Pamantasan ng Cabuyao

College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021

MODULE

4 DERIVATIVES AND SLOPE

INTRODUCTION

In this section, we will start looking at the next major topic in a calculus class. We will be looking
at the definition and interpretation of derivatives in this chapter as well as the different formulas
of differentiation. This chapter is devoted almost exclusively to finding derivatives and slope as
preparation for applying derivatives of trigonometric and inverse trigonometric, exponential,
logarithmic and hyperbolic functions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this module you should be able to:

1. Define derivative;
2. Interpret derivatives;
3. Get familiar with differentiation formulas; and
4. Get used to applying product and quotient rule.

4.1] DEFINITION OF THE DERIVATIVE

In the first section of the last chapter we saw that the computation of the slope of a tangent line,
the instantaneous rate of change of a function, and the instantaneous velocity of an object at
x = a all required us to compute the following limit.

𝑓(𝑥) − 𝑓(𝑎)
lim
𝑥→𝑎 𝑥−𝑎

We also saw that with a small change of notation this limit could also be written as,

𝑓 (𝑎 + ℎ ) − 𝑓(𝑎)
lim
ℎ→𝑎 ℎ

This is such an important limit and it arises in so many places that we give it a name. We call it a
derivative. Here is the official definition of the derivative.

Definition
The derivative of f (x) with respect to x is the function f ′(x) and is defined as,

𝑓(𝑎 + ℎ ) − 𝑓(𝑎)
𝑓 ′ (𝑥) = lim
ℎ→𝑎 ℎ
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021
Note that we replaced all the a’s in (1) with x’s to acknowledge the fact that the derivative is really
a function as well. We often “read” f ′(x) as “f prime of x”.

Let’s compute a couple of derivatives using the definition.

Example 4.11: Find the derivative of the following function using the definition of the derivative.

f(x) = 2x2 – 16x + 35

Example 4.12: Find the derivative of the following function using the definition of the derivative.
𝑡
g(t) = 𝑡+1

Example 4.13: Find the derivative of the following function using the derivative.

R(z) = √5𝑧 − 8

Example 4.14: Determine f ′(0) for f (x) = |𝑥|

Definition

A function f (x) is called differentiable at x = a if f ′(x) exists and f ( x) is called differentiable

on an interval if the derivative exists for each point in that interval.

The next theorem shows us a very nice relationship between functions that are continuous and
those that are differentiable.

Theorem

If f (x) is differentiable at x = a then f (x) is continuous at x = a.

Note that this theorem does not work in reverse. Consider f (x) = |𝑥| and take a look at,

lim 𝑓(𝑥) = lim |𝑥| = 0 = 𝑓(0)

ℎ→0 ℎ→0

So, f (x) = |𝑥| is continuous at x = 0 but we’ve just shown above in Example 4.1.4 that f (x) = |𝑥|
is not differentiable at x = 0.
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021

Alternate Notation

Next we need to discuss some alternate notation for the derivative. The typical derivative notation
is the “prime” notation. However, there is another notation that is used on occasion so let’s cover
that.

Given a function y = f (x) all of the following are equivalent and represent the derivative of f (x)
with respect to x.

𝑑𝑓 𝑑𝑦
𝑓 ′ (𝑎) = 𝑦′|𝑥=𝑎 = | = |
𝑑𝑥 𝑥=𝑎 𝑑𝑥 𝑥=𝑎

Note as well that on occasion we will drop the (x) part on the function to simplify the notation
somewhat. In these cases, the following are equivalent.

f′(x) = f′

4.2] INTERPRETATIONS OF THE DERIVATIVE

4.2.1. Rate of Change

The first interpretation of a derivative is rate of change. This was not the first problem that we
looked at in the limit chapter, but it is the most important interpretation of the derivative. If f (x)
represents a quantity at any x then the derivative f ′(a) represents the instantaneous rate of
change of f (x) at x = a.

