LECTURE 6:

THE DERIVATIVE OF TRIGONOMETRIC

FUNCTIONS,THE CHAIN RULE AND
IMPLICIT DIFFERENTIATION
MAT1051
BAU
Lecture 6 Objectives
◦ Evaluate limits of trigonometric functions using their special limits.
◦ Find the derivative of trigonometric functions using the formal definition of
derivative.
◦ Compute the derivative of trigonometric functions using differentiation rules.
◦ Apply the chain rule when necessary.
◦ Given an equation, find the derivative implicitly.
Derivatives of Trigonometric Functions
◦ Recall that trigonometric functions arises in many applications.
◦ How about their derivatives?
◦ Imagine a mass attached to a spring, which is oscillating up and down. The position of the mass at any
given time can be described by a trigonometric function. Finding the derivative of this function with
respect to time gives the velocity of the mass, which is crucial in understanding how quickly it is
moving at any point in time.
◦ Sound waves are usually modeled by trigonometric functions. The derivate of these functions gives
information about how the pressure or displacement of the air particles is changing at any given point.
The latter is essential for understanding the frequency and intensity of a sound wave.
◦ Respiratory cycles, such as inhalation and exhalation, follow a rhythmic pattern. These patterns can be
described by trigonometric functions. The derivative of these functions can help analyze the rate of
airflow and volume change in the lungs, which is crucial in understanding lung function and respiratory
disorders.
 The Special Limits
To determine the derivative formulas for the sine and cosine function, we need to
introduce the following special limits.

Theorem
sin 𝑥 cos 𝑥 − 1
lim =1 lim =0
!→# 𝑥 !→# 𝑥

Why are the above limits true? We will give an informal argument as to why
the first limit works.
If you are interested, you can pick any calculus textbook for the formal proof.
 sin 𝑥
lim =1
!→# 𝑥
$%& !
◦ Note that the function 𝑓 𝑥 = !
is not defined when 𝑥 = 0.
◦ As we have done before, we will construct a table of values correct to eight decimal
places to investigate the limit from the left and right of 0.
$%& !
◦ In addition to the table, the graph of 𝑓 𝑥 = confirms our guess.
!
 cos 𝑥 − 1
lim =0
!→# 𝑥
!
◦ To find the above limit, we will use a familiar technique to knock out the “ ” indeterminate form; namely
!
taking the conjugate.
cos 𝑥 − 1 cos 𝑥 + 1 cos $ 𝑥 − 1 Multiply top and bottom by
lim = lim the conjugate.
"→! 𝑥 cos 𝑥 + 1 "→! 𝑥(cos 𝑥 + 1)

− sin$ 𝑥 sin! 𝑥 + cos ! 𝑥=1

= lim
"→! 𝑥(cos 𝑥 + 1) 1
0

sin 𝑥 − sin 𝑥 sin 𝑥 − sin 𝑥

= lim = lim lim =0
"→! 𝑥 cos 𝑥 + 1 "→! 𝑥 "→! cos 𝑥 + 1
2
 Example 1
◦ Evaluate the following limit
sin 4𝑥
lim .
"→! 𝑥
◦ Solution:
%&' "
◦ To make use of the fact that lim = 1, the argument of the sine function in the numerator
"→! "
must be the same as the denominator.
◦ Multiplying top and bottom by 4 solves the problem:

