at x is given by f ( x)  lim provided the limit exists
 x 0 x

The process of finding the derivative is called differentiation A function is said to be

differentiable at if its derivative exists at x and differentiable on an open interval  a, b  if it is

differentiable at every point in the interval.

dy
Some of the most common notations used to represent the derivative are f ( x) , , y ,
dx

d
[ f ( x)] , Dx [ y]
dx

dy y f ( x   x)  f ( x)
The notation = lim  lim  f ( x)
dx  x  0 x  x  0 x

Differentiation from first principles- finding the derivative by the limit process

Let y  f ( x) be a function of x and let  x and  y be incremental changes in x and y

respectively. Then the new values of x and y are x   x and y   y respectively. The

functional relationship is maintained

Hence

y   y  f  x   x

 y  f  x   x  f  x
  y f  x   x  f  x

x x

y f ( x   x)  f ( x)
lim  lim
 x 0  x  x 0 x

Hence

dy f ( x   x)  f ( x)
 lim
dx  x  0 x

The above process is called differentiation from first principles.

Example 2

Differentiate from first principles

5
a) 3x2  2 x  5 b) c) 5x  3
3x  4

Solution

a) Put f  x   3x 2  2 x  5
f  x   x   3 x   x   2  x   x   5
2
Then

 y  f  x   x   f  x   3  x   x   2  x   x   5   3x 2  2x  5
2

 
 y  3 x2  2 x x   x   2  x   x   5   3x 2  2 x  5
2

 y  6 x x  3  x   2 x
2

 y  x  6 x  3 x  2 

x x
 y  x(6 x  3 x  2)
lim  lim  lim (6 x  3 x  2)
 x 0  x  x 0 x  x 0

Hence

dy
 6x  2
dx

b) Put
5
f  x 
3x  4

Then

5
f  x   x 
3 x   x   4

5 5
 y  f  x   x  f  x  
3 x   x   4 3x  4

5  3x  4   5  3  x   x   4  15 x
y 
 3  x   x   4   3x  4   3  x   x   4   3x  4 
y 15

 x  3  x   x   4   3x  4 

dy y 15
 lim  lim
dx  x0  x  x0 (3( x   x)  4)(3x  4)

dy 15 15
 
dx  3x  4  3x  4   3x  4 
2

c) Put f  x   5x  3
Then y   y  f  x   x  5 x   x  3

 y  f  x   x   f  x   5  x   x   3  5x  3
 5( x   x)  3  5 x  3
 y  ( 5( x   x)  3  5 x  3) 
5( x   x)  3  5 x  3
{5( x   x)  3}  (5 x  3)

5( x   x)  3  5 x  3
5 x

5( x   x)  3  5 x  3
y 5 x

x 5( x   x)  3  5 x  3
y 5
lim  lim
 x 0  x  x 0 5( x   x )  3  5 x  3

5 5
 
5x  3  5x  3 2 5x  3
dy 5

dx 2 5 x  3

The power rule

d n
If n is a rational number, then the function f ( x)  x n is differentiable and ( x )  nx n 1
dx

Proof

If n is a positive number greater than 1, then the binomial expansion produces

d n ( x   x) n  x n
( x )  lim
dx  x 0 x

n(n  1)
n
( x  nx
n n 1
( x)  ( x)2  ..........  ( x) n  x n
= lim 1 2
 x 0 x

n(n  1)
n
nx n1 ( x)  ( x) 2  ..........  ( x) n
= lim 1 2
 x 0 x
 n(n  1)
n

= lim nx n1  ( x)  ..........  ( x) n1  nx n1

 x 0 1 2

d
Note When n = 1, ( x)  1
dx

Derivatives of Algebraic Functions

d n
x  nx n1
dx

d
dx
 axn   anxn1 where a is a constant

d
dx
a  0 note a  a.1  ax0 
d
dx
 ax0   a.0.x01  0

Derivatives of Sum, Difference, Product and Quotient

Let f  x  and g  x  be any two algebraic functions then:

(i) Sum and difference rule:

d
dx
 f  x   g  x    f  x   g  x
d
dx
d
dx

(ii) Product rule:

d
dx
 f  x  g  x   f  x   g  x   g  x   f  x 
d
dx
d
dx

g  x   f  x   f  x   g  x 
d d
d  f  x  dx dx
(iii) Quotient rule:   
dx  g  x    g  x 
2