Example 4.21: Suppose that the amount of water in a holding tank at t minutes is given by V (t)
= 2t2 −16t + 35. Determine each of the following.

(a) Is the volume of water in the tank increasing or decreasing at t =1 minute?

(b) Is the volume of water in the tank increasing or decreasing at t = 5 minutes?

(c) Is the volume of water in the tank changing faster at t =1 or t = 5 minutes?

(d) Is the volume of water in the tank ever not changing? If so, when?

4.2.2. Slope of Tangent Line

This is the next major interpretation of the derivative. The slope of the tangent line to f (x) at x = a
is f ′(a). The tangent line then is given by,

y = f (a) + f ′(a)(x − a)

Example 4.22: Find the tangent line to the following function at z = 3.

R(z) = √5𝑧 − 8
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021
4.2.3. Velocity

Recall that this can be thought of as a special case of the rate of change interpretation. If the
position of an object is given by f (t) after t units of time the velocity of the object at t = a is given
by f ′(a).

Example 4.23: Suppose that the position of an object after t hours is given by,
𝑡
g(t) =
𝑡+1

Answer both of the following about this object.

(a) Is the object moving to the right or the left at t =10 hours?

(b) Does the object ever stop moving?

4.3] DIFFERENTIATION FORMULAS

In the first section of this chapter we saw the definition of the derivative and we computed a couple
of derivatives using the definition. As we saw in those examples there was a fair amount of work
involved in computing the limits and the functions that we worked with were not terribly
complicated.

For more complex functions using the definition of the derivative would be an almost impossible
task. Luckily for us we won’t have to use the definition terribly often. We will have to use it on
occasion, however we have a large collection of formulas and properties that we can use to
simplify our life considerably and will allow us to avoid using the definition whenever possible.

We will introduce most of these formulas over the course of the next several sections. We will
start in this section with some of the basic properties and formulas. We will give the properties
and formulas in this section in both “prime” notation and “fraction” notation.

Properties

𝑑 𝑑𝑓 𝑑𝑔
1) (f (x) ± g (x))′ = f ′(x) ± g′( x) OR (𝑓(𝑥) ± 𝑔(𝑥)) = ±
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥

In other words, to differentiate a sum or difference all we need to do is differentiate the

individual terms and then put them back together with the appropriate signs. Note as well that
this property is not limited to two functions.
𝑑 𝑑𝑓
2) (cf(x))’ = cf’(x) OR 𝑑𝑥 (𝑐𝑓(𝑥)) = 𝑐 𝑑𝑥 , c is any number

In other words, we can “factor” a multiplicative constant out of a derivative if we need to.
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021
Formulas

𝑑
1) f(x)=c then f ′(x) = 0 OR (𝑐 ) = 0
𝑑𝑥

The derivative of a constant is zero.

𝑑
2) If f(x) = xn then f’(x) = nxn-1 OR 𝑑𝑥 (𝑥 𝑛 ) = 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , c is any number.

This formula is sometimes called the power rule. All we are doing here is bringing the original
exponent down in front and multiplying and then subtracting one from the original exponent.

Note as well that in order to use this formula n must be a number, it can’t be a variable. Also
note that the base, the x, must be a variable, it can’t be a number. It will be tempting in some
later sections to misuse the Power Rule when we run in some functions where the exponent
isn’t a number and/or the base isn’t a variable.

These are the only properties and formulas that we’ll give in this section. Let’s do compute some
derivatives using these properties.

Example 4.31: Differentiate each of the following functions.

a) f(x) = 15x100 – 3x12 + 5x - 46

b) g(t) = 2t6 + 7t-6

1
c) y = 8z3 - 3𝑧 5 + 𝑧 − 23

3 2
d) T(x) = √𝑥 + 9√𝑥 7 − 5
√𝑥 2

e) h(x) = 𝑥 𝜋 - 𝑥 √2

Example 4.32: Differentiate each of the following functions.

