Republic of Iraq

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Imam Ja'afar Al-Sadiq University/Technical College

Lecture 2 in
ADVANCED MATHEMATICS

(Partial Derivatives)

For 2nd class students

Department of Cooling and Air Conditioning Engineering, Imam Ja'afar Al-
Sadiq University

Prepared by
MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

2024_2025
 Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

Chapter Two
PARTIAL DERIVATIVES

2.1 Partial Derivatives of Functions of Two Variables

2…1….1. Definition
If z = f(x, y) and (x0, y0) is a point in the domain of f, then the partial derivative of f with re
spect to x at (x0, y0) [also called the partial derivative of z with respect to x at (x0, y0)] is the
derivative at x0 of the function that results when y = y0 is held fixed and x is allowed to vary.
This partial derivative is denoted by fx(x0, y0) and is given by

(1)

Similarly, the partial derivative of f with respect to y at (x0, y0) [also called the partial deriva-
tive of z with respect to y at (x0, y0)] is the derivative at y0 of the function that results when x
= x0 is held fixed and y is allowed to vary. This partial derivative is denoted by fy(x0, y0)
and is given by

(2)

Example 2.1 Find fx(1, 3) and fy(1, 3) for the function f(x, y) = 2x3y2 + 2y + 4x.
Solution: Since

2.1.2 The Partial Derivative Functions

Formulas (1) and (2) define the partial derivatives of a function at a specific point (x0, y0).
However, often it will be desirable to omit the subscripts and think of the partial derivatives
as functions of the variables x and y. These functions are

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 Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

Example 2.2 Find fx(x, y) and fy(x, y) for f(x, y) = 2x3y2 + 2y + 4x, and use those partial de-
rivatives to compute fx(1, 3) and fy(1, 3).
Solution: Keeping y fixed and differentiating with respect to x yields

and keeping x fixed and differentiating with respect to y yields

2.1.3 Partial Derivative Notation

If z = f(x, y), then the partial derivatives fx and fy are also denoted by the symbols

Some typical notations for the partial derivatives of z = f(x, y) at a point (x0, y0) are

Example 2.3 Find ∂z/∂x and ∂z/∂y if z = x4 sin(xy3).

Solution:

2.1.4 Partial Derivatives Viewed As Rates of Change and Slopes

Recall that if y = f(x), then the value of f(x0) can be interpreted either as the rate of change of
y with respect to x at x0 or as the slope of the tangent line to the graph of f at x0. Partial deriva-
tives have analogous interpretations. To see that this is so, suppose that C1 is the intersection
of the surface z = f(x, y) with the plane y = y0 and that C2 is its intersection with the plane x =
x0 (below figure). Thus, fx(x, y0) can be interpreted as the rate of change of z with respect to x

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 Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

along the curve C1, and fy(x0, y) can be interpreted as the rate of change of z with respect to y
along the curve C2. In particular, fx(x0, y0) is the rate of change of z with respect to x along the
curve C1 at the point (x0, y0), and fy(x0, y0) is the rate of change of z with respect to y along
the curve C2 at the point (x0, y0).

Example 2.4 Let f(x, y) = x2y + 5y3.

(a) Find the slope of the surface z = f(x, y) in the x-direction at the point (1, −2).
(b) Find the slope of the surface z = f(x, y) in the y-direction at the point (1, −2).
Solution (a): Differentiating f with respect to x with y held fixed yields
fx(x, y) = 2xy
Thus, the slope in the x-direction is fx(1,−2) = −4; that is, z is decreasing at the rate of 4 units
per unit increase in x.
Solution (b): Differentiating f with respect to y with x held fixed yields
fy(x, y) = x2 + 15y2
Thus, the slope in the y-direction is fy(1,−2) = 61; that is, z is increasing at the rate of 61 units
per unit increase in y

2.1.5 Implicit Partial Differentiation

Example 2.5 Find the slope of the sphere x2 + y2 + z2 = 1 in the y-direction at the points (2/3,
1/3, 2/3) and (2/3, 1/3, -2/3) (see figure).
Solution: The point (2/3, 1/3, 2/3) lies on the upper hemisphere

𝑧 = √1 − 𝑥2 − 𝑦2, and the point (2/3, 1/3, -2/3) lies on the low- er
hemisphere 𝑧 = −√1 − 𝑥2 − 𝑦2. We could find the slopes by
differentiating each expression for z separately with respect to y
and then evaluating the derivatives at x = 2/3 and y = 1/3. Howev-
er, it is more efficient to differentiate the given equation
x2 + y2 + z2 = 1

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 Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

To perform the implicit differentiation, we view z as a function of x and y and differentiate both
sides with respect to y, taking x to be fixed. The computations are as follows:

Substituting the y- and z-coordinates of the points (2/3, 1/3, 2/3) and (2/3, 1/3, -2/3) in this
expression, we find that the slope at the point (2/3, 1/3, 2/3) is -1/2 and the slope at (2/3, 1/3,
-2/3) is ½.

