Derivatives of Functions

Samama Fahim February 16, 2014

Before considering the topic of derivatives, keep the following important points in mind. The independent variable is always allotted the horizontal axis or which we usually call the x-axis. And, the dependent variable is always allotted the vertical axis or the y -axis. A dependent variable is the one which depends on other variables for its value. For example, the area of a circle is dependent upon its radius, so the area of a circle is the dependent variable, and its radius is the independent variable in this case. We can write the area of a circle in symbols thus: A = r2 . In the equation above, is a constant meaning that it does not change its value as the independent variable changes. The approximate value of is 3.142. If a quantity, let us say A, changes with respect to another quantity, let us say B , then A is said to be the function of B . We let A the dependent variable (because it depends upon B for its value), and B is called the independent variable. We know that the dependent variable is allotted the x-axis, therefore B is allotted the x-axis, and because we allot B the x-axis, it can also be called x. A is therefore allotted the y -axis as it is a dependent variable, and hence can also be called y . Functions are also written in the following form. f (x). Thus, f (x) can also be written thus. f (x) = f (B ) = y. We can also write the area of a circle in the following way. f (r) = r2 . Where f (r) is the area of a circle with radius r. Always remember that the slope of a straight line remains constant, however, the slope of a function that describes a curved line generally changes at each of the points that lies on this curve or curved line. Thus, when we talk about the slope of a function whose graph is a curve, we are actually talking about its slope at a specic point which lies on this curve, and not the whole curve. 1

Steps for Calculating The Derivative (Slope) of a Function at a Point

1. Choose any point (x, f (x)) on the graph of the function f (x). 2. Bring a very small increment (increase) x to x so that the value of the function changes to f (x + x), and hence we have another point on the graph of the function, i.e. (x + x, f (x + x)). 3. Keep in mind that the closer any two points are to each other on the graph of a function, the closer the average slope between these two points is to the actual slopes at these points. 4. The average slope between any two points on the graph of the function f (x) is given by the equation Sav = f (x + x) f (x) . x

Where Sav denotes the average slope. 5. As we make the increment x in x smaller and smaller, the points (x, f (x)) and (x + x, f (x + x)) get closer and closer to each other, and by considering step no. 3 we know that as these two points come closer and closer to each other, the average slope of the function between these two points becomes approximately close to the actual slopes at these two points. However, if we let x exactly equal to 0, then the points (x + x, f (x + x)) and (x, f (x)) become exactly the same because (x + 0, f (x + 0)) = (x, f (x)). And, when we let x exactly equal to 0, the average slope becomes exactly equal to the slope at (x, f (x)). 6. In mathematics, we say that the limit of Sav as x approaches zero is the derivative of the function f (x) at (x, f (x)). f (x + x) f (x) df (x) = lim . x0 dx x

Example

Suppose f (x) = x2 , then f (x + x) = (x + x)2 , i.e. f (x + x) = x2 + 2xx + (x)2 . Hence, the average slope can be given as Sav = x2 + 2xx + (x)2 x2 = 2x + x. x 2

Thus, the limit of 2x +x as x approaches 0 is 2x which is the slope of the function f (x) at the point (x, x2 ). For example, the slope of the function at the point (2, 4) is 2(2), i.e. 4.