Fundamentals of Calculus

Lia Vas
The derivative – the rate of change
Knowing and understanding the concept of derivative enables you to answer the following ques-
tions. Let us consider a quantity whose size is described by a function.
1. How fast is the quantity changing at a given moment?
2. Is the quantity increasing or decreasing in size?
3. When will the size be maximal and when will the size be minimal?
4. If the quantity is increasing, is the rate of the increase increasing or decreasing itself?
5. If another factor impacts the size of the quantity, how does it rate of change impacts the speed
of the change of the initial quantity?
Rates of Change. To introduce the con-
cept of derivative, let us recall the definition of
the average rate of change of a function on an
interval.

The average rate of change of f (x)

over the interval a ≤ x ≤ b is

rise = f (b)−f (a)

run b−a

Example 1. Determine the average rate of change of the following functions over the given
interval.
1
√
(a) y = x+2 , [0, 2] (b) y = x + 3, [1, 5]
1
−1
Solutions. (a) f (0) = 12 and f (2) = 41 , so the average rate is f (2)−f (0)
2−0 √
= 4 2 2 = −1
8
.
√ √ f (5)−f (1) 8−2
(b) f (1) = 4 = 2 and f (5) = 8, so the average rate is 5−1 = 4 ≈ 0.207.
Besides finding the rate of change over an interval, it may be relevant to find the rate of change
at a specific point. This rate, called the instantaneous rate of change or derivative of f at a
can be computed from the above formula f (b)−f b−a
(a)
when b approaches a.
If we denote the difference b − a by h then b = a + h and the condition b → a is equivalent to
h → 0, the formula f (b)−f
b−a
(a)
becomes f (a+h)−f
h
(a)
. Hence, the can be computed as follows.

The instantaneous rate of change of f (x)

at x = a is

limh→0 f (a+h)−f
h
(a)

1
 Geometric Interpretation. We have seen
that the average rate of change of f (x) from a to
b represents the slope of the secant line. In the
limiting case when b → a, the secant line becomes
the tangent line as the previous figure illustrates.
Thus,

The instantaneous rate of change

of f (x) at x = a is the slope
of the line tangent to the graph
of f (x) at x = a.

Thus, the formula limh→0 f (a+h)−f

h
(a)
computes the slope m of the tangent line. Recall the point-
slope equation of a line with slope m passing point (x0 , y0 ).

y − y0 = m(x − x0 )

This formula computes the equation of the tangent line to f (x) at x = a for x0 = a, y0 = f (a) and
m = limh→0 f (a+h)−f
h
(a)
.
Example 2. Let f (x) = x2 + 4.
(a) Determine the average rate of change of f (x) for 1 ≤ x ≤ 2. Then find the equation of the
secant line of f (x) passing the graph of f (x) at x = 1 and x = 2.
(b) Determine the instantaneous rate of change of f (x) for x = 1. Then find the equation of the
tangent line to f (x) at x = 1.
Solution. (a) The average rate of change of f (x) for 1 ≤ x ≤ 2 can be computed as
f (2) − f (1) 22 + 4 − (12 + 4)
= = 4 + 4 − 1 − 4 = 3.
2−1 1
This also computes the slope of the secant line. The equation of the secant line can be obtained
using the point slope equation with m = 3 and using either (1, f (1)) or (2, f (2)) for point (x0 , y0 ).
For example, with (1, f (1)) = (1, 5) one gets the equation
y − 5 = 3(x − 1) ⇒ y = 3x + 2.
f (1+h)−f (1)
(b) The instantaneous rate of change of f (x) at x = 1 can be computed as limh→0 h
=

(1 + h)2 + 4 − (12 + 4) 1 + 2h + h2 + 4 − 1 − 4 2h + h2
lim = lim = lim = lim 2 + h = 2.
h→0 h h→0 h h→0 h h→0

This also computes the slope of the tangent line. The equation of the tangent line can be
obtained using the point-slope equation with m = 2 and using (1, f (1)) = (1, 5) for point (x0 , y0 ).
So, the tangent line is
y − 5 = 2(x − 1) ⇒ y = 2x + 3.

