The American University In Cairo

Derivatives
The tangent of a curve at a point:
Suppose that we have a Curve C, and we wish to get the equation of the
tangent line to a curve C at a given point P = (a, f(a)). Consider a point
Q = Q(x, y) which is near to the point P = (a, f(a)). The slope of PQ is
given by:
m
PQ
=
f(x) f(a)
x a
.
If x a, then Q P, and the slope of the tangent at P is given by:
m = lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
.
If the previous limit exists, it is called the derivative of the function f(x) at
the point a and it is denoted by f

(a).
The equation of the tangent and the normal
The equation of the tangent of a curve at a point (a, f(a)) is given by
y f(a) = m(x a), m = f

|
(a,f(a))
= lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
.
Moreover, the equation of normal at (a, f(a)) is
y f(a) =
1
m
(x a), m = 0.
1
Def. The derivative for a function f(x), at x = a exists if lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
exists and in such case we write:
f

(a) = lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
= lim
h0
f(a + h) f(a)
h
Example 1. Find the equation of the tangent line and the normal line to the
function f(x) = x
3
at the point (2, 8).
Solution. The slope of the function f(x) = x
3
at the point (2, 8) is given by
m = lim
x2
f(x) f(2)
x 2
= lim
x2
x
3
8
x 2
= lim
x2
(x 2) (x
2
+ 2 x + 4)
x 2
= lim
x2
(x
2
+ 2 x + 4) = 12,
so the equation of the tangent line is given by
y y
1
= m(x x
1
), where (x
1
, y
1
) is the given point and m is the slope,
so the equation is: y 8 = 12(x 2) = 0, or y 12 x + 16 = 0. The equation
of the normal at (2, 8) is given by
y 8 =
1
12
(x 2),
which can be written as:
x + 12 y 98 = 0.
Example 2. By the denition of the derivative, nd the derivative for the
following functions
(i) f(x) =

x
(ii) f(x) =
1
x 5
2
(iii) f(x) = sin x
Solution:
(i) Let a ]0, [. The derivative for a function at a is given by
f

(a) = lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
= lim
xa

x

a
x a
= lim
xa
(

x

a) (

x +

a)
(x a) (

x +

a)
= lim
xa
x a
(x a) (

x +

a)
= lim
xa
1
(

x +

a)
=
1

a +

a
=
1
2

a
.
Finally, the derivative for f(x) =

x for all x ]0, [ is given by
f

(x) =
1
2

x
.
An alternative solution
Let x ]0, [. The derivative for a function at x is given by
f

(x) = lim
h0
f(x + h) f(x)
h
= lim
xa

x + h

x
h
= lim
h0
_
x + h

x
_ _
x + h +

x
_
h
_
x + h +

x
_ .
= lim
h0
x + h x
h
_
x + h +

x
_ = lim
h0
h
h
_
x + h +

x
_ =
1
2

x
,
and so
f

(x) =
1
2

x
, x ]0, [.
(ii) Let a R {5}. The derivative for f(x) at a is given by
f

(a) = lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
= lim
xa
1
x 5

1
a 5
x a
= lim
xa
(a 5) (x 5)
(x 5) (a 5)

1
x a
= lim
xa
(x a)
(x a) (x 5) (a 5)
= lim
xa
1
(x 5) (a 5)
=
1
(a 5)
2
.
3
Finally, the derivative for f(x) =
1
x 5
for all x R {5} is given by
f

(x) =
1
(x 5)
2
.
(iii) Let a R. The derivative for f(x) at a is given by
f

(a) = lim
xa
f(x) f(a)
x a
= lim
xa
sin x sin a
x a
= lim
xa
2 sin
_
x a
2
_
cos
_
x + a
2
_
x a
= lim
xa
2 sin
_
x a
2
_
x a
cos
_
x + a
2
_
= lim
xa0
2 sin
_
x a
2
_
x a
lim
xa
cos
_
x + a
2
_
= lim
xa
2
0
sin
_
x a
2
_
x a
2
lim
xa
cos
_
x + a
2
_
= 1 cos a = cos a.
Finally, the derivative for f(x) = sin x for all x R is given by
f

(x) = cos x .
Note: For all y R,
lim
ya
cos y = cos a.
Example 3. Discuss the dierentiability of each function at the given point:
1. f(x) = |x| (at x = 0).
2. f(x) = x
2
|x| (at x = 0).
4
3. f(x) = x|x 2| (at x = 2).
4. f(x) =
_

