Chapter 2 Derivatives

Contents
2. Derivatives 1
2.1. Derivatives and rates of change 1
2.2. The derivative as a function 2
2.3. Differentiation formulas 4
2.4. Derivatives of trigonometric functions 6
2.5. Chain rule 7
2.6. Implicit differentiation 9
2.7. Rates of change and applications 9
2.8. Related rates 11

2. Derivatives
In the last chapter, we learned limit. Now, we are ready to define the derivative,
and do some calculations on it.

2.1. Derivatives and rates of change. Text section 2.1 Exercise: 3, 7, 9, 11, 14,
15, 18, 20 25, 33, 37, 45, 46, 53
Definition 2.1. The derivative of f at a number a, denoted by f 0 (a), is
f (a + h) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim
h→0 h
if this limit exists.

In fact, for function y = f (x), if we substitute x = a + h in the above definition,

then we come up another equivalent definition, i.e.
f 0 (a) = limh→0 f (a+h)−f
h
(a)
, ( original notation)
f (x)−f (a)
= limx→a x−a , (instantaneous rate of change)
∆y
= lim∆x→0 ∆x
, (∆ means change )
a
dy
= dx
, ( another notation )
a

Ex.
(1) The tangent line to y = f (x) at P (a, f (a)) is the line through P with slope
f (x) − f (a)
m = lim = f 0 (a).
x→a x−a

1
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(2) Given position/displacement function s = s(t), the instantaneous velocity at

time t = a, denoted by v(a) is given by
s(x) − s(a)
v(a) = lim = s0 (a).
x→a x−a

Ex. Find the equation of tangent line for curve y = x2 at (−1, 1).

By analogy with velocity, we consider the average rate of change over smaller and
smaller intervals by letting a + h approach a and therefore letting h approach 0. The
limit of these average rates of change is called the (instantaneous) rate of change
of f with respect to x at x = a, which (as in the case of velocity) is interpreted as the
slope of the tangent to the curve y = f (x) at the point P (a, f (a)).

2.2. The derivative as a function. Text Section 2.2 Exercise: 3, 19, 23, 29, 35, 41,
47, 52, 53, 54, 55
For a function f : D → R, we defined f 0 (a) for all a ∈ D. Now, we consider
f : D → R as a function, where f 0 (x) is the derivative of f at x, i.e.
0

f (x + h) − f (x) f (y) − f (x)

f 0 (x) = lim = lim .
h→0 h y→x y−x
Sometimes, we can also write
df ∆y
f 0 (x) = = lim .
dx ∆x→0 ∆x
Definition 2.2. f is differentiable at a if f 0 (a) exists. f is differentiable on an open
interval (a, b), if it is differentiable at each number in the interval.
√ df
Ex. If f (x) = x, find with its domain.
dx
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Ex. The graph of f is given in Figure 1. Using the fact f 0 is the slope of tangent,
(1) identify all zeros of f 0 .
(2) sketch the graph of f 0 .

Ex. where is the function f (x) = |x| differentiable?

Proposition 2.3. If f is differentiable at a, then f is continuous at a.

Q. Justify following statement:

If f is continuous at a, then f is differentiable at a.
Usually, f is not differentiable at a in one of the following situations: f is
(1) corner at a,
(2) discontinuous at a,
(3) vertical tangent line at a, i.e. limx→a |f 0 (x)| = ∞.
dxn
Ex. Using definition, show that = nxn−1 for all integer n.
dx
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(Higher derivatives) f 00 = (f 0 )0 is called second derivative of f if it exists.

Similarly, we define all higher derivatives

f (3) = (f 00 )0 ; . . . ; f (n+1) = (f (n) )0 .

Note that f n 6= f (n) .

(Motion problem) Given position function s = s(t), its velocity function is

v(t) = s0 (t)

and acceleration function is

a(t) = v 0 (t) = s00 (t)

2.3. Differentiation formulas. Text Section 2.3 Exercise: 21, 22, 27, 31, 41, 43,
44, 45, 49, 59, 62, 63, 65, 69, 70, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 89, 95, 98, 103
Suppose f 0 and g 0 exists, then following differentiation formulae hold:
(1) (Power function) For any constant n,

(xn )0 = nxn−1 .