2
 An application. If f (x) computes the position (in units of length) of an object at time x (in
time units) after the object started moving, then the average rate of change from x = a to x = b
computes the average velocity between times a and b. The instantaneous rate of change at a computes
the instantaneous velocity at time x = a.

average velocity from x = a to x = b is f (b)−f

b−a
(a)

velocity at x = a is limh→0 f (a+h)−f

h
(a)

If [x] denotes the units of quantity x and [y] denotes the units of f (x), the units of both the
[y]
average and the instantaneous rates of change are [x] since

[f (b) − f (a)] units of y [f (a + h) − f (a)] units of y

= and lim = .
[b − a] units of x h→0 [h] units of x

Example 3. Assume that the position of a moving object x second after the object started
moving can be computed by f (x) = x2 + 4 feet.

(a) Determine the average velocity at which the object was moving between the first and the second
second.

(b) Determine the velocity of the object one second after it started moving.

Solution. Note that the function describing the position is the same function as in Example 1.
Part (a) is asking for the average rate of change of f (x) for 1 ≤ x ≤ 2 which we computed to be 3.
Thus, the average velocity is 3 feet per second.
Part (b) us asking for the instantaneous rate of change of f (x) at x = 1 which we computed to
be 2 in part (b) of Example 1. Thus, the object has (instantaneous) velocity of 2 feet per second 1
second after it started moving.

Derivative. The instantaneous rate of change of f (x) at x = a is the derivative of f (x) at x = a.

The notation f 0 (a) is used to denote the derivative of f (x) at x = a. Thus, the following concepts
are all equivalent.

(1) The derivative f 0 (a) of f (x) at x = a;

(2) The instantaneous rate of change of f (x) at x = a;

(3) The slope of the tangent line to f (x) at x = a;

(4) f 0 (a) = limh→0 f (a+h)−f

h
(a)

3
 Alternative formula. If we denote the changing quantity a + h by x so that x − a = h, the
quotient f (a+h)−f
h
(a)
can be written as f (x)−f
x−a
(a)
. When h → 0, x → a so the derivative f 0 (a) can also
be found as follows.

f (x)−f (a)
f 0 (a) = limx→a x−a

Example 4. Determine the derivative of f (x) = x2 + 4 at x = 1.

Solution. Recall that we have found the instantaneous rate of change of this function at x = 1
to be 2 in Example 1. Thus f 0 (1) = 2.
Derivative as a function. The previous example illustrates that derivative at x = a can be
considered as a function of a. By using more familiar x instead of a to denote the independent
variable, we obtain that the derivative f 0 (x) can be considered to be a function of x since at every
value of x it computes the slope of the tangent at the point (x, f (x)).

f (x+h)−f (x)
f 0 (x) = limh→0 h

Example 5. Determine the derivative of the line f (x) = mx + b.

Solution. f 0 (x) = limh→0 f (x+h)−f
h
(x)
= limh→0 m(x+h)+b−(mx+b)
h
= limh→0 mx+mh+b−mx−b
h
=
mh
limh→0 h = m. Thus, the derivative of mx + b is m.
Alternatively, you can simply argue that, since the tangent line to a line is the same line, the
slope of the tangent line is m at every point x.
Example 5. Determine the derivative of f (x) = x2 .
2 2 2 +2xh+h2 −x2
Solution. f 0 (x) = limh→0 f (x+h)−f
h
(x)
= limh→0 (x+h)h −x = limh→0 x h
=
2
limh→0 2xh+h
h
= limh→0 2x + h = 2x. Thus, the derivative of x2 is 2x.
Notation for derivative. If the function f (x) is denoted by y, sometimes y 0 is used to denote
f 0 (x). There are other notations for derivative besides f 0 (x) and y 0 . Note that the quotient f (x+h)−f
h
(x)