_
x
3
sin
_
1
x
_
, if x = 0;
0, if x = 0.
(at x = 0).
Solution:
(1) We test the existence of the limit:
lim
x0
f(x) f(0)
x 0
= lim
x0
|x| |0|
x 0
= lim
x0
|x|
x
.
Now:
lim
x0
+
|x|
x
= lim
x0
+
x
x
= 1,
but
lim
x0

|x|
x
= lim
x0

x
x
= 1.
Hence, lim
x0
|x|
x
does not exist and so the function |x| is not dierentiable at
x = 0.
Note. Although the function is not dierentiable at x = 0, it is continuous
at the same point. Thus we conclude that the continuity of a function at a
certain point does not imply the dierentiability of it at the same point.
(2) We test the existence of the limit:
lim
x0
f(x) f(0)
x 0
= lim
x0
x
2
|x| 0
2
|0|
x 0
= lim
x0
x
2
|x|
x
= lim
x0
x|x| = 0.
Hence, lim
x0
x
2
|x|
x
= 0 and so the function f(x) = x
2
|x| is dierentiable at x = 0
and f

(0) = 0.
5
(3) We test the existence of the limit:
lim
x2
f(x) f(2)
x 2
= lim
x2
x|x 2| 2|2 2|
x 2
= lim
x0
x|x 2|
x 2
.
Now:
lim
x2
+
x|x 2|
x 2
= lim
x2
+
x(x 2)
x 2
= lim
x2
+
x = 2,
but
lim
x2

x|x 2|
x 2
= lim
x2

x(x 2)
x 2
= lim
x2
+
x = 2.
Hence, lim
x2
x|x 2|
x 2
does not exist and so the function f(x) = x|x 2| is not
dierentiable at x = 2.
(4) We test the existence of the limit:
lim
x0
f(x) f(0)
x 0
= lim
x0
x
3
sin
_
1
x
_
0
x 0
= lim
x0
x
2
sin
_
1
x
_
.
Since we have
1 sin
1
x
1, x R {0}
If we multiply by x
2
(x
2
> 0), we get
x
2
x
2
sin
1
x
x
2
, x R {0} .
By the Squeeze theorem and noting that lim
x0
x
2
= lim
x0
x
2
= 0, Hence, f(x)
is dierentiable at x = 0 and f

(0) = 0.
Theorem. If is dierentiable at a, then it is continuous at a.
6
Note . The converse of the above theorem is false; that is, the continuity
of a function does not imply dierentiability. For example for the function
f(x) = |x|, it is continuous at x = 0, since
lim
x0
|x| = 0,
but it is not dierentiable at x = 0 (see Example 3, part 1).
Rules of derivatives: In the following table, we summarize the rules of
derivatives. In this Table y denotes a function and y

denotes its derivative

Table 1: Rules of derivatives
y y

y y

c 0 x 1

x
1
2

x
1
x
1
x
2
x
n
nx
n1
c f(x) c f

(x)
f(x) + g(x) f

(x) + g

(x) f(x) g(x) f

(x) g

(x)
f(x) g(x) f(x) g

(x) + g(x) f

(x)
f(x)
g(x)
g(x) f

(x) f(x) g

(x)
g
2
(x)
,
g(x) = 0
f(x) g(x) h(x) f(x) g(x) h

(x) + f(x) g

(x) h(x)
_
f(x)
f

(x)
2
_
f(x)
+f

(x) g(x) h(x)

(f(x))

(f(x))
1
f

(x) (f g)

(x) f

(g(x)) g

(x)
7
Some notes on Table 1:
If c is a constant, compare between each derivative of the following func-
tions
c, c f(x),
c
f(x)
,
f(x)
c
The derivatives are given, respectively by:
0, c f

(x),
c f

(x)
f
2
(x)
,
f

(x)
c
The chain rule:
(f g)

(x) = f

(g(x)) g

(x).
Compare between the composition of functions and the multiplication of
functions.
Example: Dierentiate: f
1
(x) = sin (cos
2
x) and f
2
(x) = sin x (cos
2
x)
f
1
(x) is a composition, so its derivative is given by (Using the chain rule)
f

1
(x) = cos
_
cos
2
x
_

d
dx
_
cos
2
x
_
= cos
_
cos
2
x
_

d
dx
(cos x)
2
= cos
_
cos
2
x
_
(2 cos x)
d
dx
(cos x)
= cos
_
cos
2
x
_
(2 cos x) (sin x)
= 2 cos x sin x cos
_
cos
2
x
_
= sin 2x cos
_
cos
2
x
_
,
while f
2
(x) is a multiplication of two functions, so its derivative is given
by:
f

2
(x) = sin x
d
dx
_
cos
2
x
_
+ cos
2
x
d
dx
(sin x)
= sin x (2 cos x sin x) + cos
2
x (cos x) = 2 sin
2
x cos x + cos
3
x.
8
In some problems, it is desirable to abbreviate the function before dif-
ferentiation.
Example: Dierentiate the function: f(x) =
_
sin
2
3x + cos
2
3x
_
105
x
Using the trigonometric identity sin
2
+ cos
2
= 1, so f(x) =
1
x
, and
hence its derivative is f