sin 4𝑥 4 sin 4𝑥
lim = lim Factor out a 4 and let 𝑡 = 4𝑥.
"→! 𝑥 "→! 4𝑥
sin 𝑡 So 𝑡 → 0 as 𝑥 → 0 to make the limit look
= 4 lim =4 1 =4 like lim
$%& !
= 1.
(→! 𝑡 !→# !
 Example 2
◦ Evaluate the following limit
sin 3𝑥
lim .
!→# sin 5𝑥
◦ Solution:
$%& !
◦ We first observe that we can apply the fact that lim = 1.
!→# !
◦ However, if we divide the numerator and denominator by 𝑥, we can then proceed as in example 1.
sin 3𝑥 3 sin 3𝑥
lim 𝑥 = lim 3𝑥
"→! sin 5𝑥 "→! 5 sin 5𝑥
𝑥 5𝑥
sin 𝑡
3lim 3 1 3 Let 𝑡 = 3𝑥, 𝑎𝑠 𝑥 → 0, 𝑡 → 0.
(→! 𝑡
= = = Let 𝑢 = 5𝑥, 𝑎𝑠 𝑥 → 0, 𝑢 → 0
sin 𝑢 5 1 5
5 lim
)→! 𝑢
 The Derivative of Sine
◦ Recall
◦ The formal definition of the derivative is:
𝑓 𝑥 + ℎ − 𝑓(𝑥)
𝑓' 𝑥 = lim .
(→# ℎ
◦ Let 𝑓 𝑥 = sin 𝑥 .
◦ So, 𝑓 𝑥 + ℎ = sin(𝑥 + ℎ) = sin 𝑥 cos ℎ + sin ℎ cos 𝑥, by the addition identity.
◦ Therefore, we get
sin(𝑥 + ℎ) − sin 𝑥
𝑓' 𝑥 = lim
(→# ℎ
sin 𝑥 cos ℎ + sin ℎ cos 𝑥 − sin 𝑥
= lim
(→# ℎ
sin 𝑥 cos ℎ − 1 + sin ℎ cos 𝑥 Factor out sin 𝑥
= lim
(→# ℎ
sin 𝑥 cos ℎ − 1 sin ℎ cos 𝑥 The sum of the limit is
= lim + lim the limit of the sum Law
(→# ℎ (→# ℎ
cos ℎ − 1 sin ℎ
= sin 𝑥 lim + cos 𝑥 lim = sin 𝑥 0 + cos 𝑥 1 = cos 𝑥. sin 𝑥 and cos 𝑥 are
(→# ℎ (→# ℎ
independent of ℎ
0 1
 The Derivatives of Sine and Cosine
Theorem
𝑑
sin 𝑥 = cos 𝑥 ,
𝑑𝑥

𝑑
cos 𝑥 = − sin 𝑥 .
𝑑𝑥

Note: The derivative of cosine is proved in a similar way as the derivative of sine. You just need to use the addition
identity for cosine.
Try it out!
 Example 3
◦ Find the derivative of 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑒 ! sin 𝑥 .
◦ Solution:
◦ Note that we must use the product rule to answer this question.

𝑓 ' 𝑥 = 𝑒 ! sin 𝑥 + 𝑒 ! cos 𝑥 .

The derivative of 𝑒 ! The derivative of sin 𝑥

Recall:
𝑑
𝑓 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑓 ' 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 + 𝑔' 𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)
𝑑𝑥
Example 4
LM
◦ Let 𝑦 = sin 𝑥 − cos 𝑥 . Find L! .
◦ Solution:
𝑑𝑦
= cos 𝑥 − − sin 𝑥 = cos 𝑥 + sin 𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
sin 𝑥 𝑑
𝑑𝑥 cos 𝑥
𝑑𝑥
 The Derivative of 𝑦 = tan 𝑥
◦ Calculate the derivative of 𝑦 = tan 𝑥 .
◦ Solution: Quotien Rule:
$%& !
𝑑 𝑓 𝑥 𝑓 ' 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 − 𝑔' 𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)
◦ We first use the fact that 𝑦 = tan 𝑥 = . =
()$ ! 𝑑𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 )
◦ To evaluate the derivative, we use the Quotient Rule.
𝑑 𝑑 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑥 cos 𝑥 − (−sin 𝑥) sin 𝑥
(tan 𝑥 ) = =
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 cos 𝑥 (cos * 𝑥)

cos * 𝑥 + sin* 𝑥 1 cos ) 𝑥 + sin) 𝑥 = 1

= = = sec *𝑥 1
cos * 𝑥 cos * 𝑥 sec 𝑥 =
cos 𝑥
Derivatives of
Trigonometric
Functions
We can prove the following
derivatives as we did for the
tangent function. More
specifically, we must use the
Quotient Rule as well as the
facts that:
1
sec 𝑥 =
cos 𝑥

1
csc 𝑥 =
sin 𝑥

cos 𝑥
cot 𝑥 =
sin 𝑥
 Example 5 Quotien Rule:
𝑑 𝑓 𝑥 𝑓 ! 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 − 𝑔! 𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)
=
$+( ! 𝑑𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 "
◦ Differentiate 𝑓 𝑥 = .
,-./& !
◦ For what values of 𝑥 does the graph of 𝑓 have a horizontal tangent?
◦ Solution:
◦ To answer the first question, we use the Quotient Rule:
𝑑 sec 𝑥 sec 𝑥 tan 𝑥 (1 + tan 𝑥) − sec $ 𝑥 sec 𝑥
=
𝑑𝑥 1 + tan 𝑥 (1 + tan$ 𝑥)$

sec 𝑥 (tan 𝑥 + tan$ 𝑥 − sec $ 𝑥) Factor out sec 𝑥 .