measures the quotient of the change in y over change of x. These two changes are denoted by ∆y
dy
and ∆x and the limit when h = ∆x → 0 is denoted by dx . This notation is known as the Leibniz
notation. In this notation, the formula computing the derivative can be written as follows.
dy ∆y
= lim
dx ∆x→0 ∆x
d df d
In some cases, the notations dx f (x) or dx are also used. In this case, the term dx is considered
0 0 d
as a function that maps y = f (x) to its derivative y = f (x). In this case, the term dx is refer to as
df
differentiation operator. Keep in mind that the notations dx f (x) or dx are equivalent to f 0 (x), y 0
d
dy
and dx . To summarize, the following denote the derivative of y = f (x).

dy df
f 0 (x), y0, dx
, dx
, d
dx
f (x)

4
 If the derivative y 0 of a function y = f (x) is evaluated at x = a, the following notation is also
used besides f 0 (a) 
dy 

dx x=a

Units of the derivative. If [x] denotes the units of quantity x and [f (x)] denotes the units of
f (x), the units of derivative are determined as follows.
[f (x + h) − f (x)] units of f (x) [f (x)]
Units of derivative f 0 (x) = [f 0 (x)] = lim = = .
h→0 [h] units of x [x]
In Example 2 we have seen that the the velocity is in feet per second if the position function is in
feet and the time is in seconds.

Finding and Using Derivative – the shortcuts

We have seen that the formula f 0 (x) = limh→0 f (x+h)−f
h
(x)
is manageable for relatively simple
functions like a linear or quadratic. For more complex functions, finding the derivative using this
definition is not very effective. Because of this, many shortcuts to finding derivative have been
introduced.
Derivative of a constant function. If c is a constant and f (x) = c for every value of c, then
f (x+h)−f (x)
h
= c−c
h
= 0. Thus, the derivative is zero. Alternatively, the same conclusion could be
reached by noting that a horizontal line has the slope zero. Thus,

f (x) = c ⇒ f 0 (x) = 0

Derivative of a power function. In Examples 6 of previous section, we have seen that the
derivative of the line mx + b is m. Thus the derivative of x is 1. In Example 7 we have seen that the
derivative of x2 is 2x. Let us demonstrate a more general formula which will compute the derivative
of xn for any positive integer n.
Let f (x) = xn and let us find the formula for f 0 (a) using the formula f 0 (a) = limx→a f (x)−f
x−a
(a)
for
f (x)−f (a) xn −an
the derivative at a. For this function the quotient x−a becomes x−a . To determine the limit
of this when x → a, we want to factor the numerator. Note that xn − an factors as 1

xn − an = (x − a)(xn−1 + xn−2 a + . . . + xan−2 + an−1 )

Thus,
0 x n − an (x − a)(xn−1 + xn−2 a + . . . + xan−2 + an−1 )
f (a) = lim = lim =
x→a x − a x→a x−a

lim xn−1 + xn−2 a + . . . + xan−2 + an−1 = an−1 + an−1 + . . . + an−1 + an−1 = nan−1
x→a

Since f 0 (a) = nan−1 we have

1
To convince yourself of this formula, foil the right hand side and obtain xn + xn−1 a + . . . + x2 an−2 + xan−1 −
n−1
ax − xn−2 a2 − . . . − xan−1 − an and note that all the terms cancel except the first xn and the last one −an . Thus
you have xn − an .

5
 The Power Rule. f (x) = xn ⇒ f 0 (x) = nxn−1

Note that this formula confirms our calculation of derivative of x and x2 . Indeed when n = 1,
it produces the derivative of x = x1 as 1x1−1 = 1x0 = 1 and when n = 2, the derivative of x2 as
2x2−1 = 2x1 = 2x.
Together with the following three rules, we shall be able to find derivative of any polynomial
function without using the definition of derivative.

