DIFFERENTIBILITY

LECTURE 3
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WEEK 3
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outline
➢ Define differentiable

➢ Identify the value of 𝑥 that the function is differentiable

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Differentiability
➢ A function is said to be differentiable at a point if the derived function is define
at that point.

➢ This means that the gradient function must be continuous.

➢ So if the function is not continuous at a point, it cannot be differentiable there.

➢ Logically:
𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠 ⟹ 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒
𝑎𝑛𝑑
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠 ⟹ 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒

➢ But there are point that continuous but not differentiable

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Differentiability
Example 𝑓 𝑥 = |𝑥|

Consider the graph of 𝑦 = |𝑥|

And the graph of its derived function

➢ Here the derived function is undefined

at 𝑥 = 0.

➢ The gradient of 𝑦 = |𝑥| changes

𝐷𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
abruptly from -1 to 1.

➢ This function is not differentiable at

𝑥 = 0.
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Differentiability
➢ Just as we loosely defined continuity in terms of being able to
draw the graph without lifting pen from paper, so there is a
corresponding property for differentiability.

➢ The graph must be smooth, with no sharp corners, for it to

be differentiable.
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Example

𝑥2, 𝑥<1
Given 𝑓 𝑥 = ቊ
4 − 3𝑥, 𝑥 ≥ 1

a) Sketch the graph of 𝑓(𝑥)

b) Is 𝑓(𝑥) continuous at 𝑥 = 1?

c) Is 𝑓(𝑥) differentialble at 𝑥 = 1?
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solution

a) Graph of 𝑓(𝑥)

b) According to the graph, 𝑓 𝑥 is

continuous at 𝑥 = 1

c) According to the graph, 𝑓 𝑥 is

not differentiable at 𝑥 = 1, it a
sharp corner
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Class activity

Given the graph of

piecewise function.
Determine the value of 𝑥
where 𝑓 is non-
differentiable
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The value of 𝑥 that 𝑓 is not-

differentiable:

𝑥 = −3 reason: it’s a sharp corner

𝑥 = −2 reason: discontinuous, no
limits

𝑥 = 0 reason: discontinuous, no limits

𝑥 = 2 reason: it’s a sharp corner

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Do exercise 6.5 pag#73

of the course reader
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