Basic Differentiation

Formulas

If the derivative of a function is its slope, then for a

constant function, the derivative must be zero.

d example: y 3 y 0
c 0
dx

The derivative of a constant is zero.

 Review: Derivative Notation
Instead of finding the limit of the different quotient to obtain the
derivative of a function, we can use the rules of differentiation
(shortcuts to find the derivatives).
There are several widely used symbols to represent the derivative.
Given y = f (x), the derivative may be represented by any of the
following:

f (x)
y
dy/dx
What is the slope of a constant function?

The graph of f (x) = C is a

horizontal line with slope 0, so
we would expect f (x) = 0.

Theorem 1. Let y = f (x) = C be a constant function, then

y = f (x) = 0.
 Examples: Find the derivatives of the
following functions
1) f(x) = -24
f(x) = ? 0

2) f(x) = 7
f(x) = ? 0

3) f(x) =
f(x) = ? 0
 Power Rule
A function of the form f (x) = xn is called a power function.
This includes f (x) = x (where n = 1) and radical functions
(fractional n).

Theorem 2. (Power Rule) Let y = xn be a power function,

then
y = f (x) = n xn 1.
 Power Rule:

If n is any real number, then d n n 1
x nx
dx
Examples: f x x 4 f x 4 x3
y x8 y 8 x 7

Constant Multiple Rule:

If c is a constant and f is differentiable function, then d du
Examples: d n
cu c
dx dx
cx cnx n1
dx
d 5
7 x 7 5x4 35x4
dx
 Example
Differentiate f (x) = x10.

Solution:
By the power rule, the derivative of xn is n xn1.
In our case n = 10, so we get f (x) = 10 x10-1
= 10 x9
 Example
Differentiate f ( x) 3 x .

Solution:
Rewrite f (x) as a power function, and apply the power rule:
f ( x) x 1/ 3

1 2 / 3 1
f ' ( x) x
3 3
3 x 2
 Examples: Find the derivatives of the
following functions
1
1) f(x) =x6 4) f(x) = = x-1
f(x) = ?
x
6x5 2 1
f(x) = ? 1x 2
2) f(x) = t-2 x
f(x) = ? -2t-3=
2 5) f(x) = 3
u2 = u2/3
t3
1
3) f(x) = t3/2 f(x) =? 2 3 2
u 1/ 3
1 3 3u
3 2
f(x) = ? t 6) f(x) = 1 = x-1/2
2 x
f(x) =? 1 23 1
x 3/ 2
2 2x
 Constant Multiple Property
Theorem 3. Let y = f (x) = k u(x) be a constant k times a
function u(x). Then
y = f (x) = k u(x).
In words: The derivative of a constant times a function is the
constant times the derivative of the function.
 Example
Differentiate f (x) = 10x3.

Solution:
Apply the constant multiple property and the power rule.
f (x) = 10(3x2) = 30 x2
 Examples: Find the derivatives of the
following functions
t4
1) f(x) = 4x5 4) f(x) = 12
f(x) = ?20x4
1 3
f(x) = t
3

1 1 3
2) f(x) =3x3 3 x
1
0 .9 0.9

3
1
0.9 x 3

5) f(x) = x
x3
4 1
f(x) = ? 1x 4
4
3
x 0.3x 3

f(x) = 10 x 4/3
The Sum Rule:
d du dv
u v
dx dx dx

Example: y x 12 x
4
y 4 x 12
3

The Difference Rule:

d du dv
u v
dx dx dx

y x 2x 2 dy
4 x3 4 x
4 2
Example:
dx
Sum and Difference Properties

Theorem 5. If
y = f (x) = u(x) v(x),
then
y = f (x) = u(x) v(x).

In words:
The derivative of the sum of two differentiable functions is
the sum of the derivatives.
The derivative of the difference of two differentiable
functions is the difference of the derivatives.
 Example
Differentiate f (x) = 3x5 + x4 2x3 + 5x2 7x + 4.

