THE DERIVATIVE

The process of finding the derivative of a function is called

differentiation and the branch of calculus that deals with this
process is called differential calculus. Differentiation is an
important mathematical tool in physics, mechanics, economics
and many other disciplines that involve change and motion.
 tangent line
P( x1 , f ( x1 )) Q( x2 , f ( x2 ))
Consider:
-Two distinct points P and Q secant line
-Determine slope of the secant
line PQ
-Investigate how the slope y y  f (x)
changes as Q approaches P.
-Determine the limit of the
secant line as Q approaches P.

x  x 2  x1
x 2  x1  x
DEFINITION:
Suppose that x1 is in the domain of the function f, the tangent line to
the curve y  f (x) at the point P( x1 , f ( x1 )) is with equation
y  f ( x1 )  m( x  x1 )

f ( x1  x)  f ( x1 )
where m  lim provided the limit exists, and
x 0 x

P( x1 , f ( x1 )) is the point of tangency.

DEFINITION

The derivative of y  f (x) at point P on the curve is equal

to the slope of the tangent line at P, thus the derivative of
the function f with respect to x, given by dy  f ' ( x) , at any
dx
x in its domain is defined as:

dy y f ( x  x)  f ( x)
 lim  lim
dx x 0 x x 0 x
provided the limit exists.
Note: A function is said to be differentiable at x0 if the derivative
of y wrt x is defined at x0 .
 THE Derivative of a Function based on the Definition ( The four-step or
increment method)
To determine the derivative of a function based on the definition
(increment method or more commonly known as the four-step
rule) , the procedure is as follows:

STEP 1: Substitute y  y for y and

x  x for x in y  f (x)
STEP 2: Subtract y = f(x) from the result of step 1 to
obtain y in terms of x and x.
 DERIVATIVE BY DEFINITION

STEP 3: Divide both sides of step 2 by

both sides of step 2 by

STEP 4: Find the limit of the expression resulting from step 3 as

approaches 0.
 DERIVATIVE BY DEFINITION
Examples: Find the derivative of y using definition.
1. y=x2-2
y  y  ( x  x) 2  2
y  ( x  x) 2  2  y  x 2  2 xx  (x) 2  2  ( x 2  2)
y  x 2  2 xx  (x) 2  2  x 2  2  2 xx  (x) 2

Divide both sides by ∆𝑥, to obtain

y 2 xx  (x) 2
  2 x  x.
x x
 DERIVATIVE BY DEFINITION
Now, take the limit of both sides as ∆𝑥 → 0.
y
lim  lim ( 2 x  x)  2 x  0  2 x.
x 0 x x 0

Thus, the derivative is 2x.

NOTE: For a function with square root of variable, multiply
numerator and denominator by conjugate of terms with radical to
evaluate the limit.
 Sample Problems
Find the derivative of each of the following functions based on the definition:

1
4. y=
1. y  2 x 2
3- 2x

2. y =
1 5. y  2 x  2
2x

3. y  x  5
 Other notations for the derivative of a function:
d
D x y, D x f ( x), y ' , f ' , f ' ( x), and f ( x)
dx
Note:
To find the slope of the tangent line to the curve at point P
means that we are to find the value of the derivative at that
point P.
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULAS
Finding the derivative of a function using the definition or the
increment-method (four-step rule) can be laborious and tedious
specially when the functions to be differentiated are complex.
The theorems on differentiation will enable us to calculate
derivatives more efficiently and hopefully will make calculus easy
and enjoyable.
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULA
1. Derivative of a Constant
Theorem: The derivative of a constant function d
[c ]  0
is 0; that is, if c is any real number, then dx .
Example: If y=-3, then y’=0.
2. Derivative of a Constant Times a Function
Theorem: ( Constant Multiple Rule) If f is a
differentiable function at x and c is any real number,
then cf is also differentiable at x and
d
cf ( x)  c d  f ( x)
dx dx
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULAS

Example: If y=-2f(x), then y’=-2f’(x).