=
1 + tan 𝑥 $
sec $ 𝑥 (tan 𝑥 − 1) 1 + tan) 𝑥 = sec ) 𝑥 .
=
1 + tan 𝑥 $
Example 5 Continued
$NO !
◦ ✅ Differentiate 𝑓 𝑥 = PQRS& !
.
◦ For what values of 𝑥 does the graph of 𝑓 have a horizontal tangent?
◦ Solution:
◦ To find the values for which the graph of the function has a horizontal tangent, we
set the derivative equal to 0.
sec * 𝑥 tan 𝑥 − 1
𝑓' 𝑥 = =0
1 + tan 𝑥 *
◦ Since sec 𝑥 is never 0, we only need to consider the case when tan 𝑥 − 1 = 0.
8
◦ This occurs when tan 𝑥 = 1, i.e., when 𝑥 = 𝑛𝜋 + , where 𝑛 is an integer.
9
The Chain Rule
◦ So far, we have learned useful differentiation rules that help us find the derivative of
many functions.
◦ In the first lecture, we learned about functions that appear in many applications,
namely composite functions.
◦ Consider 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 9 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 3𝑥 + 2, then their composition 𝑓 𝑔 𝑥 =
3𝑥 + 2 9 . To find the derivative of 𝑓 𝑔 𝑥 , one can expand 3𝑥 + 2 9 , and apply
the differentiation rules learned in lecture 4. What if 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 *# , expanding becomes
tedious and unpractical.
◦ The rules of differentiation that we introduced so far are restrictive when dealing
with composite function.
◦ Consequently, we need to develop a formula that works for all composite functions
 Example 6
◦ To motivate the differentiation rule for a composite function, consider the function
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 * + 1.
◦ The function 𝑓 𝑥 can be viewed as the composition of two functions, say
𝑦=𝑓 𝑢 = 𝑢
and
𝑢 = 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 * + 1.
Then we can write
𝑦=𝐹 𝑥 =𝑓 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑓 ∘ 𝑔.
◦ As you can see, none of the previously seen rules can be applied to find the derivative of
𝐹 𝑥 . However, there is a differentiation rule that will do the job, namely The Chain Rule.
 Example 6 Continued
◦ Recall that derivatives can be interpreted as rates of change, thus we have:
LT
◦ The rate of change of 𝑢 with respect to 𝑥 is denoted by .
L!
LM
◦ The rate of change of 𝑦 with respect to 𝑢 is denoted by LT
.
LM
◦ The rate of change of 𝑦 with respect to 𝑥 is denoted by L!
.
◦ Let us consider the case where 𝑢 changes three times as fast as 𝑥 and 𝑦 changes twice
as fast as 𝑢, then how fast is 𝑦 changing in terms of 𝑥?
LT LM LM
◦ In other words, if = 3, = 2, what is ?
L! LT L!
◦ Visualizing the problem via a diagram, we have,

𝑦 𝑢 𝑥

2 times faster 3 times faster

◦ Thus, 2×3 = 6 times faster

𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑢
= 9 = 2×3 = 6
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑢 𝑑𝑥
The Chain Rule
 Example 6 Answered
◦ We are now ready to find the derivative of 𝐹 𝑥 = 𝑥 * + 1.
◦ Solution 1:
◦ Recall: we made the following substitutions in example 6: 1
𝑓X 𝑢 =
𝑓 𝑢 = 𝑢 2 𝑢
and 𝑔X 𝑥 = 2𝑥
𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 * + 1,
with 𝐹 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑔 𝑥 .
Therefore,
1 𝑥
𝐹' 𝑥 = 𝑓' 𝑔 𝑥 𝑔' 𝑥 = C 2𝑥 =
2 𝑥* +1 𝑥* + 1
 A Second Solution to Example 6 Using
Leibniz Notation
◦ Solution 2 :
◦ Let 𝑑𝑦 1
𝑦= 𝑢 =
𝑑𝑢 2 𝑢
and 𝑑𝑢
𝑢 = 𝑥 Y + 1. = 2𝑥
𝑑𝑥
◦ Thus,
𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑢 1 𝑥
= = 2𝑥 =
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑢 𝑑𝑥 2 𝑢 𝑥Y + 1
 IMPORTANT NOTE
◦ From the previous example, one sees that
𝑑𝑦 X
𝑥 Derivative of 𝑦 with respect to 𝑥. We are
=𝐹 𝑥 = considering 𝑦 as a function of 𝑥.
𝑑𝑥 𝑥Y + 1
𝑑𝑦 X
1
=𝑓 𝑢 = Derivative of 𝑦 with respect to 𝑢. We are
𝑑𝑢 2 𝑢 considering 𝑦 as a function of 𝑢.
◦ When applying the chain rule, we differentiate from the outside to the inside.
1. We differentiate the outer function 𝑓 at the inner function 𝑔 𝑥 , i.e., 𝑓′(𝑔 𝑥
2. We multiply by the derivative of the inner function, namely 𝑔′(𝑥).
Example 7
Find the derivative of 𝒚 = cos(𝒙𝟐 ) 𝒚 = cos ) 𝑥
)
Outer Function Cosine The power function \
Inner Function 𝑥) cos 𝑥
+,
The derivative +! (− sin 𝑥 ) )(2𝑥) 2(cos 𝑥)(− sin 𝑥)
 Example 8
◦ Find the derivative of
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 ] + 4𝑥 + 1 P## .