(x) =
1
x
2
.
Table 2: Derivatives of Trigonometric functions
y y

y y

sin x cos x cos x sin x

tan x sec
2
x cot x csc
2
x
sec x sec x tan x csc x csc x cot x
sin f(x) f

(x) cos f(x) cos x f

(x) sin f(x)

tan f(x) f

(x) sec
2
f(x) cot f(x) f

(x) csc
2
f(x)
sec f(x) f

(x) sec f(x) tan f(x) csc f(x) f

(x) csc f(x) cot f(x)

Some comments on Table 2
By def. of the derivative, one can show that the derivatives of sin x and
cos x are given by:
d
dx
sin x = cos x,
d
dx
cos x = sin x.
The derivative of the trigonometric functions tan x, cot x, sec x, csc x,
can be easily evaluated by means of the quotient rule for derivative.
9
For example:
d
dx
tan x =
d
dx
_
sin x
cos x
_
=
cos x
d
dx
(sin x) sin x
d
dx
(cos x)
cos
2
x
=
cos
2
x + sin
2
x
cos
2
x
=
1
cos
2
x
= sec
2
x.
Example 4: Find the rst derivative for the following functions
(1) f(x) = x
2
sin x + x
3
tan x (2) f(x) = x

x
2
+ 1 cos(5x)
(3) f(x) = cos
_
tan
_
x
__
(4) f(x) =
cos x
cos x + sin x
(5) f(x) =
7

sec x + 1 + sin x
3
(6) f(x) =
_
x +
_
x +

x
Solution
(1) f

(x) =
d
dx
_
x
2
sin x
_
+
d
dx
_
x
3
tan x
_
= x
2
cos x + 2x sin x + x
3
sec
2
x + 3 x
2
tan x.
(2) f

(x) =
d
dx
_
x

x
2
+ 1 cos(5x)
_
=
d
dx
(x)

x
2
+ 1 cos(5x) + x
d
dx
_

x
2
+ 1
_
cos(5x) + x

x
2
+ 1
d
dx
(cos(5x))
= 1

x
2
+ 1 cos(5x) + x
2 x
2

x
2
+ 1
cos(5x) + x

x
2
+ 1 (5 sin(5x))
=

x
2
+ 1 cos(5x) +
x
2

x
2
+ 1
cos(5x) 5 x

x
2
+ 1 sin(5x).
(3) f

(x) =
d
dx
cos
_
tan
_
x
__
= sin
_
tan
_
x
__

d
dx
_
tan
_
x
__
= sin
_
tan
_
x
__
sec
2
_
x
_
1
2

x
.
10
(4) f

(x) =
d
dx
_
cos x
cos x + sin x
_
=
(cos x + sin x) (sin x) cos x (sin x + cos x)
(cos x + sin x)
2
=
cos x sin x sin
2
x + cos x sin x cos
2
x
(cos x + sin x)
2

_
sin
2
x + cos
2
x
_
(cos x + sin x)
2
=
1
(cos x + sin x)
2
(5) f

(x) =
d
dx
_
7

sec x + 1
_
+
d
dx
sin x
3
=
1
7
(sec x + 1)

6
7
d
dx
(sec x + 1) + cos x
3

d
dx
(x
3
)
=
1
7
(sec x tan x) (sec x + 1)

6
7
+ 3x
2
cos x
3
.
(6) f

(x) =
1
2
_
x +
_
x +

x

d
dx
_
x +
_
x +

x
_
=
1
2
_
x +
_
x +

x

_
1 +
1
2
_
x +

x

d
dx
_
x +

x
_
_
=
1
2
_
x +
_
x +

x

_
1 +
1
2
_
x +

x

_
1 +
1
2

x
_
_
An application to the derivative (Velocity):
Suppose an object moves along a straight line according to an equation of
motion, where is the displacement (directed distance) of the object from the
origin at time t. The function that describes the motion is called the position
function of the object. In the time interval [a, a + h]. The average velocity
over this time interval is
Average velocity =
displacement
time
=
f(a + h) f(a)
h
.
11
The instantaneous velocity at t = a is given by:
v(a) = lim
h0
f(a + h) f(a)
h
12
Higher Derivatives
Let y

