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Basic Cal Module
Basic Cal Module
Basic Cal Module
4TH QUARTER
Rules of Differentiation
Learning Outcomes
The basic rules of differentiation are presented here along with several examples.
Remember that if y = f (x) is a function then the derivative of y can be represented
dy J J df
by or y or f or . The basic rules of differentiation, as well as several common
dx dx
results, are presented in the back of the log tables on pages 41 and 42.
Example 1
Differentiate y = x4.
dy
If y = x4 then using the general power rule, = 4x3.
dx
Rule 3: The Derivative of a Constant times a Function.
J
The derivative of kf (x), where k is a constant, is kf (x).
Example 2
Differentiate y = 3x2.
Example 4
Differentiate f (x) = (6x2 + 2x)(x3 + 1).
= × dx −2 × dx .
df v du u dv
dx v
Example 5
x2 + 7
Differentiate f (x) = .
3x − 1
du dv
Let u(x) = x2 + 7 and v(x) = 3x − 1. Differentiate these to get = 2x and = 3.
dx dx
Now using the formula for the quotient rule we get,
2
df (3x — 1)(2x) − (x2 + 7)(3)
= ,
dx (3x − 1)2
6x2 − 2x − 3x2 − 21
= ,
(3x − 1) 2
df 3x2 — 2x − 21
⇒ = .
dx (3x − 1)2
Rule 7: The Chain Rule.
If y is a function of u, i.e. y = f (u), and u is a function of x, i.e. u = g(x) then the
derivative of y with respect to x is
dy dy du
= × .
dx du dx
Example 6
Differentiate y = (x2 − 5)4.
Let u = x2 − 5, therefore y = u4 .
du dy 3
⇒ = 2x and ⇒ = 4u .
dx du
Using the chain rule we then get
dy dy du
= ×
,
dx du dx
= 4u3 × 2x,
= 4(x2 − 5)3 × 2x,
= 8x(x2 − 5)3.
3
Quiz # 1
.
Find the derivative of each of the following functions.
1. f (x) = 5x – 9
2. f (x) = -6x + 3
3. f (x) = 𝟐𝒙𝟓 − 𝟒𝒙𝟑 + 𝟓𝒙 − 𝟔
4. f (x) = 𝒙−𝟔 + 𝟒𝒙𝟑
5. f (x) = 𝟒𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓𝒙−𝟑
6. f (x) = 𝟔𝒙𝟑 + 𝟖𝒙−𝟏
𝟒
7. f (x) = 𝟓𝒙𝟑 −
𝒙𝟐
8. f (x) = (𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓)(𝟒𝒙 − 𝟑)
9. f (x) = (𝟓𝒙 − 𝟐)𝟐
10. f (x) = (𝟑𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓)𝟐
11. f(x) = -7
12. f(x) = 𝒙𝟕
13. f(x) = 𝟑𝒙𝟐 − 𝒙 + 𝟏
𝟏
14. f(x) = 𝒙−𝟐/𝟑 + √𝒙
𝟑
𝟒
15. f(x) = 𝟒𝒙−𝟐 − √𝒙𝟑
16. f(x) = 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒙−𝟗𝟗
17. f(x) = (𝟐𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑)7
𝟑
18. f(x) = 𝒙𝟑 √𝒙 + 𝟐
(𝒙𝟑−𝟖)
19. f(x) =
√𝒙
𝟑
20. f(x) = √𝒙 + 𝟓 √𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