◦ Solution:
◦ The outer function is 𝑓 𝑢 = 𝑢,# .
◦ The inner function is 𝑢 = 𝑥 : + 4𝑥 + 1.
◦ Thus,
𝑑
𝑥 : + 4𝑥 + 1 ,## = 100 𝑥 : + 4𝑥 + 1 ;; (3𝑥 * + 4)
𝑑𝑥
derivative of the outer function
𝑓′(𝑢) evaluated at the inner function derivative of the inner function, 𝑔′(𝑥)
 Example 9
◦ Differentiate
]
𝑡Y
𝑓 𝑡 = .
2𝑡 Y +4
To differentiate the inner function,
◦ Solution: we use the Quotient Rule:
𝑑 𝑓 𝑥 𝑓 ' 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 − 𝑔' 𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)
◦ The outer function is 𝑓 𝑢 = 𝑢: . =
𝑑𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 𝑔 𝑥 )
<-
◦ The inner function is 𝑢 = .
*.- -9
◦ Thus,
Y
𝑡Y 2𝑡 2𝑡 Y + 4 − 4𝑡 𝑡 Y 24𝑡 _
𝑓' 𝑡 = 3 =
2𝑡 Y + 4 2𝑡 Y + 4 Y 2𝑡 Y + 4 `
derivative of the outer function
derivative of the inner function, 𝑔′(𝑥)
𝑓′(𝑢) evaluated at the inner function
Chain Rule for
Powers
We observe from the previous
examples that the chain rule
leads to a generalization of the
Power Rule for differentiable
functions.
 Example 10
◦ Find the derivative of ◦ Find the derivative of
* .
𝑓 𝑥 = sec 𝑥 + 5 + 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑒 %&' "
◦ Solution: ◦ Solution:
◦ Based on the previous theorem, we can ◦ We can certainly use the generalized
*
directly take 𝑛 = and proceed with the power rule, but here it is not needed.
+ .
generalized power rule to differentiate the ◦ Observe that 𝑒 %&' " = 𝑒 . %&' " . Thus
function.
1 *
𝑓 , 𝑥 = 𝑒 . %&' " (5 cos 𝑥)
𝑓 𝑥 = sec 𝑥 + 5 +-* (sec 𝑥 tan 𝑥)
,
3
sec 𝑥 tan 𝑥
= $
3 sec 𝑥 + 5 +
Implicit Differentiation
◦ So far, we have been studying functions that can be expressed in the form 𝑦 =
𝑓 𝑥 , where 𝑦 is defined explicitly as a function of 𝑥.
◦ In practice, relations between variables are expressed implicitly.
◦ Consider, for example, the equation of the circle 𝑥 Y + 𝑦 Y = 25.
◦ This equation describes 𝑦 implicitly.
◦ Be careful! This equation does not describe a function (why?)
◦ If this equation is solved for 𝑦, we get two functions:
𝑦 = 25 − 𝑥 Y and 𝑦 = − 25 − 𝑥 Y.
◦ In this case of the circle, it was easy to solve explicitly for 𝑦.

Not a function A function A function

 • Now, consider the graph of
𝑥 + 𝑦 + − 𝑥𝑦 = 1.
• The graph consists of
• Upper parabola
Upper parabola • Horizontal line
• Lower parabola.
• Each of those describes a
Horizontal line function.

Lower parabola • Solving for 𝑦 is tough. In fact, if

we manage to solve for 𝑦
explicitly, then we must deal
with three different functions.
• If we were to find the
derivatives of these functions,
we must do so for each one of
them.
Implicit Differentiation

◦ Goal: Develop a method to find the derivative from an equation without first
solving for 𝑦.

◦ Luckily, our goal is achieved by a technique called implicit differentiation.