(x) =
dy
dx
denote the rst derivative to y with respect to x, then we
dene:
y

(x) =
dy

dx
=
d
2
y
dx
2
(the second derivative), and
y

(x) =
dy

dx
=
d
3
y
dx
3
(the third derivative), and so on.
Example 5: Find y

for the function:

y =

x tan x + cos
5
( x)
Solution: Since y =

x tan x + (cos( x))
5
, so
y

x sec
2
x +
tan x
2

x
+ 5 (cos( x))
4
(sin x)
y

x sec
2
x +
tan x
2

x
5 sin x (cos( x))
4
.
Now
y

x (2 sec x) (sec x tan x) +

sec
2
x
2

x
+
2

x sec
2
x
tan x

x
4 x
5
_
sin x 4 (cos( x))
3
( sin x) + (cos( x))
4
cos x
_
y

=2

x sec
2
x tan x +
sec
2
x
2

x
+
2

x sec
2
x
tan x

x
4 x
5
2
_
4 sin
2
x cos
3
( x) + cos
5
x
_
y

=2

x sec
2
x tan x +
sec
2
x
2

x
+
2

x sec
2
x
tan x

x
4 x
+ 5
2
cos
3
x(4 sin
2
x cos
2
x).
13
Implicit Dierentiation:
Let us compare between:
y = x
2

x + tan x
3
(1)
x y = tan(x y
2
) (2)
In (1), y is expressed explicitly in terms of x, while y in (2) is expressed
implicitly in terms of x, so in (2) y is implicit function of x.
Notes:
In some problems, it is not easy to express y explicitly in terms of x.
If y is an implicit function of x, then
d
dx
_
y
3
_
=
dz
dx
, z = y
3
By the chain rule:
d
dx
_
y
3
_
=
dz
dy
dy
dx
= 3 y
2
dy
dx
.
Example 6: If x
7
+ y
3
= 12, nd y

Solution: If we dierentiate both sides w.r.t x, we get

7 x
6
+ 3 y
2
y

= 0,
so
y

=
7 x
6
3 y
2
, y = 0.
Example 7: Find y

, if y
3
x
2
= 4.
Solution: If we dierentiate both sides w.r.t x, we get
3 y
2
y

2 x = 0,
14
so
y

=
2 x
3 y
2
, y = 0
Now
y

=
d
dx
(y

) =
3 y
2
(2) 2 x(6 y y

)
9 y
4
=
6 y
2
12 x y y

9 y
4
=
6 y
2
12 x y
_
2 x
3 y
2
_
9 y
4
=
6 y
2
8
_
x
2
y
_
9 y
4
y

=
6 y
3
8x
2
9 y
5
, y = 0.
Example 8: Find y

, if cos(x y) = (2x + 1)
3
y.
Solution: Dierentiating implicitly w.r.t x, we have
sin(x y) [1 y

] = (2x + 1)
3
y

+ 3 (2x + 1)
2
2 y
sin(x y) + y

sin(x y) = (2x + 1)
3
y

+ 6 (2x + 1)
2
y
y

_
sin(x y) (2x + 1)
3

= 6 (2x + 1)
2
y + sin(x y)
y

=
6 (2x + 1)
2
y + sin(x y)
sin(x y) (2x + 1)
3
.
Example 9: Given that
y = (x
2
1)
n
,
show that
(x
2
1) y

2(n 1) x y

2ny.
Solution: Since, y = (x
2
1)
n
, then if we dierentiate with respect to x, we
15
get
y

= n(x
2
1)
n1
2 x = 2 nx(x
2
1)
n1
y

= 2 nx(x
2
1)
n1

x
2
1
x
2
1
(Multiply both numerator and denominator by x
2
1)
y

=
2 nx(x
2
1)
n
x
2
1
=
2 nxy
x
2
1
(x
2
1) y

= 2 nxy.
Dierentiating the last equation with respect to x, we get
(x
2
1) y

+ 2 x y

= 2 n(x y

+ y(1))
(x
2
1) y

+ 2 x y

2 nxy

2 ny = 0
Finally
(x
2
1) y

2(n 1) x y

2ny = 0.
Example 10: Find an equation for the tangent and the normal lines to the
curve
x
3
+ y
3
= 1 + 3 x y
2
at (2,-1)
Solution: First note that (2, 1) is on the curve, since
2
3
+ (1)
3
= 7 = 1 + 3(2)(1)
2
.
Dierentiating the given equation implicitly w.r.t x, we get
16
3 x
2
+ 3 y
2
y

= 3 x(2 y y

) + 3 y
2
x
2
+ y
2
y

= 2 x y y

+ y
2
(dividing by 3)
If we set x = 2, y = 1, we get 4 + y

= 4 y

+ 1
and therefore 3 = 5 y

|
(2,1)
=
3
5
.
Now, the slope of the tangent is m =
3
5
, and the slope of the normal is
1
m
=
5
3
, and so the equation of the tangent is given by:
y (1) =
3
5
(x 2), which gives y + 1 =
3
5
(x 2),
while the equation of the normal is given by:
y + 1 =
5
3
(x 2).
17