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    Partial Derivatives

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    suvendu behera
    This document discusses partial derivatives in multivariable calculus. It defines partial derivatives as the derivative of a function with respect to one variable, while treating all other variables as constants. Notation uses subscripts to indicate the variable being derived. The order of taking partial derivatives does not matter, as shown by Clairaut's Theorem. Examples calculate partial derivatives of functions with two and three variables. The document also demonstrates determining if a function satisfies a partial differential equation by plugging it into the equation.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Partial Derivatives

    Uploaded by

    suvendu behera
    169 views5 pages
    This document discusses partial derivatives in multivariable calculus. It defines partial derivatives as the derivative of a function with respect to one variable, while treating all other variables as constants. Notation uses subscripts to indicate the variable being derived. The order of taking partial derivatives does not matter, as shown by Clairaut's Theorem. Examples calculate partial derivatives of functions with two and three variables. The document also demonstrates determining if a function satisfies a partial differential equation by plugging it into the equation.

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    This document discusses partial derivatives in multivariable calculus. It defines partial derivatives as the derivative of a function with respect to one variable, while treating all other variables as constants. Notation uses subscripts to indicate the variable being derived. The order of taking partial derivatives does not matter, as shown by Clairaut's Theorem. Examples calculate partial derivatives of functions with two and three variables. The document also demonstrates determining if a function satisfies a partial differential equation by plugging it into the equation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    169 views5 pages

    Partial Derivatives

    Uploaded by

    suvendu behera
    This document discusses partial derivatives in multivariable calculus. It defines partial derivatives as the derivative of a function with respect to one variable, while treating all other variables as constants. Notation uses subscripts to indicate the variable being derived. The order of taking partial derivatives does not matter, as shown by Clairaut's Theorem. Examples calculate partial derivatives of functions with two and three variables. The document also demonstrates determining if a function satisfies a partial differential equation by plugging it into the equation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 5

    Multivariate Calculus; Fall 2013

    5.3

    S. Jamshidi

    Partial Derivatives
    Objectives
    I know how to take a partial derivative with respect to a variable.
    I understand the notation for partial derivatives.
    I can use Clairauts Theorem to make my calculations easier.

    The notion of limits and continuity are relevant in defining derivatives. When a function has
    more than one variable, however, the notion of derivative becomes vague. We no longer simply
    talk about a derivative; instead, we talk about a derivative with respect to a variable. The
    remaining variables are fixed. We call this a partial derivative.
    To denote the specific derivative, we use subscripts. For example, the derivative of f with respect
    to x is denoted fx .
    Lets look at some examples.
    For the following examples, the color blue will indicate a portion of the function that is treated
    as a constant. Think of these portions as being frozen. The portions that have changed (because
    of a derivative) are in red.
    14.3.1 Examples
    Example 5.3.0.4 1. Find the first partial derivatives of the function
    f (x, t) = e

    cos(x)

    Since there is only two variables, there are two first partial derivatives. First, lets consider fx .
    In this case, t is fixed and we treat it as a constant. So, e t is just a constant.
    fx (x, t) =

    e t sin(x)

    Now, find ft . Here, x is fixed so cos(x) is just a constant.


    ft (x, t) =

    e t cos(x)

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    Multivariate Calculus; Fall 2013

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    Example 5.3.0.5 2. Find the first partial derivatives of the function


    f (x, y) = x4 y 3 + 8x2 y
    Again, there are only two variables, so there are only two partial derivatives. They are
    fx (x, y) = 4x3 y 3 + 16xy
    and
    fy (x, y) = 3x4 y 2 + 8x2
    Higher order derivatives are calculated as you would expect. We still use subscripts to describe
    the second derivative, like fxx and fyy . Interestingly, we can get mixed derivatives like fxy and fyx .
    In addition, we know
    fxy = fyx
    regardless of our choice of f . This is called Clairauts Theorem. Whats the point of knowing
    this theorem? It means that you can switch the order of derivatives based on whatever would be
    easiest.
    Clairauts Theorem extends to higher derivatives. If we were looking at taking two derivatives
    with respect to x and one with respect to y, we would have three possible ways to do this
    fyxx = fxyx = fxxy
    You may have heard of partial dierential equations. These are equations that use derivatives of an unknown function as variables. The goal is to try to figure out the original function. For
    example, our understanding of waves is based on partial dierential equations. Specifically, we look
    at something called the wave equation
    utt = a2 uxx .
    Lets look at some example problems on partial derivatives and partial dierential equations.