 Example 11
LM
◦ Calculate L! directly from the equation 𝑥 Y + 𝑦 Y = 25.
◦ Find an equation of the tangent line to the circle 𝑥 Y + 𝑦 Y = 25 at the point 3,4 .
◦ Solution:
◦ Step 1: Differentiate both sides with respect to the independent variable, namely 𝑥.
𝑑 Y Y
𝑑
𝑥 +𝑦 = (25)
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑 Y 𝑑 Y
𝑥 + 𝑦 = 0 To find +! +
𝑦 ) , we use the Chain rule,
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 bearing in mind that 𝑦 is a function of 𝑥.
𝑑𝑦 + + +, +,
2𝑥 + 2𝑦 =0 That is, +! 𝑦 ) = +, 𝑦 ) +! = 2𝑦 +! =
𝑑𝑥 2𝑦𝑦′.
 Example 11 Continued
LM
◦ Step 2: Solve for L! .
𝑑𝑦
2𝑥 + 2𝑦 =0
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 𝑥
=−
𝑑𝑥 𝑦
◦ To find an equation of the tangent line to the circle 𝑥 Y + 𝑦 Y = 25 at the point 3,4 ,
LM
we need to find the slope of that line, which is nothing but L! evaluated at the point
3,4 .
𝑑𝑦 3
D =−
𝑑𝑥 (],`) 4
Example 11 Continued

Thus, an equation of the tangent to the circle

𝑥 ) + 𝑦 ) = 25 at (3,4) is
.
𝑦 − 4 = − (𝑥 − 3) or 3𝑥 + 4𝑦 = 25
/
 Example 12
◦ Find 𝑦′ if sin 𝑥𝑦 = 𝑥 Y + 𝑦.
◦ Solution:
◦ Note that it is impossible to solve for 𝑦 explicitly in this problem, and hence the
necessity of implicit differentiation.
◦ Step 1: Differentiate both sides with respect to the independent variable,
namely 𝑥.
𝑑 𝑑 Y
sin 𝑥𝑦 = (𝑥 + 𝑦)
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
Use the product rule to
cos 𝑥𝑦 𝑦 + 𝑥𝑦 X = 2𝑥 + 𝑦′ differentiate the argument of sine.
+,
Recall: 𝑦 ' =
+!
Example 12 Continued
LM
◦ Step 2: Solve for L! .
cos 𝑥𝑦 𝑦 + 𝑥𝑦 X = 2𝑥 + 𝑦′
𝑥𝑦 X cos 𝑥𝑦 − 𝑦 X = 2𝑥 − 𝑦 cos 𝑥𝑦
𝑦 X 𝑥 cos 𝑥𝑦 − 1 = 2𝑥 − 𝑦 cos 𝑥𝑦
X
2𝑥 − 𝑦 cos 𝑥𝑦
𝑦 =
𝑥 cos 𝑥𝑦 − 1
Example 13
◦ Find 𝑦′′ if 𝑥 ` + 𝑦 ` = 16.
◦ Solution:
◦ Step 1: We first differentiate the equation implicitly with respect to 𝑥,
𝑑 ` `
𝑑
(𝑥 + 𝑦 ) = (16)
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥

𝑑 ` 𝑑 `
𝑥 + 𝑦 =0
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥

𝑑𝑦
4𝑥 ] + 4𝑦 ] =0
𝑑𝑥
 +,
◦ Step 2: Solve for +! .
𝑑𝑦
4𝑥 . + 4𝑦 . =0
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 𝑥.
=− .
𝑑𝑥 𝑦
+!,
◦ To find , we differentiate the last equation again with respect to 𝑥.
+! !

𝑑𝑦
𝑑 𝑑𝑦 𝑑 𝑥. 3𝑥 ) 𝑦 . − 𝑥 . 3𝑦 )
= − . =− 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑦 𝑦0
) . . ) 𝑥. !"
𝑑) 𝑦 3𝑥 𝑦 − 3𝑥 𝑦 − . Substitute −
+,
, found in step 2.
𝑦 , " for +!
= −
𝑑𝑥 ) 𝑦0
𝑑) 𝑦 3(𝑥 ) 𝑦 / + 𝑥 0 ) 3𝑥 ) 𝑦 / + 𝑥 / The values of 𝑥 and 𝑦must satisfy the
= =− equation 𝑥 / + 𝑦 / = 16
𝑑𝑥 ) 𝑦1 𝑦1
𝑑) 𝑦 3𝑥 ) 16 48𝑥 )
=− =− 1
𝑑𝑥 ) 𝑦1 𝑦