Rules of Differentiation

           In the previous section, we have studied the concept of the derivative. Then we used the limit definition to
determine the differentiability of a given function and to find its derivative when it is differentiable. However, it is not
an easy task, in general, to compute the derivative of a differentiable function using the limit definition only. In this
section, we introduce the rules of differentiation which are efficient tools used for calculating derivatives of
differentiable functions. Then we apply these rules on different types of functions.

Basic Rules of Differentiation

The Constant Rule
If c is a constant then d / dx (c) = 0

Example 1

a.  d/dx( 5) = 0

b. d/dx  ( π 2 )= 0

The Power Rule

If n is a positive integer then 

Example 2

a. d/dx (x )= 3x  = 3x
3 3-1 2

b. d/dx (x  ) = 
1/2
1 2 x 1 2 − 1 = 1 2 x 1 2

The Scalar Multiplication Rule

If f(x) is a differentiable function at x and c is a constant number, then cf is differentiable at x, and (cf) ' (x) = cf ' (x) .

Example 3

a.  d/dx = 3x  = 4(3)x  = 12 x

4 3 3

b. Evaluate h ' (x) for h(x) =-4x  . -2

     h'(x) = 8 X -3

The Addition/Subtraction Rules

If f and g are differentiable functions at x, then both f + g and f-g are differentiable at x , and
    (f + g) ' (x) = f ' (x) + g ' (x)
    (f-g) ' (x) = f ' (x)    -    g ' (x)

 
Example 4

Evaluate f ' (x) for f (x) = 6x  + 2x -3 + x-  .

2 1/2 4

Solution 

f ′ ( x ) = ( 6 ) ( 2 x ) + ( 2 ) ( 1 2 x − 1 2 ) − 0 + ( − 4 x − 5 )

             = 12 x + x − 1 2 − 4 x − 5 f o r x > 0

The Product Rule

If f and g are differentiable functions at x then fg is differentiable at x , and
(fg) ' (x) = f (x)g ' (x) + f ' (x)g(x) .

Example 5

Differentiate y = (x  + 7x-1) (5x + 2) .

3

Solution

Using the product rule, we get that

y ′ = ( x 3 + 7 x − 1 ) ( 5 ) + ( 5 x + 2 ) ( 3 x 2 + 7 )

The Quotient Rule

If f and g are differentiable functions at x with g(x) ≠ 0 then (f / g) is differentiable at x ,and

Example 6

Differentiate    y = x 2 3 x − 1

The Chain Rule

         In this section, we introduce one of the most important differentiation rules known as the chain rule. This rule is
concerned with differentiating a function which is a composition of differentiable functions.

          Let f be a function which is differentiable at x. If g is another function which is differentiable at f (x) , then g o f
is  differentiable at x and (g 0 f) ' (x) = g ' (f (x)) f ' (x) .
Now, let us consider some examples where the chain rule is used.

Example 7

a.Evaluate h ' (x) for h(x) = (2x  + x)

2 10

Solution

h ' (x) = g ' (f (x)) f ' (x) = 10(2x  + x)  (4x + 1) = (40x + 10) (2x  + x)   .
2  9 2 9

b. Evaluate h ' (x) for h(x) =

Solution