300
Example 4.33: Is f(x) = 2𝑥 3 + 𝑥3
+ 4 increasing, decreasing or not changing at x = −2?

Example 4.34: Find the equation of the tangent line to f(x) = 4x - 8√𝑥 at x = 16.

4.4] PRODUCT AND QUOTIENT RULE

To differentiate products and quotients we have the Product Rule and the Quotient Rule.

Product Rule

If the two functions f(x) and g(x) are differentiable (i.e. the derivative exist) then the product is
differentiable and,

(f g)’ = f’ g + f g’
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021
Quotient Rule
If the two functions f(x) and g(x) are differentiable (i.e. the derivative exist) then the quotient is
differentiable and,

𝒇 ′ 𝒇′ 𝒈 − 𝒇𝒈′
( ) =
𝒈 𝒈𝟐

Let’s do a couple of examples of the product rule.

Example 4.41: Differentiate each of the following functions.

3
(a) y = √𝑥 2 (2𝑥 − 𝑥 2 )
(b) f(x) = (6x3 – x)(10 – 20x)

Let us now work an example or two with the quotient rule. In this case, unlike the product rule
examples, a couple of these functions will require the quotient rule in order to get the derivative.
The last two however, we can avoid the quotient rule if we’d like to as we’ll see.

Example 4.42: Differentiate each of the following functions.

3𝑧+9
(a) W(z) = 2−𝑧
4√𝑥
(b) H(x) = 𝑥 2 −2
4
(c) F(x) = 𝑥 6
𝑤6
(d) y = 5

Example 4.43: Suppose that the amount of air in a balloon at any time t is given by

6 3√𝑡
V(t) = 4𝑡+1

Determine if the balloon is being filled with air or being drained of air at t = 8.
 Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
College of Engineering
1ST SEMESTER & AY 2020-2021
SUMMARY

1. The derivative of f (x) with respect to x is the function f ′(x) and is defined as,

𝑓 (𝑎 + ℎ ) − 𝑓(𝑎)
𝑓 ′ (𝑥) = lim
ℎ→𝑎 ℎ

2. A function f (x) is called differentiable at x = a if f ′(x) exists and f ( x) is called differentiable on

an interval if the derivative exists for each point in that interval.

3. If f (x) is differentiable at x = a then f (x) is continuous at x = a.

4. The slope of the tangent line to f (x) at x = a is f ′(a). The tangent line then is given by,

y = f (a) + f ′(a)(x − a)

5. To differentiate a sum or difference all we need to do is differentiate the individual terms and
then put them back together with the appropriate signs. Note as well that this property is not
limited to two functions. Mathematically,
𝑑 𝑑𝑓 𝑑𝑔
(f (x) ± g (x))′ = f ′(x) ± g′( x) OR 𝑑𝑥 (𝑓(𝑥) ± 𝑔(𝑥)) = 𝑑𝑥 ± 𝑑𝑥

6. We can “factor” a multiplicative constant out of a derivative if we need to.

𝑑 𝑑𝑓
(cf(x))’ = cf’(x) OR (𝑐𝑓(𝑥)) = 𝑐 , c is any number
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥

7. The derivative of a constant is zero. Mathematically,

𝑑
f(x)=c then f ′(x) = 0 OR (𝑐) = 0
𝑑𝑥

𝑑
8. Power rule states that if f(x) = xn then f’(x) = nxn-1 OR 𝑑𝑥 (𝑥 𝑛 ) = 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , c is any number.

9. If the two functions f(x) and g(x) are differentiable (i.e. the derivative exist) then the product is
differentiable and,

(f g)’ = f’ g + f g’

10. If the two functions f(x) and g(x) are differentiable (i.e. the derivative exist) then the quotient
is differentiable and,
𝒇 ′ 𝒇′ 𝒈 − 𝒇𝒈′
( ) =
𝒈 𝒈𝟐

REFERENCES

1] Calculus 1. (2007). Retrieved June 5, 2020, from http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx