Project work on:

Derivative and its application

College of Business Management

Dillibazar, Kathmandu

A Project Work Report

By:
Name of Student: Nelshan Regmi
Stream: Management“12”
Section: D

Submitted to:
The Department of Mathematics
College of Business Management
Dillibazar, Kathmandu, Nepal

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 Declaration:

I hereby declare that the report presented in this project report has been done by myself
under the supervision of Mr. Krishna Sapkota and has not been submitted elsewhere
for any examination.

All sources of the information have been specifically acknowledged by references to

authors or institutions.

Signature:

Name of Student: Nelshan Regmi

Stream: Management
Section: D

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 Subject Teacher’s Recommendation:

The project work report entitled ‘Derivative and its application’ submitted
by Nelshan Regmi , of College of Business Management Dillibazar,
Kathmandu, Nepal is prepared under my supervision as per the procedure
and format requirements laid by the Department of Mathematics, College of
Business Management, as the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the
internal evaluation of grade XII. I, therefore, recommend the report for
evaluation.

Signature………..

Name of Subject Teacher: Krishna Sapkota

Date:

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 Acknowledgement:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Krishna

Sapkota for bringing this topic to my attention and for his support and
guidance during the preparation of this project work. I am grateful to my
respected mathematics teachers who contributed to build strong foundation
of mathematics. Special thanks for helping in my project work.

Nelshan Regmi
Section:D

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 Table Of Content:
Contents
Project work ............................................................................................................................... i
Declaration: ............................................................................................................................... ii
Subject Teacher’s Recommendation:......................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgement: ................................................................................................................... iv
Table Of Content:....................................................................................................................... v
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................ vi
Type of Derivative...................................................................................................................... 1
 First-Order Derivative................................................................................................... 1
 Second-Order Derivative .............................................................................................. 1
History of Derivatives ................................................................................................................ 2
Applications of Derivatives ....................................................................................................... 3
Derivative in Real Life ................................................................................................................ 5
Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................ 9
Reference: ................................................................................................................................. 9

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 Introduction:
Derivatives are defined as the varying rate of change of a function with
respect to an independent variable. The derivative is primarily used when
there is some varying quantity, and the rate of change is not constant. The
derivative is used to measure the sensitivity of one variable (dependent
variable) with respect to another variable (independent variable).

Fig: Representation of derivative

The derivative is a fundamental concept in calculus, describing how a
function's value changes as its input changes. This rate of change is also
known as the slope of the tangent line to the curve at that point.

Calculus-Derivative Example
Let f(x) be a function where f(x) = x2
The derivative of x2 is 2x, which means with every unit change in x, the
value of the function becomes twice (2x).

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 Type of Derivative
Derivatives can be classified into different types based on their order such
as first and second order derivatives. These can be defined as given below.

 First-Order Derivative
The first order derivatives tell about the direction of the function whether
the function is increasing or decreasing. The first derivative math or first-
order derivative can be interpreted as an instantaneous rate of change. It
can also be predicted from the slope of the tangent line.

 Second-Order Derivative
The second-order derivatives are used to get an idea of the shape of the
graph for the given function. The functions can be classified in terms of
concavity. The concavity of the given graph function is classified into two
types namely:

 Concave Up
 Concave Down

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 History of Derivatives
The concept of derivatives, primarily in the context of mathematics, has evolved over
several centuries. Derivatives are a fundamental concept in calculus, a branch of
mathematics that studies rates of change. The history of derivatives can be traced back
to ancient Greece, but the formalization of the derivative concept occurred much later.

The first significant developments began with the works of ancient Greek
mathematicians like Archimedes, who explored ideas related to tangents and rates of
change in a geometric sense. However, it was not until the 17th century that the modern
mathematical notion of derivatives emerged, primarily due to the pioneering work of
Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

Isaac Newton and Leibniz, in their independent research in the late 17th century, are
credited with developing the foundational concepts of calculus. Newton’s "method of
fluxions" (1671) and Leibniz's differential calculus (1675) laid the groundwork for
modern calculus and the notion of derivatives. Their work enabled mathematicians and
scientists to study the rates of change in physical phenomena, leading to numerous
applications in fields like physics, engineering, and economics.