3. Derivatives of Power Functions

Theorem: ( Power Rule) d n
[ x ]  nx n 1
If n is a real number , then dx .
Examples: Find the derivative of y.
1. y  5x 5 2. y  8 1x
y '  5(5) x 51  25 x 4 y  8x 2
 1  12 1 4
y '  8  x  4 x 1/ 2  .
2 x
3. Derivatives of Sums or Differences
Theorem: ( Sum or Difference Rule) If f and g are both
differentiable functions at x, then so are f+g and f-g , and
d
 f  g    f   g .
d d
dx dx dx
1
Example: If y  t   2 , then
3

t 1
y  t t 2
3

2 1 3t 4
1
y '  3t  t  3t  2 
2 2
2
.
t t
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULAS
Derivative of a Product
• Theorem: (The Product Rule) If f and g are both
differentiable functions at x, then so is the product f  g , and
d
 f ( x)  g ( x)  f ( x) d [ g ( x)]  g ( x) d  f ( x).
dx dx dx

Example: If y  ( x 4  1)(2 x 2  3), then

y '  ( x 4  1)d (2 x 2  3)  (2 x 2  3)d ( x 4  1)
y '  4 x[( x 4  1)  x 2 (2 x 2  3)]
y '  4 x( x 4  1  2 x 4  3 x 2 )  4 x(4 x 4  3 x 2  1).
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULA
• . Derivative of a Quotient
Theorem: (The Quotient Rule) If f and g are both
differentiable functions at x, and if g  0 then f
is
g
differentiable at x and

d  f ( x) 
g ( x)
d
 f ( x)  f ( x) d g ( x)
 dx dx
  .
dx  g ( x)  g ( x)2
 3x  2
Example: If y  3 , then
x

x 3d 3x  2  (3x  2)d ( x 3 ) x 3 (3)  (3x  2)(3x 2 ) 3[ x 3  x 2 (3x  2)]

y'  6
 6
 6
x x x

3[ x 3  x 2 (3x  2)] 3( x 3  3x 3  2 x 2 ) 3(2 x 2  2 x 3 ) 3(2 x 2 )(1  x) 6(1  x)

y'  6
 6
 6
 6
 4 .
x x x x x
• Derivatives of Composition ( Chain Rule)
• Theorem: (The Chain Rule) If g is differentiable at x and if f is
differentiable at g(x) , then the composition f  g is
differentiable at x. Moreover, if y=f(g(x)) and u = g(x)
then y = f(u) and
dy dy du
  .
dx du dx
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULAS
Examples: Find y’.
1. y  2( x  1)
3 4

y '  2(4)( x 3  1)3 d ( x 3  1)  8( x 3  1)3 (3x 2 )  24 x 2 ( x 3  1)3 .

1
2. y  4
1  16 x
1
y4  (1  16 x) 1/ 4
1  16 x
1 5 / 4 1 5 / 4 4
y '  (1  16 x) d (1  16 x)  (1  16 x) (16)  .
4 4 (1  16 x) 5/ 4
 IMPLICIT DIFEERENTIATION
• On occasions that a function F(x , y) = 0 can not be defined in the
explicit form y = f(x) then the implicit form F ( x , y) = 0 can be used
as basis in defining the derivative of y ( the dependent variable) with
respect to x ( the independent variable).
• When differentiating F( x, y) = 0, consider that y is defined implicitly
in terms of x , then apply the chain rule. As a rule,
1. Differentiate both sides of the equation with respect to x.
2. Collect all terms involving dy/dx on the left side of the equation
and the rest of the terms on the other side.
3. Factor dy/dx out of the left member of the equation and solve for
dy/dx by dividing the equation by the coefficient of dy/dx.
 IMPLICIT DIFFERENTIATION
Examples: Find y’.
1. x  y  2( x  y )  1
2 3 4
2. x y  x  y 3
2 2

2 x  3 y 2 y '  8( x  y )3 (1  y ' ) x 2 d ( y )  yd ( x 2 )  1  2 yy '