(2) (Constant multiple rule) For any constant c,

(cf )0 = cf 0

(3) (sum rule)

(f ± g)0 = f 0 ± g 0
(4) (product rule)
(f g)0 = f 0 g + f g 0
(5) (quotient rule) Given g 6= 0
 f 0 f 0g − f g0
= .
g g2

Ex. Prove product rule and quotient rule.

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Ex. Differentiate:
d(4π 2 )
(1)
dx
(2) (xπ )0
 2 0
(3) √
x3
Ex. Find the points on the curve y = x4 −6x2 +4 where the tangent line is horizontal.

Ex. Using f (x) = x2 and g(x) = x, verify product rule and quotient rule.

√
x
Ex. Differentiate y = .
1 + x2
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The Normal line to a curve C at point P is the line through P that is perpendicular
to the tangent line at P .

Ex. Find equations of the tangent line and normal line to the curve
√
x
y=
1 + x2
at the point (1, 21 ).

2.4. Derivatives of trigonometric functions. Text Section 2.4 Exercise: 8, 9, 13,

31, 32, 36, 38, 41, 45, 51

Limit formula
(1)
sin θ
lim =1
θ→0 θ
(2)
cos θ − 1
lim =0
θ→0 θ
Q. What is
cos θ
lim =?
θ→0 θ

Derivatives of trigonometric functions

(1)
(sin x)0 = cos x
(2)
(cos x)0 = − sin x
(3)
(tan x)0 = sec2 x
(4)
(csc x)0 = − csc x cot x
(5)
(sec x)0 = sec x tan x
(6)
(cot x)0 = − csc2 x
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Ex. Let f (x) = cos x. Find f (27) (x) =?

Ex. Find
d 2
(x sin x)
dx

Ex. Find
sin 7x
lim
x→0 4x

Ex. Find
lim x cot x
x→0

2.5. Chain rule. Text Section 2.5 Exercise: 3, 5, 12, 13, 37, 40, 45, 47, 61, 68, 71,
76, 83, 85, 88, 89, 90
The differential formulas learned before do not work for F 0 (x), where
√
F (x) = x2 + 1.
√
Note that F (x) = f (g(x)), where f (u) = u and g(x) = x2 + 1.

Proposition 2.4 (Chain rule). If g is differentiable at x and f is differentiable at g(x),

then F = f ◦ g is differentiable at x, and
F 0 (x) = f 0 (g(x)) · g 0 (x).
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In the above, f 0 (g(x)) 6= (f (g(x)))0 , but can be understood as

df
f 0 (g(x)) = .
du u=g(x)

In Leibniz notation, if y = f (u) and u = g(x) are both differentiable, then

dy dy du
= · .
dx du dx
Another representation of chain rule is
(f ◦ g)0 (x) = f 0 (g(x))g 0 (x).
√
Ex. Find F 0 (x) if F (x) = x2 + 1.

Ex. Differentiate
(1)
y = sin(x2 )
(2)
y = sin2 x

Ex. Differentiate
y = (x3 − 1)100 .

Ex. Differentiate
f (x) = sin(cos(tan x)).
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2.6. Implicit differentiation. Text Section 2.6 Exercise: 1, 12, 15, 21, 22, 33, 34,
44, 45, 47, 51, 53, 57
An explicit function is in the form of y = f (x), i.e. y is written explicitly as a
function of x.

Example 2.1 (Text excercise 3.6.29). A lemniscate is a curve given by

2(x2 + y 2 )2 = 25(x2 − y 2 ).
Find an equation of the tangent line to the curve at (3, 1).
Obviously the above equation of lemniscate is not an explicit function. We call such
a function as Implicit function.

For implicit function, we may use implicit differentiation:

d
(1) Take on both sides of equation.
dx
dy
(2) Solve for .
dx
Ex. Solve for Example 2.1, by following two steps of implicit differentiation.

Ex. Find slope of tangent line to x2 + y 2 = 25 at the point (3, 4) using following
two ways:
(1) using implicit differentiation;
(2) using explicit differentiation.