The Sum Rule. y = f (x) + g(x) ⇒ y 0 = f 0 (x) + g 0 (x)

The Difference Rule. y = f (x) − g(x) ⇒ y 0 = f 0 (x) − g 0 (x)
The Constant Multiple Rule. y = cf (x) ⇒ y 0 = cf 0 (x)

Thus,

1. The derivative of the sum is the sum of the derivatives.

2. The derivative of the difference is the difference of the derivatives.

3. To find the derivative of a constant multiple of the function, carry the constant and find the
derivative of the function.

These formulas hold basically because the same rules can be applied to limits: limits are additive
and constant factors out of them. Thus, if y = f (x) + g(x), the sum rule holds since

f (x + h) + g(x + h) − f (x) − g(x) f (x + h) − f (x) g(x + h) − g(x)

y 0 = lim = lim + = f 0 (x)+g 0 (x)
h→0 h h→0 h h
The difference rule and the constant multiple rules can be shown similarly.
These rules enables you to find derivative of any polynomial function by differentiating term by
term. Each term is of the form axn which has derivative naxn−1 by power and constant multiple
rules.
Example 1. Find the derivative of f (x) = 2x3 + 14 x2 − 5.
Solution. By the Power Rule with n = 3, the derivative of x3 is 3x3−1 = 3x2 . So, the derivative
of the first term 2x3 is 2 · 3x2 = 6x2 .
By the Power Rule with n = 2, the derivative of x2 is 2x2−1 = 2x1 = 2x. So, the derivative of the
second term 14 x2 is 41 · 2x = 21 x. The derivative of the constant term −5 is zero.
Hence, f 0 (x) = 6x2 + 21 x − 0 = 6x2 + 12 x.
General Power Rule. It can be shown that the power rule holds for any real number n,
not only when n is a positive integer.

The General Power Rule. f (x) = xn ⇒ f 0 (x) = nxn−1

holds for every real n

6
 This rule enables us to find derivatives of functions with negative or fractional powers. You need
to make sure that your function is written in the form xn before you apply the power rule. The
following algebra rules may be useful when doing that.

√
1
xn
= x−n n
x = x1/n

Example 2. Find the derivatives of the following functions.

x4 4 √ 3
(a) f (x) = + 4 (b) f (x) = x3 − √
4 x x
Solution. (a) Before finding derivative, write both terms of f (x) in axn form: f (x) = 14 x4 +4x−4 .
Then find derivative using the power rule for both terms. f 0 (x) = dx d 1 4
4
x + dx d
4x−4 = 14 (4)x4−1 +
−4−1 −5 0
4(−4)x = x − 16x . If necessary, you can write your answer as f (x) = x − x165 .
3 3

(b) Write both terms of f (x) in axn form first: f (x) = (x3 )1/2 − 3x−1/2 = x3/2 − 3x−1/2 . Then find
derivative using the power rule for both terms. f 0 (x) = dx
d 3/2
x − dx d
3x−1/2
√ = 32 x3/2−1 − 3( −1
2
)x−1/2−1 =
x + 23 x−3/2 . If necessary, you can write your answer as f 0 (x) = 23 x + 2√3x3 .
3 1/2
2
The shortcuts. Having the differentiation formulas enables you to find
• the instantaneous rate of change,
• the slope of the tangent line at a point,
• velocity or any other rate of change in an applied problem
without using the definition of the derivative.
Example 3. f (x) = x2 + 4. Determine the instantaneous rate of change of f (x) for x = 1. Then
find the equation of the tangent line to f (x) at x = 1.
Solution. Find the derivative to be f 0 (x) = dx
d 2 d
x + dx 4 = 2x1−1 + 0 = 2x. Then plug x = 1 and
0
obtain f (1) = 2(1) = 2.
This computes the slope of the tangent line. The equation of the tangent line can be obtained
using the point-slope equation with m = 2 and (1, f (1)) = (1, 5). So, the tangent line is y − 5 =
2(x − 1) ⇒ y = 2x + 3.
More on velocity and other applications of derivative in physics. You can relate the
formula computing the velocity v = ds dt
of an object with position s(t) at time t with the pre-calculus
formula you used for velocity v = st now better expressed as v = ∆s ∆t
. The formula dsdt
computes the
∆s
instantaneous velocity while the formula ∆t computes the average velocity. As we have seen in the
previous example, if the position function is a linear function (that is, if the velocity is constant),
the two formulas amount to the same thing. One should keep in mind that the pre-calculus formula
v = st when s is a nonlinear function does not compute the instantaneous velocity.
Similar argument can be made for relation between several other physical quantities. For example,
recall that the force F is the quotient of change in work W and change in displacement x caused by
the force. Thus, the average force can be computed as ∆W ∆x
and the force as the derivative F = dW dx
.
Example 4. If we approximate the gravitational acceleration g by 9.8 meters per seconds squared,
the displacement from the initial height of an object dropped from it to the ground can be described
as s(t) = g2 t2 ≈ 4.9t2 .

7
 1. Determine the average velocity of the object in the first three seconds.
2. Find the formula computing the velocity at any point t.
3. Determine the velocity of the object three seconds into the fall.
Solutions. 1. The average velocity in the first three seconds is s(3)−s(0)3
= 4.9(9)
3
= 14.7 meters
per second.
2. The velocity at time t is v(t) = s0 (t) = 4.9 · 2t = 9.8t meters per second.
3. The velocity three seconds into the fall is v(3) = s0 (3) = 9.8(3) = 29.4 meters per second.
Practice problems.
1. Find the derivative of the given functions.
(a) y = 2x5 − 3x3 + 5x − 9 (b) y = x38 + 6
3 √
(c) y = x2 + x3 (d) y = 4
x2
− 1
3x6

2. Find an equation of the line tangent to the curve at the indicated point.
√ √
(a) f (x) = x2 + x2 at x = 2.
3
(b) f (x) = x3 + x2 at x = 1.
3. A company determines that its cost function is
C(x) = 1000 + 35x − .01x2 ,
0 ≤ x ≤ 300, where x is the number of items produced and C(x) is the cost of producing x
items in dollars. (a) Determine the average rate of change in cost when x is changing from 100
to 150. (b) Determine the rate of change in cost when producing 200 items.
4. Assume that the mathematical
√ model for the growth of a locust tree in its first century of life is
given by h(t) = 3 t, 0 ≤ t ≤ 100, where t is the age of the tree in years and h(t) is the height
of the tree in feet. Determine h(64) and h0 (64) and interpret the meaning of your answers in a
full sentence.
5. The mass of a bacteria culture at time t in hours, is approximated by N (t) = 4t7/2 , in milligrams.
(a) Determine N (9) and N 0 (9) and interpret the meaning of your answers in a full sentence.
(b) Determine how fast the mass of bacteria increases 4 hours after the experiment started.
6. The body mass index (BMI) is a number obtained as BM I = 703w
h2
where w is the weight in pounds and h is the height in inches. For a 125-lb female that is now
65 inches tall but growing, calculate how fast is BMI changing with each new inch. Explain
the meaning of the answer.
7. A particle moves on a line away from its initial position so that after t hours it is s(t) = 2t2 − 1
miles from its initial position. (a) Determine the velocity of the particle 5 hours after it started
moving. (b) Determine the time when the velocity is 30 miles per hour.
8. The mass of a bacteria culture t hours after the start of experiment, is modeled by N (t) = 3t5/2 ,
in milligrams. (a) Determine the mass 16 hours after experiment started. (b) Determine how
fast the mass of bacteria increases 9 hours after the experiment started. (c) Determine the
time when the mass is 300 mg.