2.1.6 Partial Derivatives and Continuity

In contrast to the case of functions of a single variable, the existence of partial derivatives for
a multivariable function does not guarantee the continuity of the function. This fact is shown
in the following example.
Example 2.6 Let

(a) Show that fx(x, y) and fy(x, y) exist at all points (x, y).
(b) Explain why f is not continuous at (0, 0).
Solution (a):
Except that here we have assigned f a value of 0 at (0, 0). Except at this point, the partial de-
rivatives of f are

It is not evident from previous formula whether f has partial derivatives at (0, 0), and if so, what
the values of those derivatives are. To answer that question we will have to use the defi-nitions
of the partial derivatives (Definition). Applying previous formulas and we obtain

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 Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

Solution (b):

does not exist. Thus, f is not continuous at (0, 0).

2.1.7 Partial Derivatives of Functions with More Than Two Variables

For a function f(x, y, z) of three variables, there are three partial derivatives:
fx(x, y, z), fy(x, y, z), fz(x, y, z)
The partial derivative fx is calculated by holding y and z constant and differentiating with re-
spect to x. For fy the variables x and z are held constant, and for fz the variables x and y are
held constant. If a dependent variable
w = f(x, y, z)
is used, then the three partial derivatives of f can be denoted by

Example 2.7

2.1.8 Higher-Order Partial Derivatives

Suppose that f is a function of two variables x and y. Since the partial derivatives ∂f/∂x and
∂f/∂y are also functions of x and y, these functions may themselves have partial derivatives.
This gives rise to four possible second-order partial derivatives of f, which are defined by

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 Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

The last two cases are called the mixed second-order partial derivatives or the mixed second
partials. Also, the derivatives ∂f /∂x and ∂f /∂y are often called the first-order partial deriva-
tives when it is necessary to distinguish them from higher-order partial derivatives. Similar
conventions apply to the second-order partial derivatives of a function of three variables.
Example 2.8 Find the second-order partial derivatives of f(x, y) = x2y3 + x4y.
Solution: We have

Third-order, fourth-order, and higher-order partial derivatives can be obtained by successive

differentiation. Some possibilities are

2.1.9 Equality of Mixed Partials

Theorem Let f be a function of two variables. If fxy and fyx are continuous on some open disk,
then fxy = fyx on that disk.

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Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

2.3 Chain Rules for Partial Derivatives

Theorem (Chain Rules for Partial Derivatives)

If x = x(u, v) and y = y(u, v) have first-order partial derivatives at the point (u, v), and if z =
f(x, y) is differentiable at the point (x, y) = (x(u, v), y(u, v)), then z = f(x(u, v), y(u, v)) has first-
order partial derivatives at the point (u, v) given by

If each function x = x(u, v), y = y(u, v), and z = z(u, v) has first-order partial derivatives at the
point (u, v), and if the function w = f(x, y, z) is differentiable at the point (x, y, z) = (x(u, v), y(u,
v), z(u, v)), then w = f(x(u, v), y(u, v), z(u, v)) has first-order partial derivatives at the point (u,
v) given by

Example2.9 Given that z = exy, x= 2u + v, y = u/v find ∂z/∂u and ∂z/∂v using the chain rule.
Solution:

2.3.1 Implicit Differentiation

Theorem If the equation f(x, y) = c defines y implicitly as a differentiable function of x, and if

∂f /∂y ≠ 0, then

Example2.10 Given that x3 + y2x − 3 = 0

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Chapter 2: Partial Derivatives MSc. Monther A. Dookhi

Solution:

Theorem If the equation f(x, y, z) = c defines z implicitly as a differentiable function of x and

y, and if ∂f /∂z ≠ 0, then

Example2.11 Consider thesphere x2+y2+z2=1.Find∂z/∂xand∂z/∂yatthe point (2/3, 1/3,

2/3)
Solution:

At the point (2/3, 1/3, 2/3), evaluating these derivatives gives ∂z/∂x = −1 and ∂z/∂y = −1/2.