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The document discusses differentiation rules for various functions including: 1) Constant functions have a derivative of 0. 2) Power functions have a derivative given by the power rule: the derivative of x^n is nx^(n-1). 3) The derivatives of sums, differences, and constant multiples of functions can be determined using rules for sums, differences and constant multiples. 4) The derivative of an exponential function f(x)=bx is f'(x)=bf(x), and the simplest formula is for the base e where the derivative is the function itself.

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47 views27 pages

English 1

The document discusses differentiation rules for various functions including: 1) Constant functions have a derivative of 0. 2) Power functions have a derivative given by the power rule: the derivative of x^n is nx^(n-1). 3) The derivatives of sums, differences, and constant multiples of functions can be determined using rules for sums, differences and constant multiples. 4) The derivative of an exponential function f(x)=bx is f'(x)=bf(x), and the simplest formula is for the base e where the derivative is the function itself.

Uploaded by

Muneeb Zahoor
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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3 Differentiation Rules

.
Derivatives of Polynomials
3.1 and Exponential Functions
Derivatives of Polynomials and Exponential Functions

• In this section we learn how to differentiate constant functions, power


functions, polynomials, and exponential functions.

• Let’s start with the simplest


of all functions, the constant
function f (x) = c.

• The graph of this function is


the horizontal line y = c,
which has slope 0, so we
must have f '(x) = 0. The graph of f (x) = c is the
(See Figure 1.) line y = c, so f (x) = 0.
Figure 1
Derivatives of Polynomials and Exponential Functions

• A formal proof, from the definition of a derivative, is also easy:

• In Leibniz notation, we write this rule as follows.


Power Functions
Power Functions
• We next look at the functions f(x) = xn, where n is a positive integer.

• If n = 1, the graph of f(x) = x is the line y = x, which has slope 1. (See


Figure 2.)

The graph of f (x) = x is the


line y = x, so f ' (x) = 1.
Figure 2
Power Functions
• So

• (You can also verify Equation 1 from the definition of a derivative.)

• We have already investigated the cases n = 2 and n = 3. We found that


Power Functions
For n = 4 we find the derivative of f (x) = x4 as follows:
Power Functions
• Thus

• Comparing the equations in (1), (2), and (3), we see a pattern


emerging.

• It seems to be a reasonable guess that, when n is a positive integer,


(d /dx)(xn) = nxn – 1. This turns out to be true.
Example 1
(a) If f (x) = x6, then f (x) = 6x5.

(b) If y = x1000, then y = 1000x999.

(c) If y = t 4, then = 4t 3.

(d) = 3r 2
Power Functions

• The Power Rule enables us to find tangent lines without having to resort
to the definition of a derivative. It also enables us to find normal lines.

• The normal line to a curve C at a point P is the line through P that is


perpendicular to the tangent line at P.
New Derivatives from Old
New Derivatives from Old
• When new functions are formed from old functions by addition,
subtraction, or multiplication by a constant, their derivatives can be
calculated in terms of derivatives of the old functions.

• In particular, the following formula says that the derivative of a


constant times a function is the constant times the derivative of the
function.
Example 4
New Derivatives from Old
The next rule tells us that the derivative of a sum of functions is the sum of the derivatives.

The Sum Rule can be extended to the sum of any number of functions. For instance, using
this theorem twice, we get
(f + g + h) = [(f + g) + h)] = (f + g) + h = f  + g + h
New Derivatives from Old
• By writing f – g as f + (–1)g and applying the Sum Rule and the Constant Multiple
Rule, we get the following formula.

• The Constant Multiple Rule, the Sum Rule, and the Difference Rule can be combined
with the Power Rule to differentiate any polynomial, as the following examples
demonstrate.
Exponential Functions
Exponential Functions
• Let’s try to compute the derivative of the exponential function f (x) = bx
using the definition of a derivative:

• The factor bx doesn’t depend on h, so we can take it in front of the limit:


Exponential Functions
• Notice that the limit is the value of the derivative of f at 0, that is,

• Therefore we have shown that if the exponential function f (x) = bx is


differentiable at 0, then it is differentiable everywhere and

• f (x) = f (0) bx

• This equation says that the rate of change of any exponential function is
proportional to the function itself.
(The slope is proportional to the height.)
Exponential Functions
• Numerical evidence for the existence of f (0) is given in
the table shown below for the cases b = 2 and b = 3.
(Values are stated correct to four decimal places.) It
appears that the limits exist and

• for b = 2,

• for b = 3,
Exponential Functions
• In fact, it can be proved that these limits exist and, correct to six decimal places, the values
are

• Thus, from Equation 4, we have

• Of all possible choices for the base b in Equation 4, the simplest differentiation formula
occurs when f (0) = 1.
Exponential Functions
• In view of the estimates of f (0) for b = 2 and b = 3, it seems
reasonable that there is a number b between 2 and 3 for which f (0) =
1.

• It is traditional to denote this value by the letter e. Thus we have the


following definition.
Exponential Functions
• Geometrically, this means that of all the possible exponential
functions y = bx, the function f(x) = ex is the one whose tangent line at
(0, 1) has a slope f (0) that is
exactly 1. (See Figures 6 and 7.)

Figure 6 Figure 7
Exponential Functions
• If we put b = e and, therefore, f (0) = 1 in Equation 4, it becomes the following
important differentiation formula.

• Thus the exponential function f (x) = ex has the property that it is its own derivative.
The geometrical significance of this fact is that the slope of a tangent line to the
curve y = ex is equal to the y-coordinate of the point (see Figure 7).
Example 8
If f (x) = ex – x, find f  and f . Compare the graphs of f and f .

Solution:
Using the Difference Rule, we have
Example 8 – Solution cont’d

• We defined the second derivative as the derivative of f , so


Example 8 – Solution cont’d

The function f and its derivative f  are graphed in Figure 8.

Notice that f has a horizontal tangent


when x = 0; this corresponds to the
fact that f (0) = 0. Notice also that, for
x > 0, f (x) is positive and f is
increasing.

When x < 0, f (x) is negative and f is


Figure 8
decreasing.

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