8
Solutions.

1. (a) y 0 = 2(5)x5−1 − 3(3)x3−1 + 5(1)x1−1 − 0 = 10x4 − 9x2 + 5

(b) y 0 = 38x38−1 + 0 = 38x37
3 √ 3x2
√
3 x
(c) y 0 = x2 + x3 = 12 x3 + x3/2 ⇒ y 0 = 21 (3)x3−1 + 32 x3/2−1 = 32 x2 + 23 x1/2 or y 0 = 2
+ 2
.
(d) y 0 = x42 − 1
3x6
= 4x−2 − 13 x−6 ⇒ y 0 = 4(−2)x−2−1 − 13 (−6)x−6−1 = −8x −3
+ 2x −7
or
y 0 = −8
x3
+ x27

2. (a) To use the point-slope equation, you need to compute the y-value of point with x = 2 and
the slope f 0 (2).
f (2) = 22 + 22 = 1 + 1 = 2. To find the derivative, note that f (x) = 2x−1 + 12 x ⇒ f 0 (x) =
2(−1)x−1−1 + 21 x1−1 = −2 x2
+ 12 . Thus f 0 (2) = −2
22
+ 21 = −1 2
+ 12 = 0. So, the tangent line is
y − 2 = 0(x − 2) ⇒ y = 2.
√ √3
√ √
3
(b) f (1) = 13 + 12 = 1 + 1 = 2. So, the function passes (1,2). f (x) = x3 + x2 =
x3/2 + x2/3 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 32 x1/2 + 32 x−1/3 . At x = 1, f 0 (1) = 32 11/2 + 23 1−1/3 = 23 + 23 = 9+4
6
= 13
6
.
13 13 1
Thus, the tangent line is y − 2 = 6 (x − 1) ⇒ y = 6 x − 6 .

3. (a) When production changes from 100 to 150 items produced, the cost increased at an average
rate of C(150)−C(100)
150−100
= 6025−4400
50
= 32.5 dollars per item produced. (b) C 0 (x) = 0 + 35x1−1 −
0.01(2)x 2−1
= 35 − 0.02x. When producing 200 items, the cost is increasing at a rate C 0 (200) =
35 − 0.02(200) = 31 dollars per item produced.

4. h(t) = 3t1/2 . h(64) = 24. 64 years after it starts growing, the tree is 24 feet tall. h0 (t) =
3 12 t1/2−1 = 32 t−1/2 = 2√
3
t
. h0 (64) = 16
3
= .1875 ≈ 0.19. 64 years after it starts growing, the tree
is growing at the rate of .19 feet per year.

5. (a) N (t) = 4t7/2 , N (9) = 8748 mg = the mass of bacteria 9 hours after. N 0 (t) = 4 27 t7/2−1 =
14t5/2 . N 0 (9) = 3402 mg per hour. Thus, after 9 hours, the mass is increasing at the rate
of 3402 mg per hour. (b) 4 hours after, the mass of bacteria is increasing at the rate of
N 0 (4) = 14(4)5/2 = 448 mg per hour.

6. For w = 125, BM I(h) = 703(125)

h2
= 87875h−2 ⇒ BM I 0 (h) = 87875(−2)h−2−1 = −175750
h3
. When
h = 65, the value of the derivative is −175750
653
≈ −.64. Thus, the BMI is decreasing by .64 per
inch. The negative sign indicate that for a fixed weight, the BMI decreases when the height
increases.

7. (a) s(t) = 2t2 − 1 ⇒ s0 (t) = 4t ⇒ s0 (5) = 20. So, after 5 hours, the velocity is 20 miles per
hour. (b) s0 (t) = 4t = 30 ⇒ t = 30
4
= 7.5. So, after 7.5 hours, the velocity is 30 miles per hour.

8. (a) N (t) = 3t5/2 ⇒ N (16) =3072 mg. (b) N 0 (t) = 15

2
t3/2 ⇒ N 0 (9) = 15
2
93/2 = 202.5 mg per
hour. (c) N (t) = 3t5/2 = 300 ⇒ t5/2 = 100 ⇒ t = 1002/5 ≈ 6.31 hours. Thus, the mass is 300
mg 6.31 hours after the experiment started.