2 x  3 y 2 y '  8( x  y )3  8( x  y )3 y ' x y ' y (2 x)  1  2 yy '
2

2 x  3 y 2 y '  8( x  y )3  8( x  y )3 y ' x 2 y '2 yy '  1  2 xy

2[4( x  y )  x]
3
y '[ x  2 y ]  1  2 xy
2
y'  2
3 y  8( x  y )3 1  2 xy
y'  2 .
x  2y
HIGHER DERIVATIVES
The notation dy/dx represent the first derivative of y with
respect to x. And if dy/dx is differentiable, then the derivative
of dy/dx with respect to x gives the second order derivative of y
with respect to x and is denoted by d y d æ dy ö.
2
= ç ÷
dx 2 dx è dx ø
y  f ( x)

  f ( x)  first derivative of y wrt x

dy d
y' 
dx dx
d 2 y d  dy 
y ' '  2    second derivative of y wrt x
dx dx  dx 
d3y d  d2y 
y' ' ' = 3   2  third derivative of y wrt x
dx dx  dx 
. .
. .
In general,
n  d n y d  d n 1 y 
y  n   n 1  n th derivative of y wrt x
dx dx  dx 
 HIGHER DERIVATIVES
Examples:
1. If y  2 x5  3x3  1, then 2. if x 2
 y 2
 1, then
y '  10 x 4  9 x 2  x 2 (10 x 2  9), 2 x  2 yy '  0' ,
x
y"  40 x  18 x  2 x(20 x  9),
3 2
y'  ,
y
y ' ' '  120 x  18  2(60 x  9).
2 2
x
y  x 
y (1)  xy '  y  y 2
 x 2
 ( x 2
 y 2
) 1
y"  2
 2
 3
 3
 3.
y y y y y
 Sample Problems

Differentiate y with respect to x. Express dy/dx in simplest form.

1. y= x 2 - 5 7. y= 4
9 - x2
æ x+5 ö
5

2. y = ( 5x + 3) ( 6 - 7x ) 8. y =ç 2 ÷
è x +2ø
2 x 2 - 3x +1
(( x + 3) + x )
5 2
3. y= 9. y= 2

x
2 1
4. y=x 3
-x +43
10. y= 2+ 2+ x
æ 4 ö
5. y = x ç1 - ÷ 11. x 2 + y2 = 9
è x + 3ø
6. y = ( 2 x 3 + 5) ( x - 3) ( x + 2 ) 12. xy = x 2 y +1
 Sample Problems

Determine the derivative required:

x+5
1. y' of y =
x-5
2. y''' of x 2 + y 2 = 9
d2 æ d ö
3. 2 ç
dx è
(x - 3) (
dx
4 2
)
x - 2x + 5 ÷
ø
 The LOGARITHMIC FUNCTIONS
A logarithmic function with the base a, a>0 and a1 is defined
by y  log a x if and only if x  a y
Logarithmic form  y  log a x
Exponential form  x  a y
EXAMPLE:
Logarithmic Form Exponential Form
1 1
log 16 4  4  16 2
2
log 2 8  3 8  23
 SOME LOGARITHMS OF KNOWN BASES:

NATURAL LOGARITHMS
Logarithms to the base e = 2.718 are called natural logarithms
(from the Latin word Logarithmic Naturalis or Napieran logarithms).

log e x  ln x

COMMON LOGARITHMS
Logarithms to the base 10 are called common logarithms.
log 10 x  log x
For positive numbers M , N , p, and a  1
1. log a MN  log a M  log a N
Note : log a M  N   log a M  log a N not distributi ve
M
2. log a  log a M  log a N
N
Note : log a
M

log a M
not a quotient of 2 logarithms 
N log a N
3. log a N p
 plog a N
1
1
N  log a N  5. log a 1  0
p p
4. log a log a N
p
6. log a a  1 7. log a a p  p
8. If log a x  log a y , then x y
 Derivative of Logarithmic Function
The derivative of the logarithmic function for any given
base and any differentiable function of u
For any given base a :
d 1 du
(log a u )  log a e ; where u  f(x)
dx u dx

