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Derivative of A Function

The document discusses the derivative and how it represents the slope of the tangent line to a curve at a given point. It explains that the derivative can be defined as the limit of the slope of secant lines as they approach the tangent line. This limit definition allows us to calculate the exact slope of the tangent line. A simple example of finding the derivative of f(x)=x^2 at the point a=2 is provided to illustrate how to apply this limit definition to calculate the slope of the tangent line.

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kate
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64 views

Derivative of A Function

The document discusses the derivative and how it represents the slope of the tangent line to a curve at a given point. It explains that the derivative can be defined as the limit of the slope of secant lines as they approach the tangent line. This limit definition allows us to calculate the exact slope of the tangent line. A simple example of finding the derivative of f(x)=x^2 at the point a=2 is provided to illustrate how to apply this limit definition to calculate the slope of the tangent line.

Uploaded by

kate
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The derivative as the slope of the

tangent line

(at a
point)
What is a derivative?

• A function
• the rate of change of a function
• the slope of the line tangent to
the curve
The tangent line

single point
of intersection
slope of a secant line

f(a) - f(x)
a-x

f(x)

f(a)
x a
slope of a (closer) secant line

f(a) - f(x)
a-x

f(x)

f(a)
x x a
closer and closer…

a
watch the slope...
watch what x does...

x a
The slope of the secant line gets closer and closer to
the slope of the tangent line...
As the values of x get closer and closer to a!

x a
The slope of the secant lines
gets closer
to the slope of the tangent line...

...as the values of x


get closer to a

Translates to….
lim f(x) - f(a)
x a x-a
as x goes to a
Equation for the slope

Which gives us the the exact slope


of the line tangent to the curve at a!
similarly...

f(x+h) - f(x)
(x+h) - x

= f(x+h) - f(x)
h

f(a+h)
h

f(a)
a+h a
(For this particular curve, h is a negative value)
thus...

lim f(a+h) - f(a)


h 0
h

AND

lim f(x) - f(a)


x a
x-a

Give us a way to calculate the slope of the line tangent at a!


Which one should I use?

(doesn’t really matter)


A VERY simple example...
2
yx

y  x2

want the slope


where a=2
f ( x)  f (a ) x2  a2 ( x  a)( x  a)
lim  lim  lim
xa xa xa

 lim( x  a )  lim( x  2)  4

as x a=2
f ( x  h)  f ( x ) ( x  h) 2  x 2
lim  lim
h h
2 2 2
x  2 xh  h  x h( 2 x  h)
 lim  lim
h h

 lim( 2 x  h)  4

As h 0
back to our example...
2
yx

y  x2

When a=2,
the slope is 4
in conclusion...
• The derivative is the the slope of the line
tangent to the curve (evaluated at a point)
• it is a limit (2 ways to define it)
• once you learn the rules of derivatives, you
WILL forget these limit definitions
• cool site to go to for additional
explanations:http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/2/

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