Lecture 5

Partial Differentiations
For the function of two variables, f (x , y ) , the partial derivative of f (x , y ) w.r.t. x,
f
written
, is defined by
x

f (x x , y ) f (x , y )
f (x , y ) lim
x
x
x 0
f
and the partial derivative of f (x , y ) w.r.t. y, written
, is defined by
y

f (x , y y ) f (x , y )
f (x , y ) lim
y
y
y 0
The notation of the first partial derivatives of z f (x , y ) can be written as one of the
following
z
z
, zx ,
, zy
x
y

The notation of the second partial derivatives of z f (x , y ) can be written as one of

the following
2z
x

, z xx ,

2z
y

, z yy

2z
2z
,
,
, z xy , z yx
x y y x

Example
For, f (x , y ) 3x 2 x 3 y 4 y 2 , compute the first and the second derivatives
f x , f y , f xx , f yy , f xy , f yx

Example
For, z e xy

x
, compute z x , z y
y

Example
For, z cos xy x 3 y 4 , compute z xyy

Laplace's Equation
2z
x

2z
y

Show that z tan 1

0
y
satisfies Laplace's Equation
x

Partial derivatives of functions of three variables

Example
For w (x , y , z ) xy 3z 4x 2 y , compute w x , w xy

Chain Rule
A- Function of one variable
If y f (u ), u g (x ), then
dy dy du

dx du dx

Example
If y sin u and u e 3x , find
B- Function of two variables

dy
dx

2 1

If z f (x , y ), x g (t ), y h (t ). Then
dz z dx z dy

dt x dt y dt

Example
Let z xy sin x ,

x t 2 and y cos t . Compute

C- Function of three variables

dz
dt

3 1

If w f (x , y , z ), x g (t ), y h (t ), z r (t ).Then
dw w dx w dy w dz

dt
x dt y dt z dt

Example
Let w xy z ,

x cost , y sin t and z t . Find

dw
dt

t 0

C- Function of two variables

22

If z f (x , y ), x g (t , s ), y h (t , s ).Then
z z x z y

t x t y t
z z x z y

s x s y s

Example
Let z e x sin y ,

x t s 2 and y t 2s . . Find

z
t

and

Example
Let z 4e x ln y ,

x ln(s cos t ) and y s sin t . . Find

z
t

z
s

and

z
s

Parametric Differentiations
Definition
A parametric function describes both variables x and y in terms of a third variable
called the parameter.
x f (t )
y g (t )

Example
Parametric equations of a circle
x cos
y sin

Parametric Differentiation
If x and y are functions of parameter t, then
dy dy dt dy dx

/
dx dt dx dt dt

(Chain Rule)

Example
Given that: x cos sin , y sin cos
dy
Show that
tan
dx
Example
x 2 sin 2 , y 1 cos 2
The parametric equations of a curve are
dy
i) Find
dx
ii) Show that the tangent to the curve at / 6 is perpendicular to the tangent at
2 / 3

Maximum and Minimum Values

Definition
The point (a,b) is said to be a critical point of the function f (x , y ) in the domain
of f if:
f x (a,b ) f y (a,b ) 0
Definition (Second derivative test)
If (a,b) is a critical point of the function f (x , y ) . Let:
D (a,b ) f xx (a,b ) f yy (a,b ) [f xy (a,b )]2

Then if
a- D (a,b ) 0
b- D (a,b ) 0
c- D (a,b ) 0
b- D (a,b ) 0

and f xx (a,b ) 0 , f has a local max point at (a,b)

and f xx (a,b ) 0 , f has a local min point at (a,b)
, f has a saddle point at (a,b)
, no conclusion (no local point)

Example
Locate and classify the critical points of
f (x , y ) x 4 y 4 4xy 1

Solution
The critical points are: (0,0), (1,1) and (-1,-1)

Example
Locate and classify the critical points of
f (x , y ) x 3 2 y 2 2 y 4 3x 2 y

Solution
The critical points are: (0,0), (-1,1/2) and (-2,1)