Solution:
Apply the sum and difference rules, as well as the constant
multiple property and the power rule.
f (x) = 15x4 + 4x3 6x2 + 10x 7.
 Examples: Find the derivatives of the
following functions
v 5v v
3 4 3 1/ 4
1) f(x) = 3x4-2x3+x2-5x+7 4) f(x) = 5v
f(x) = ? f(x) =?
1 3 / 4 1
12 x 6 x 2 x 5
3 2
15v v
2

4
15v 3 / 4
2

4v
3 4 x4
2) f(x) = 3 - 7x -2 5) f(x) = 3
4x x 8
f(x) = ? 3 1 x 4
x 4 x 3
14
3 4 8
14 x 3 3 2 1 3
4
f(x) =? x 12 x x
x
4 2
3 12 1 3
2
4 x
4x x 2
Example:
Find the horizontal tangents of: y x4 2x2 2
dy
4 x3 4 x
dx
Horizontal tangents occur when slope = zero.
4 x3 4 x 0 Plugging the x values into the
original equation, we get:
x3 x 0
y 2, y 1, y 1
x x 1 0
2

x x 1 x 1 0
x 0, 1, 1
 4
y x4 2x2 2
3

2 y2

1 y 1

-2 -1 0 1 2

-1

-2
Consider the function y sin
We could make a graph of the slope: slope
1

0
2
0 1

0
Now we connect the dots! 2
The resulting curve is a cosine curve. 1

d
sin x cos x
dx
We can do the same thing for y cos
slope
0

1
2
0 0

1
2
The resulting curve is a sine curve that has
been reflected about the x-axis. 0

d
cos x sin x
dx
2.4 The Product and
Quotient Rules
The Product Rule:
d dv du
uv u v Notice that this is not just the
product of two derivatives.
dx dx dx

This is sometimes memorized as: d uv u dv v du

d 2
dx

x 3 2 x
3
5 x
x 2 3 6 x 2 5 2 x3 5 x 2x

6 x 4 5 x 2 18 x 2 15 4 x 4 10 x 2

10 x 4 33x 2 15
The Quotient Rule:

du dv
v u u v du u dv
d u dx dx d
or

2
dx v v2 v v

Example:

d 2 x 5x
3
x 2 3 6 x 2 5 2 x3 5 x 2 x
dx x 2 3 x 3
2
2
 We can find the derivative of the tangent function by
using the quotient rule.

d cos2 x sin 2 x
tan x
dx cos2 x

d sin x 1
dx cos x cos 2 x

cos x cos x sin x sin x

sec2 x
cos2 x

d
tan x sec2 x
dx
 Applications
Remember that the derivative gives the instantaneous rate of
change of the function with respect to x. That might be:
Instantaneous velocity.
Tangent line slope at a point on the curve of the function.
Marginal Cost. If C(x) is the cost function, that is, the total cost
of producing x items, then C(x) approximates the cost of
producing one more item at a production level of x items. C(x) is
called the marginal cost.
 Example: application
Let f (x) = x4 - 8x3 + 7
(a) Find f (x)
(b) Find the equation of the tangent line at x = 1
(c) Find the values of x where the tangent line is horizontal

Solution:
a) f (x) = 4x3 - 24x2
b) Slope: f (1) = 4(1) - 24(1) = -20
Point: (1, 0)
y = mx + b
0 = -20(1) + b
20 = b
So the equation is y = -20x + 20

c) Since a horizontal line has the slope of 0, we must solve f(x)=0 for x
4x3 - 24x2 = 0
4x2 (x 6) = 0
So x = 0 or x = 6
 Example: more application
The total cost (in dollars) of producing x radios per day is
C(x) = 1000 + 100x 0.5x2 for 0 x 100.
1. Find the marginal cost at a production level of radios.
Solution: C(x) = 100 x

2) Find the marginal cost at a production level of 80 radios and

interpret the result.
Solution: The marginal cost is
C(80) = 100 80 = $20
It costs $20 to produce the next radio (the 81st radio)

3) Find the actual cost of producing the 81st radio and compare
this with the marginal cost.
Solution: The actual cost of the 81st radio will be
C(81) C(80) = $5819.50 $5800 = $19.50.
Derivatives of the remaining trigonometric functions
can be determined the same way.

d d
sin x cos x cot x csc2 x
dx dx

d d
cos x sin x sec x sec x tan x
dx dx

d d
tan x sec2 x csc x csc x cot x
dx dx