Calculus 2B (M2504)

Dr. Khaphetsi Joseph Mahasa

National University of Lesotho
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

April 12, 2022

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients

The objective of this lesson is to understand the:

Directional Derivatives and Gradients

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients: Definitions

Directional Derivative of f at (a, b) in the Direction of a Unit Vector:

If u = (u1 , u2 ) • (~i, ~j) = u1~i + u2~j is a unit vector, we define the
directional derivative, fu , by

Du f (x, y) = Rate of change of f in direction of u at (a, b)

f (a + hu1 , b + hu2 ) − f (a, b)
= lim ,
h→0 h
provided the limit exists.
Important note
What If We Do Not Have a Unit Vector? We define Du f (x, y) of a unit
vector. If ~v is not a unit vector, ~v 6= 0, we construct a unit vector u = k~~vvk
in the same direction as ~v and define the rate of change of f in the
direction of ~v as Du f (x, y).

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients
Example 1
Calculate the directional derivative of f (x, y) = x2 + y 2 at (1, 0) in the
direction of the vector ~i + ~j.
Solution
First we have to find the unit vector in the same direction
√ as the
√ vector
~v = ~i + ~j. Since this vector has magnitude k~v k = 12 + 12 = 2, the
unit vector is
~v 1 1 1
u= = √ (~i + ~j) = √ ~i + √ ~j.
k~v k 2 2 2
Thus,
√ √ √ √
f (1 + h/ 2, h/ 2) − f (1, 0) (1 + h/ 2)2 + (h/ 2)2 − 1
Du f (x, y)(1, 0) = lim = lim
h→0 h h→0 h
√ √
2h + h2 2+h √
= lim = lim = 2.
h→0 h h→0 h

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients
If f is differentiable, we will now see how to use local linearity to find a
formula for the directional derivative which does not involve a limit:
If u is a unit vector, the definition of Du f (x, y) says

Du f (x, y) = fx (a, b)u1 + fy (a, b)u2 .

Example 2
Use the preceding formula to compute the directional derivative in
Example 1. Check that we get the same answer as before.
Solution
We calculate Du f (1, 0), where f (x, y) = x2 + y 2 and u = √12~i + √12~j.
The partial derivatives are fx (x, y) = 2x and fy (x, y) = 2y. So, as before,

1 1
   
Du f (1, 0) = fx (1, 0)u1 + fy (1, 0)u2 = (2) √ + (0) √ .
2 2

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 The Gradient Vector: Definitions
Notice that the expression for Du f (a, b) can be written as a dot product
of ~u and a new vector:
Du f (x, y) = fx (a, b)u1 + fy (a, b)u2 = (fx (a, b)~i + fy (a, b)~j) • (u1~i + u2~j).
Thus, we have the following definition:
The Gradient Vector
The Gradient Vector of a differentiable function f at the point (a, b) is

grad f (a, b) = fx (a, b)~i + fy (a, b)~j.

The formula for the directional derivative can be written in terms of the
gradient as follows:
The Directional Derivative and the Gradient
If f is differentiable at (a, b) and u = u1~i + u2~j is a unit vector, then

Du f (x, y) = fx (a, b)u1 + fy (a, b)u2 = grad f (a, b) • u.

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients
Example 3
Find the gradient vector of f (x, y) = x + ey at the point (1, 1).
Solution
Using the definition, we have
grad f (x, y) = fx (x, y)~i + fy (x, y)~j = ~i + ey~j,
so at the point (1, 1), we have
grad f (1, 1) = ~i + e~j.

Alternative Notation for the Gradient

We have the vector operator (pronounced “del”) as

∂~ ∂
∇= i + ~j,
∂x ∂y
which is applied to the function f .
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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients

Alternative Notation for the Gradient

Thus, we get the alternative notation for the gradient vector as
∂f ∂f
 
grad f (x, y) = ∇f = , in R2 .
∂x ∂y

For a real-valued function f (x, y, z), the gradient is the vector

∂f ∂f ∂f
 
grad f (x, y, z) = ∇f = , , in R3 .
∂x ∂y ∂z

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients

Properties of the Gradient Vector in the Plane

If f is a differentiable function at the point (a, b) and grad f (a, b) 6= ~0,
then:
The direction of grad f (a, b) is
Perpendicular to the contour (level curve) of f through (a, b);
In the direction of the maximum rate of increase of f .
The magnitude of the gradient vector, kgrad f (a, b)k, is
The maximum rate of change of f at that point;

Example 4
In which direction does the function f (x, y) = xy 2 + x3 y increase the
fastest from the point (1, 2)? In which direction does it decrease the
fastest?

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 Directional Derivatives and Gradients
Solution
Since ∇f = (y 2 + 3x2 y, 2xy + x3 ), then ∇f (1, 2) = (10, 5) 6= ~0. A unit
vector in that direction is
∇f 2 1
 
u= = √ ,√
k∇f k 5 5
 
Thus, f increases the fastest in the direction of √2 , √1 and decreases
  5 5
the fastest in the direction of − √25 , − √15 .
Exercises
1 Use the gradient to find the directional derivative of f (x, y) = x + ey at the point (1, 1) in the direction of the

vectors

(a) ~i − ~j (b) ~i + 2~j (c) ~i + 3~j

2 The temperature T of a solid is given by the function T (x, y, z) = e−x + e−2y + e4z , where x, y, z are space
coordinates relative to the center of the solid. In which direction from the point (1, 1, 1) will the temperature decrease
the fastest?
3 Let f (x, y) = 1 + 2x + y 3 . What is the directional derivative of f at P = (2, 1) in the direction from P to
Q = (14, 6)?

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 THANK YOU

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