Thomas, 13e

MAC 2311: Calculus I

Section 2.1 & 3.1: The Tangent Line Problem and the Derivative at a Point

The Tangent Line Problem:

Find the slope of the tangent line to the curve y = f ( x ) at the point P ( x0 , f ( x0 ) ) :
P ( x0 , f ( x0 ) )
rise y
Graphing Approach: Recall=
m =
run x

Example 1: Use the graph of y = f ( x )

to estimate the slope of the tangent line to
the curve at:
a) x0 = 0

b) x0 = 1

c) x0 = 2

Slope of the Secant Line:

Let Q ( x, f ( x ) ) be a second point on the curve, forming a secant line PQ.
Then the slope of the secant line is: y f ( x) f ( x0 )
m= =
x x x0
sec

As QP:
Secant Line Tangent Line and
msec mtan
mtan = lim msec
y
mtan = lim
x 0 x

New Notation: y
Let =
x h. Then =
x x0 + h : mtan = lim
x 0 x

f ( x0 + h) f ( x0 )
= lim
h 0 ( x0 + h) x0
f ( x0 + h) f ( x0 )
= lim
h 0 h

Unit 1 p. 27
 Thomas, 13e
Definition: The Slope of the Tangent Line:
The tangent line to y = f ( x ) at the point P ( x0 , f ( x0 ) ) is the line through point P with the slope:
f ( x0 + h) f ( x0 )
mtan = lim , provided the limit exists.
h 0 h

Example 2:
a) Find mtan to f ( x ) = x 2 at the point (1,1)
b) Find the equation of the tangent line.

x
Definition: The Derivative of a Function f at a fixed number 0 :
The derivative of a function f at a fixed number x0 , denoted by f ( x0 ) , is defined as:
f ( x0 + h) f ( x0 )
f ( x0 ) = lim , provided the limit exists.
h 0 h

f ( x0 ) is a number, and represents either: 1) f ( x0 ) = mtan at a or,

2) f ( x0 ) = instantaneous rate of change

Unit 1 p. 28
 Thomas, 13e
1
f ( x)
Example 3: Find the equation of the tangent line to the curve= = at x0 2.
x

Unit 1 p. 29
 Thomas, 13e
Example 4: Given f ( x ) = x : 3

a) Find f (1) , f ( 2 ) , f ( 0 ) , f ( 1) , f ( 2 ) ??
b) Find all points on the curve where mtan = 3.

Unit 1 p. 30
 Thomas, 13e
The Derivative as a Rate of Change
Average Rate of Change:
y f ( x0 + h) f ( x0 )
m= = : represents the average rate of change of f ( x ) with respect to x on
x
sec
h
the interval [ x0 , x0 + h ]
Instantaneous Rate of Change:
y f ( x0 + h) f ( x0 )
= ( x0 ) lim
mtan f= = lim represents the instantaneous rate of change of
x 0 x h 0 h
f ( x ) with respect to x at x = x0 .
Additional Rate of Change Video

Example 5: Interpret the following values.

a. B (1) = 2000 b. T ( 2000 ) = 30

B (1) = 1200 T ( 2000 ) = 0.005

Application: Linear motion and the Position function: s(t)

Suppose you have a particle that is moving along a straight line (either horizontally or vertically).
Then its position at time t is given as the position function s ( t ) .

We measure changing position using velocity, which can be positive or negative.

Units: mi/hr, ft/sec, etc.
s s ( t1 ) s ( t0 )
Average velocity on the interval from [t0 , t1 ] : = =
vavg
t t1 t0

s s (t0 + h) s (t0 )
Instantaneous velocity at t0: = ( t0 ) lim
vinst s= = lim
t 0 t h 0 h

Unit 1 p. 31
 Thomas, 13e
Example 6: Suppose a grapefruit is thrown vertically upward from the top of a 100 foot building at an
initial velocity of 80 ft/s. Its position at time t is given by s ( t ) =
16t 2 + 80t + 100 .
Flight of the Grapefruit

200

position, s (in feet)

150

100

50

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5
time, t (in sec)

a) Find the average velocity=

from t 1=
sec to t 3 sec.

b) Find a formula for the instantaneous velocity at any time t0 .

Then find the instantaneous velocity at t = 1 and 3 sec.

Unit 1 p. 32