Ex. Find y 00 if x4 + y 4 = 16.

2.7. Rates of change and applications. Text section 2.7 Exercise: 7, 9, 18, 19,
20, 27, 29
Given y = f (x), the average rate of change over the interval [x1 , x2 ] is
∆y f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
= ,
∆x x2 − x1
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while instantaneous rate of change at x1 is

dy ∆y
= lim .
dx x=x1 x2 →x1 ∆x
2.7.1. Motion problem. Let position function of a particle moving in a straight line
be
s = s(t)
then average velocity over a time period ∆t is
∆s
∆t
instantaneous velocity is
ds
v(t) =
dt
acceleration is
a(t) = v 0 (t) = s00 (t).
Ex. The position of a particle is given by the equation
s(t) = t3 − 6t2 + 9t
where t is measured in seconds and s in meters.
(1) Find velocity at t.
(2) What is the velocity after 2 seconds? After 4 seconds?
(3) When is the particle at rest?
(4) When is the particle moving forward?
(5) Draw a diagram to represent the motion of the particle.
(6) Find the total distance traveled by the particle during the first five seconds.
(7) Find the acceleration at time t and after 4 seconds
(8) Graph the position, velocity, acceleration functions for 0 ≤ t ≤ 5.
(9) When is the particle speeding up? when is it slowing down?
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2.7.2. Marginal cost. Suppose C(x) is the total cost that a company incurs in producing
x units of a certain commodity. The function C is called cost function.
If the number of items produced is increased from x1 to x2 , additional cost is ∆C =
C(x2 ) − C(x1 ), and average rate of change in the cost is
∆C C(x2 ) − C(x1 )
= .
∆x x2 − x1

The instantaneous rate of change of the cost w.r.t. number of items produced is called
marginal cost,
∆C dC
marginal cost = lim = .
∆x→0 ∆x dx

Ex. Suppose cost function (in dollars) is given by

C(x) = 10000 + 5x + 0.01x2 .
(1) Find the marginal cost C 0 (x)
(2) Find C 0 (500), compare with C(501) − C(500) = 15.01

2.8. Related rates. Text Section 2.8 Exercise: 2, 3, 9, 15, 19, 28, 33, 45

In a related rates problem the idea is to compute the rate of change of one quantity in
terms of the rate of change of another quantity (which may be more easily measured).
The procedure is to find an equation that relates the two quantities and then use the
Chain Rule to differentiate both sides with respect to time.
Ex. Air is being pumped into a spherical balloon so that its volume increases at a
rate of 100cm3 /s. How fast is the radius of the balloon increasing when the diameter
is 50 cm?
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Ex. A ladder 5 m long rests against a vertical wall. If the bottom of the ladder
slides away from the wall at a rate of 1m/s, how fast is the top of the ladder sliding
down the wall when the bottom of the ladder is 3m from the wall?

Ex. A water tank has the shape of an inverted circular cone with base radius 2 m
and height 4 m. If water is being pumped into the tank at a rate of 2m3 /min, find the
rate at which the water level is rising when the water is 3 m deep.

Ex. Car A is traveling west at 90 km/h and car B is traveling north at 100 km/h.
Both are headed for the intersection of the two roads. At what rate are the cars
approaching each other when car A is 60 m and car B is 80 m from the intersection?

Ex. A man walks along a straight path at a speed of 1.5 m/s. A searchlight is
located on the ground 6 m from the path and is kept focused on the man. At what
rate is the searchlight rotating when the man is 8 m from the point on the path closest
to the searchlight?
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Problem Solving Strategy

(1) Read the problem carefully.
(2) Draw a diagram if possible.
(3) Introduce notation. Assign symbols to all quantities that are functions of time.
(4) Express the given information and the required rate in terms of derivatives.
(5) Write an equation that relates the various quantities of the problem. If nec-
essary, use the geometry of the situation to eliminate one of the variables by
substitution.
(6) Use the Chain Rule to differentiate both sides of the equation with respect to
t.
(7) Substitute the given information into the resulting equation and solve for the
unknown rate.