For base  e :
d 1 du
(log e u )  log e e but log e e  1 and log e u  ln u
dx u dx
d 1 du
(ln u )  ; where u  f(x)
dx u dx
 CHANGE OF BASE
When the base of a logarithm is other than e or 10,
express its equivalent using the base e or 10 in the
formula
log a x log e x ln x
log b x  or log b x  
log a b log e b ln b
Example :
log10 x log e x ln x
1. log 2 x  or log 2 x  
log10 2 log e 2 ln 2

log10 y log e y ln y
2. log 3 y  or log 3 y  
log10 3 log e 3 ln 3
 DERIVATIVE OF LOGARITHMIC FUNCTION
Examples: Find y’.
1. y  log 2 ( x 6
 1)
d ( x 6  1) 6 x5
y'  6  .
( x  1) ln 2 ln 2( x  1)
6

2. y  x 3 ln 2 x
y'  x 3 d (ln 2 x)  ln 2 xd ( x 3 )
3 2 
y'  x    ln 2 x(3 x 2 )  x 2  3 x 2 ln 2 x
 2x 
y'  x 2 (1  3 ln 2 x)
 A. Find the derivative of each of the following natural
logarithmic functions and simplify the result:

1. y  ln4 x  1
6. g x  

ln 4 x 2  1 
2. f ( x)  log1  2 x 
3 ln x 3

3. f x   ln  
3 x 2  1  3  5 x  
7. y  ln x 2  ln x 

 
4
4. h x   ln
x
3 x 8. F x   x ln x  1  x 2  1  x 2

5. G  x   ( x  1) log 3 x
 B. Differentiate the following logarithmic functions.
1. y  log 2 3x
5. F x   log 3 3 x 2  4
2.  
h x  log 2 3  log 2 x 2

4  3z 2
6. H z   log 5
3. f  y   log 2 3 y 2 z 1

Gt   log
t  32t  3
2

4. g x   log x 3 x 
2
7.
3t 2

1
C. Find the derivative using implicit differentiation.

1. ln xy  5  x  y

2. ln x  y   ln x  y   1

3. xlny  logx - 4y  2
.

The EXPONENTIAL FUNCTION

The exponentia l function with base a, a  0 and

a  1, is defined by y  a x where x is a real number.
Since the exponentia l function is the inverse of
logarithmi c function, y  a may also be written as
x

x  log a y .
 .

Laws of Exponents
1. am  an  am  n

a mn , if mn
am 

2. n  1 , if mn
a 
1
 , if mn
 a n-m


3. am   amn
n

4. ab n  a nb n

n an
a
5.    n
 b  b
6. a0  1 , provided a  0

 1 n
m 1 n
m n  m 
7. a   a 
  a 
   

8. a loga x  x

9. if a x  a y then x  y
 DIFFERENTIATION FORMULA
Derivative of Exponential Function
The derivative of the exponential function for
any given base and any differentiable function of u.
For any given base a :

( a )  a ln a  ; where u  f(x)

d u u du
dx dx

For base  e :
d u du
( e )  eu ; where u  f(x)
dx dx
 DERIVATIVE OF EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Examples: Find y’.
  e 4 x 1  6 x  8
2
1. y 3 x

y'  3 ln 3(2 x)  e 4 x 1 (4)  6

x2

y'  2[ln 3( x)3  2e 4 x 1  3].

x2

2. y  (1 - 2 x )8
y'  8(1 - 2 x ) 7 (2 x ) ln 2
y'  8 ln 2(2 x )(1 - 2 x ) 7 .
EXAMPLE:
A. Find the derivative of each of the following
and simplify the result:
2
1. f x   e 3 x
6. hx  ln 4 3 x2

2. g x  e 12 x

3. hx   4 x e 2 1/ x 7. G ( x ) = log (e x +1) æç e2x +3ö÷

è ø

x
4. e xy  x 2   2 8. f ( x ) = 2 3x 4
×5 x2
y
5. y  7 3 x 4 x5
2 9. 3x + 5y = x 4 + y
EXERCISES:
A. Find the derivative and simplify the result.
e4x
1. g x   3 x 2  3 x 1 3. y  3 x
e 2
2. f x   e x 2 ln x 2 4. hx  log 2 x  3
2 2 x3

B. Apply the appropriate formulas to obtain the

derivative of the given function and simplify.
1.Gx   5 x2
e 2 x 1
4. y 
2.ye  xe  x  y  ln 2
x y 2 2
2x  1
3.H x   x  1
X 2


5. f x   ln e 2 x  e 2 x 