(iv)
d
dx
 af  x    a  f  x  
d
dx
where a is a constant
Example 1

Find the derivatives of the following with respect to x

(d)  2 x  7   3x 2  1
1
(a) x13  x7  x3 (b)  x5  x3 (c) 3x2  10 x4
x3

Solution

(a)
dx

d 13
x  x7  x3    x13    x7    x3 
d
dx
d
dx
d
dx

 13x131  7 x71  3x31

 13x12  7 x6  3x2

(b)
d  1
dx  x
5 3  d  1 d 5
 3  x  x    3   x  
 dx  x  dx
d
dx
 x
3

d  2
3
=   dx   dx  
d 3
x 
d 5
x  x
dx  

3
3 2 1
= 3x 31  5 x51  x
2

1
3 2
= 3x 4  5 x 4  x
2

3 3
= 4
 5x4  x
x 2

(c)
d
dx
 3x 2  10 x 4    3x 2   10 x 4 
d
dx
d
dx

=3
d 2
dx
 x   10  x 4 
d
dx
 = 3.2.x21  10.4. x41

= 6 x  40 x3

 2 x  7  3x2  1   2 x  7  3x2  1  3x2  1  2 x  7 

d d d
(d)
dx dx dx

d  d 
=  2 x  7    3x 2   1   3x 2  1   2 x    7 
d d
 dx dx   dx dx 

=  2 x  7  3.2.x21  0   3x2  1 2.1.x11  0

=  2 x  7  6 x    3x 2  1 2 x0

= 18x2  42 x  2

Example 2

Find the derivatives of the following with respect to x

1 2 x3  7
(a) (b)
2x  5
2
x4  1

Solution

d  1   2x 2
 5
d
dx
1  1  2 x 2  5
d
dx
(a)  2 
dx  2 x  5   2 x  5
2 2

=
 2x 2
 5  .0  1.4 x

 2x  5
2 2

4x
=
 2x  5
2 2
 d  2x  7 
3 x 4
 1
d
dx
 2 x3  7    2 x3  7   x 4  1
d
dx
(b)  
dx  x 4  1   x  1
4 2

=
x 4
 1 6 x 2    2 x3  7  4 x3 

x  1
4 2

2 x 2  3  14 x  x 4 
=
x  1
4 2

The Chain Rule

Let g and h be tow functions . If

f  x   h  g  x 

f   x   h  g  x   g   x   f  x 
d
then where f   x  
dx

If we let u  g  x  and y  h  u  , then

y  h u   h  g  x   f  x 

 f   x   h  g  x   g   x   h  u  g   x  
dy dy du
and .
dx du x

Hence, the chain rule:

 dy dy du
 .
dx du dx

Example 1

dy
 
10
Find given that y  x5  3x 2  1 .
dx

Solution

y   x5  3x 2  1
10
Let u  x5  3x 2  1 and y  u10

dy du
Now,  10u 9 and  5x4  6 x
du dx

 10u 9  5 x 4  6 x   10  x5  3x 2  1 5 x 4  6 x 
dy dy du
  .
dx du dx

Exercise

Assignment#
 Derivatives of Transcendental Functions

Derivatives of Trigonometric Functions

d
sin x  cos x
dx

d
cos x   sin x
dx

d
We can use the above results and the quotient rule to find tan x . Your result should be
dx

d
tan x  sec2 x
dx

Class Exercise

Use the above results to show the following:

d
cot x   cos ec 2 x
dx

d
sec x  sec x tan x
dx

d
cos ecx   cos ecx cot x
dx
Example 1

Find the derivatives of the following with respect to x

1  tan x
(a) x 2 sin x (b)
sec x

Solution

(a)
d 2
dx
 x sin x   x 2
d
dx
 sin x   sin x  x 2   x 2 cos x  2 x sin x
d
dx

d d
d  1  tan x 
sec x 1  tan x   1  tan x   sec x 
dx dx
(b)  
dx  sec x   sec x 
2

sec x.sec2 x  1  tan x  sec x tan x


 sec x 
2

sec3 x  1  tan x  sec x tan x


 sec x 
2

sec x  sec2 x  1  tan x  tan x 


 sec x 
2

sec2 x  1  tan x  tan x


sec x
sec x  tan x  tan 2 x
2

sec x
 sec2 x  tan x  1  sec2 x
 tan 2 x  sec 2 x  1
sec x

1  tan x

sec x

Implicit Differentiation
If x and y are related by an expression of the form f  x, y   0 we say that y is defined

implicitly in terms of x; for example

1) xy  2 y  x  3  0, x  2

2) 2 y  3x3  4

3) 2 x 2 y3  xy  2

dy d2 y
To find and we differentiate each term in the equation with respect to x treating y as
dx dx 2

a function of x.