The formal definition of a derivative was established through the limit process by
Augustin-Louis Cauchy in the 19th century. He was instrumental in giving a precise
definition of a derivative as the limit of the difference quotient as the interval
approaches zero. This laid the groundwork for the derivative's use in real-world
applications, extending beyond simple geometric problems to areas like optimization,
physics, and economics.

Today, derivatives are a cornerstone of calculus and are widely used in science,
economics, and engineering to describe and analyze how quantities change.

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 Applications of Derivatives
Derivatives have wide usage. They are used in many situations like finding
maxima or minima of a function, finding the slope of the curve, and even
inflection point. A few places where we will use the derivative are given
below. And each of it is explained in detail in the following sections. The
most common usage of application of derivatives is seen in:

 Finding Rate of Change of a Quantity

 Finding the Approximation Value
 Finding the equation of a Tangent and Normal To a Curve
 Finding Maxima and Minima, and Point of Inflection
 Determining Increasing and Decreasing Functions
Example 1: Find the maxima and minima of a function:y = 2x3 - 3x2 + 6 using the
formula for applications of derivatives.

Solution

Given function: y = 2x3 - 3x2 + 6

Using the second order derivative test we can find the maxima and minima of a
function:

Taking first order derivative:

y = 2x3 - 3x2 + 6 ------------- (eq 1)

Differentiate both of sides (eq 1), w.r.t - x.

⇒ dy/dx = d/dx (2x3) - d/dx (3x2) + d/dx (6)

⇒ dy/dx = 6x2 - 6x + 0

⇒ dy/dx = 6x2 - 6x ---------------- (eq 2)

Putting dy/dx = 0 to find critical points.

⇒ 6x2 - 6x = 0

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 ⇒ 6x (x - 1) = 0

⇒ x = 0,1

The critical points are 0 & 1.

Differentiate both sides of (eq 2), w.r.t - x.

⇒ d2y/dx2 = d/dx (6x2) - d/dx (6x)

⇒ d2y/dx2 = 12x - 6

Now, put the value of x and find the max or min value.

At x = 0, d2y/dx2 = 12(0) - 6 = -6, hence x = 0 is a maxima

At x = 1, d2y/dx2 = 12(1) - 6 = 6, hence x = 1 is a minima

Answer: The maxima of the function is at x = 0 and minima of the function is at x

= 1.

 Example 2: If f (4) = 5, and f'(4) = 9, find the value of f (4.1) using the application
of derivatives. Solution:

Given: f (4) = 5, and f'(4) = 9

To find: f (4.1)

Using formula for approximation:

L(x) = f (a) + f'(a) (x−a)

L(x) = 5 + 9 (4.1-4)

L(x) = 5 + 9(0.1)

L(x) = 5.9

Answer: The value of f(4.1) is 5.9.

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Derivative in Real Life
Derivatives have widespread applications in various fields of study, from pure
mathematics to real-world industries. Their ability to measure the rate of change
makes them invaluable in understanding and solving complex problems in areas such
as physics, economics, biology, engineering, and finance.

1 Application in Physics

One of the earliest and most prominent applications of derivatives is in the field of
physics. Derivatives are used to describe motion, forces, and other physical
phenomena. In kinematics, for example, the derivative of position with respect to
time gives the velocity of an object:

Where x (t) is the position of the object as a function of time t. Similarly, the derivative
of velocity with respect to time gives the acceleration:

These fundamental concepts of velocity and acceleration are essential for

understanding the motion of objects in space and on Earth.