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    Multivariate Calculus; Fall 2013

    S. Jamshidi

    14.3.2 Examples
    Example 5.3.0.6 1. Find fxxx , fxyx for
    f (x, t) = sin(2x + 5y)
    Lets begin by finding fx and use that to find fxx and fxxx
    fx = 2 cos(2x + 5y)
    Remember that 5y is just treated as a constant. Notice that we could work towards finding fxyx
    by finding fxy from the above equation. If we use Clairauts Theorem, however, we can skip a step
    by calculating fxxy instead. Now, lets calculate fxx .
    fxx = 2 ( 2 sin(2x + 5y)) =

    4 sin(2x + 5y)

    Using fxx , we can find fxxx and fxxy . They are


    fxxx =

    8 cos(2x + 5y)

    and
    fxyx = fxxy =

    20 cos(2x + 5y)

    Example 5.3.0.7 2. Find fxyz for


    f (x, y, z) = exyz

    This is a good example to pay close attention to because it illustrates how complicated these
    partial derivatives can get.
    Lets first find fx . It is
    fx = yz 2 exyz

    Notice the coefficients. Because y and z are treated as constants, they need to be brought out
    front by the chain rule. For the next derivative, we will have to use the product rule. What does
    this tell us? It tells us that its probably better to take fz first since we wont get that pesky z 2 .
    fz = 2zxyexyz

    Notice that taking the derivative with respect to x or y next will result in the same amount of
    work. Lets just pick x next.

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    Multivariate Calculus; Fall 2013

    S. Jamshidi

    fzx = (2zxy)(yz 2 exyz ) + (2zy)(exyz ) = 2xy 2 z 3 exyz + 2zyexyz

    The parentheses are in place to indicate how I broke up the variables to take the derivatives.
    Now lets calculate the last derivative, the partial derivative with respect to y.
    2

    fzxy = (2z)(exyz ) + (2zy)(xz 2 exyz ) + (2xy 2 z 3 )(xz 2 exyz ) + (4xyz 3 )(exyz )


    After we simplify, we get the final answer
    fzxy = 2zexyz

    1 + 3xyz 2 + x2 y 2 z 4

    Example 5.3.0.8 3. Show that u = sin(kx) sin(akt) is a solution to the wave equation
    utt = a2 uxx .
    To do this, we need to find utt and uxx and show that the equation holds.
    ut = ak sin(kx) cos(akt)
    =) utt = a2 k 2 sin(kx) sin(akt)

    ux = k cos(kx) sin(akt)
    =) utt = k 2 sin(kx) sin(akt)
    Plugging into the wave equation, we get
    [utt ] = a2 [uxx ]
    2 2

    =)
    a k sin(kx) sin(akt) = a2 k 2 sin(kx) sin(akt)
    =)
    a2 k 2 sin(kx) sin(akt) = a2 k 2 sin(kx) sin(akt)
    Since our resulting equation is trivially true, then we know u = sin(kx) sin(akt) is a solution to
    the wave equation.

    112 of 139

    Multivariate Calculus; Fall 2013

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    Summary of Ideas: Partial Derivatives


    A partial derivative with respect to a variable, takes the derivative of the function
    with respect to that variable and treats all other variables as constants.
    The order in which we take partial derivatives does not matter. That is, fxyz =
    fyzx = fzyx = fyxz = fzxy = fxzy .
    We can determine if a function is a solution to a partial dierential equation by
    plugging it into the equation.

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