Example 1

dy d2 y
Find and when x  3 for the equation xy  2 y  x  3  0 .
dx dx 2

Solution

xy  2 y  x  3  0

Differentiating with respect to x yields

 dy d dy d
x  y  x  2   x  0
dx dx dx dx

dy dy
x  y  2 1  0
dx dx

dy
 x  2  y 1  0
dx

dy 1  y

dx x  2

When x  3 , then xy  2 y  x  3  0 becomes 3 y  2 y  3  3  0  y  0

dy 1  0 1
  
dx 3  2 5

d2y dy
To find 2
, let us differentiate  x  2   y  1  0 with respect to x.
dx dx

d 2 y dy d dy d
 x  2 2
  x  2   1  0
dx dx dx dx dx

d 2 y dy dy d2 y dy d2y 2 dy
 x  2    0   x  2   2  0  
dx 2
dx dx dx 2
dx dx 2
 x  2 dx

d2 y 2 dy 2 1  y 2  y  1
  
dx 2
 x  2  dx  x  2  x  2  x  2 2

When x  3 we have
 d 2 y 2  y  1 2  0  1 2
  
 x  2 3  2
2 2 2
dx 25

Parametric Differentiation
If y is a function of x then we can often rewrite x and y as functions of another variable t say,

so that x  f  t  and y  g  t  then the derivative is given by these parametric equations

dy
dy dy dt
 .  dt
dx dt dx dt
dx

Example 1

dy
Given that x  cos t and y  sin t find .
dx

Solution

dy dy dt cos t x
    cot t  
dx dt dx  sin t y

Second Derivative

x  f t  , y  g t 

dy dy dt

dx dt dx
d 2 y d  dy dt  dt d  dy dt 
    
dx 2 dx  dt dx  dx dt  dt dx 

Example 2

d2y
Given the parametric equations x  t , y  t find
2 3
.
dx 2

Solution

dx dy
 2t ,  3t 2
dt dt

dy dy dt 3t 2 3t
  
dx dt dx 2t 2

d  3t  3
d y d  dy  d  3t  dt  2  2
2
3
      
dx 2
dx  dx  dx  2  dx 2t 4t
dt

dy 3t 3 y d 2 y 3 3x
   and  
dx 2 2 x dx 2 4t 4 y

Exercise

Assignment#
Derivatives of Logarithms
If we introduce the notation ln x for log e x (called the Napierian logarithm or natural

logarithm) we then have

d 1
ln x 
dx x

Example 1

Differentiate with respect to x

(a) x3 ln x

(b) ln 1  x 2 

(c) ln  cos x 

Solution

(a)
d 3
dx
 x ln x   x3  ln x   ln x  x3   x3 .  ln x.3x 2  x 2  3x 2 ln x
d
dx
d
dx
1
x

(b)
d
dx
 
ln 1  x 2  
1 d
1  x dx
2 1  x2  
2x
1  x2

 sin x
(c)
d
dx
 ln  cos x   
1 d
cos x dx
 cos x  
cos x
  tan x

Derivative of Exponents

d x ax
a 
dx log a e
 If we let a = e, that is, we replace base a with the e the Euler number then the above

derivative becomes

d x ex
e 
dx log e e

d x ex
e   ex
dx 1

d n d x
Note: x  nx n 1 and e  ex
dx dx

Example 1

Differentiate with respect to x

1
(d) x3 e x
2
(a) 10 x (b) e5x (c) e x (e) e3 x sin 2 x

Solution

103 x d
(a)
d
dx
10  
3x

log10 e dx
 3x  
3
log10 e
103 x

d 5x d
(b) e  e5 x  5x   5e5 x
dx dx

(c)
dx
e 
d x2 1

 e x 1  x 2  1  2 xe x 1
2 d
dx
2

(d)
dx
 x e   x3  e x   e x
d 3 x d
dx
d 3
dx
 x   x3 .e x .   x   e x .  3x 2    x3e  x  3x 2 e  x
d
dx

(e)
dx

d 3x
e sin 2 x   e3 x
d
dx
 sin 2 x   sin 2 x  e3x 
d
dx
 d d
 e3 x .cos 2 x  2 x   sin 2 x.e3 x  3x 
dx dx

 2e3 x cos 2 x  3sin 2 xe3 x

 e3 x  2cos 2 x  3sin 2 x 

Exercise

Assignment#

Application of Derivatives

Velocity and Acceleration

For simplicity let us assume that a plane is moving in a straight line. The distance s travelled

by the plane is a function of time t. We can then write s  t  to denote the displacement by the

plane in time t.

We can define instantaneous velocity or simply velocity v of the plane at time t as:

d
v s t 
dt

Also, the instantaneous acceleration or simply acceleration of the plane at time t is:

d
a v t 
dt
 d2
a s t 
dt 2

Example 1

The position of a helicopter moving relative an x-axis at time t is given by

x  2t 3  6t 2  14t  7 . Find the location of the helicopter when:

(i) The velocity is 46ms 1 ,

(ii) The acceleration is 0ms 2 .