2 Application in Economics:

In economics, derivatives are used to study how changes in one variable affect
another. One of the most significant uses of derivatives in economics is in the concept
of marginal analysis. For example, the derivative of the total cost function with
respect to the quantity of goods produced gives the marginal cost:

Where C (Q) is the total cost function and Q is the quantity of goods produced. The
marginal cost tells us the additional cost of producing one more unit of output.

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Similarly, the derivative of the revenue function with respect to quantity gives the
marginal revenue:

Where R(Q) is the total revenue function. Marginal revenue is crucial for determining
the optimal level of production that maximizes profit.

3 Application in Engineering

In engineering, derivatives are essential for modeling and analyzing systems that
involve rates of change. For example, in electrical engineering, the rate of change of
current in a circuit is modeled using derivatives. In fluid dynamics, the flow of fluids is
often analyzed using derivatives of velocity fields, known as the velocity gradient.

For structural engineering, the derivative of displacement with respect to time is used
to calculate velocity, while the second derivative gives acceleration, which is crucial
for understanding forces acting on structures.

4 Application in Biology and Medicine

In biology, derivatives are used to model population growth, the spread of diseases,
and the rates at which biological processes occur. For instance, the rate of change of
a population size with respect to time is often modeled by the derivative of the
population growth function:

Where P is the population size, r is the growth rate, and K is the carrying capacity of
the environment. This is a form of the logistic growth model, which is used to predict
the growth of populations over time.

In medicine, derivatives are used in pharmacokinetics to model how the

concentration of a drug changes in the bloodstream over time, which helps in
determining optimal dosing schedules.

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5 Application in Finance

In finance, derivatives are essential tools for modeling and analyzing the behavior of
markets and investment portfolios. The concept of a financial derivative, such as a
futures contract or an option, is based on the idea of rates of change. The derivative
of the price of a financial asset with respect to time is known as the asset’s rate of
return.

One of the most significant applications of derivatives in finance is in the Black-

Scholes model, which is used to price options. The model uses differential equations
to determine the fair price of an option based on factors like the underlying asset’s
price, volatility, time to expiration, and interest rates.

The concept of derivatives in finance also involves risk management, where

companies use financial derivatives like options, futures, and swaps to hedge against
risks such as interest rate fluctuations, commodity price changes, and currency
exchange rate movements.

6 Application in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

In machine learning, derivatives play a crucial role in optimization algorithms,

especially in training models. For instance, the gradient descent algorithm, which is
used to minimize the error in models, relies heavily on derivatives. The gradient of
the loss function with respect to the parameters of the model tells us how to adjust
the parameters to reduce the error.

Where θ represents the model parameters, η is the learning rate, and J(θ) is the cost
or loss function. The gradient ∇θJ(θ) is essentially the derivative of the cost function
with respect to the parameters.

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7. Speed of a Car

When you drive a car, you may observe that your speedometer tells you how fast
your car is moving at a given moment. This speed is the derivative of the position of
your car with respect to time. In other words, it is the rate of change of distance over
time.

8. Weather Forecasting

Meteorologists use derivatives to predict weather patterns. The rate of change of

atmospheric pressure, temperature, and wind velocity are all modeled using
derivatives. These calculations help in forecasting storms, temperature fluctuations,
and other weather phenomena.

9. Managing Personal Finances

If you are tracking your savings or investment portfolio, derivatives are used in the
analysis of how your investments are growing. For example, the rate of return on your
investments over time is the derivative of the value of your portfolio.

10. Construction and Design

In construction and design, derivatives are used to calculate forces and moments in
materials and structures. For instance, the stress on a building material under
different conditions is a result of the rate of change of force applied to the material.
This is important for ensuring the safety and stability of structures.

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 Conclusion:
From this project, I learned about the derivative with its various application. This
helped to know the different formula used in derivatives. I fulfilled all the objective of
project. This project also enhance my knowledge about derivatives. It was helpful for
my course study. I am very glad by doing this project.

Nelshan Regmi

Reference:
 Foundation of Mathematics, Asmita book publication
 Websites from search engine
 Notes

Thank You!!!