Solution

2
Given x  t 3  6t 2  14t  7 , we have
3

dx
v
dt

v  2t 2  12t  14

dv
and a
dt

a  4t  12

(i) If v  46, then

46  2t 2  12t  14

23  t 2  6t  7

t 2  6t  16  0
  t  8t  2  0  t  8, t  2

1
when t  8 , x  62 m , t  2 (we ignore)
3

(ii) If a = 0, then

4t  12  0  t  3

when t=3 x  1m What is the meaning of this value?

Example 2

The displacement s in time t of path travelled by a missile moving from the origin (source) is

given by

s  1  2cos2 t

If v and a are, respectively, the velocity and acceleration of the missile at time t, find v and a

in terms of t.

Hence, show that a 2  4  4  v 2  .

Solution

Given s  1  2cos2 t , we have

ds
v
dt

 4cos t   sin t 
  4sin t cos t

 2sin 2t

dv
and a
dt

 2cos 2t  2 

 4cos 2t

Furthermore,

a 2   4cos 2t 
2

 16cos2 2t

 16 1  sin 2 2t 

  v 2 
 16 1     
  2 
 

 v2 
 16 1  
 4

 4  4  v2  .
Maxima and Minima

One of the most important problems in analysis is the problem of determining maximum and

minimum values of a given function. We will discuss two methods to test whether a stationary

point is a maximum or minimum.

Note: a stationary point occurs when f   x   0 .

First Derivative Test for Maximum and Minimum Points

Let f be a function and ' a ' be a stationary value of f i.e. f   a   0 . Consider all x near a.

 0for x  a
(i) If f   x   ,
 0 for x  a

the graph of y  f  x  has a maximum point at  a, f  a   .

 0 for x  a
(ii) If f   x   ,
 0 for x  a

the graph of y  f  x  has a minimum point at  a, f  a   .

 0 for x  a
(iii) If f   x  
> 0 for x  a

or

 0 for x  a
f  x 
 0 for x  a

then  a, f  a   is neither a maximum nor a minimum point.

Second Derivative test for Maximum and Minimum Points

Let ' a ' be a stationary value of f  x  , that is, f   a   0 .

If f   a   0 , then f  x  has a maximum value at x  a .

If f   a   0 , then f  x  has a minimum value at x  a .

Example 1

Given the function f : x  2 x3  9 x2  12 x  1

 x being real  , find the values of x for which f  x  has stationary values. Determine the
nature of these stationary values.

Solution

Now f  x   2 x3  9 x 2  12 x  1

Computing the first and second derivatives

f   x   6 x 2  18x  12 and

f   x   12 x  18

For stationary points f   x   0  6 x2  18x  12  0 , this occurs when x  1 or x  2 .

 Thus, f  x  has two stationary points at x  1 or x  2 .

Testing for maxima/minima using the second derivative test

f   x   12 x  18

f  1  12 1  18  12  18  6  0  f  x  has a maximum point at x  1

f   2  12  2   18  24  18  6  0  f  x  has a minimum point at x  2

Exercise

Assignment#

Logarithmic Differentiation

Logarithmic differentiation is a powerful method which can considerably simplify the

differentiation of:

(i) Products (and quotients) of a number of functions.

(ii) Certain exponential functions.

Let us begin by giving an example

Example1

2
ex sin x
Differentiate .
 2 x  1
3

Class Exercise
Work out the above example using the traditional method of the quotient rule.

………………

Now let us look at the same problem using the logarithm method

Solution

2
ex sin x
Let y 
 2 x  1
3

Now take the log e of both sides and use the laws of logarithms to simplify it out to yield

1
log e y  x 2  log e  sin x   3log e  2 x  1
2

Differentiate with respect to x

1 dy cos x 6
 2x  
y dx 2sin x 2 x  1

2
dy  cos x 6  e x sin x  cos x 6 
 y  2x    3 
2x   
dx  2sin x 2 x  1   2 x  1  2sin x 2 x  1 

Simplifying yields

2
dy

ex
8x 2

 4 x  12  sin x   2 xx  1 cos x
dx 2  sin x  2 x  1
4
Example 2

2
Differentiate with respect to x (i) 2 x (ii) x x

Class Exercise

Work out the above examples

Ans:  i  2x 2 x loge 2 ii 1  log e x  x x

2

Differentiation of Inverse Trigonometrical Functions

Again we will illustrate the above idea with examples.

Example1

Differentiate with respect to x

(i) sin 1 x (ii) tan 1  x 2  1

Solution

(i) Let y  sin 1 x

sin y  x

x  sin y

dx
 cos y
dy

dy 1

dx cos y
 ………………..

dy 1

dx 1  x2

(ii) Class Exercise

Now try the second example ….

Exercise

Assignment#