Higher Derivatives. Differentiable Functions

9
 The second derivative. The derivative itself can be considered as a function. The instantaneous
rate of change of this function is the second derivative. Thus, the second derivative evaluated at a
point computes the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the first derivative.

The second derivative f 00 (x) is the derivative of the first derivative f 0 (x)
d2 00 d2 y
Notation: f 00 (x), dx 2 f (x), y , dx2

d2 d2 y
Evaluated at x = a : f 00 (a), dx2
f (x)|x=a , dx 2 |x=a

Example 1. Find the second derivative of the following functions.

7
(a) f (x) = 3x2 + 5x − 6 (b) f (x) = x2

Solutions. (a) f (x) = 3x2 + 5x − 6 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 6x + 5 ⇒ f 00 (x) = 6x1−1 + 0 = 6.

(b) f (x) = x72 = 7x−2 ⇒ f 0 (x) = −14x−3 ⇒ f 00 (x) = −14(−3)x−3−1 = 42x−4 = 42
x4

Applications. If s(t) represents the position of an object at time t, we have seen that the
derivative s0 (t) represents the velocity at time t. The second derivative is the acceleration
since it calculates the rate at which the velocity is changing.

velocity v(t) = s0 (t) = ds

dt

d2 s
acceleration a(t) = v 0 (t) = dv
dt
= s00 (t) = dt2

Example 2. Consider the object whose position (in meters) is given as a function of time (in
seconds) by the formula s(t) = t3 − 7t2 + 13t. Find the formulas for velocity and acceleration.
Solution. s(t) = t3 − 7t2 + 13t ⇒ v(t) = s0 (t) = 3t2 − 14t + 13 ⇒ a(t) = s00 (t) = 6t − 14.
Higher Derivatives. Continuing differentiating the derivative, one obtains the higher deriva-
tives: the second derivative as the derivative of the first, the third derivative as the derivative of the
second and so on. The third derivative is usually denoted by f 000 (x). For the derivatives higher than
three, f (n) is used to denote the n-th derivative. So, for example, the fourth derivative is written as
f (4) (x) rather than f 0000 (x). √
Example 3. Find the fourth derivative of the function f (x) = x + x2 + 5.
Solution. √
f (x) = x + x2 + 5 = x1/2 + x2 + 5 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 21 x1/2−1 + 2x1 + 0 = 12 x−1/2 + 2x ⇒
1 −1 −1/2−1 −1 −3/2
00
f (x) = 2 2 x 0
+ 2x = 4 x + 2 ⇒ f 000 (x) = −1 −3 −3/2−1
4 2
x + 0 = 38 x−5/2 ⇒
f (4) (x) = 38 −5
2
x −5/2−1
= −15 −7/2
16
x .

Differentiable Functions. Recall that the derivative at x = a is the limit limh→0 f (a+h)−f h
(a)
or,
f (x)−f (a)
equivalently limx→a x−a . If either one (then necessarily both) of these limits exist, f (x) is said to
be differentiable at x = a. Thus, if you can find the derivative of a function (either by definition or
using the differentiation formulas) and if f 0 (x) is defined at x = a, then the function is differentiable
at a.

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 Recall that a function is continuous at x = a if limit of f (x) when x → a exists and it is equal
to f (a). Thus, f (a) = limx→a f (x) or, equivalently, limx→a f (x) − f (a) = 0. If a function f (x) is
differentiable at a, then
f (x) − f (a) f (x) − f (a)
lim f (x) − f (a) = x→a
lim (x − a) = x→a
lim lim x − a = f 0 (a) · 0 = 0
x→a x−a x−a x→a

and so the function is continuous. Thus, if a function is differentiable, it is continuous.

Even when continuous, f (x) may fail to be differentiable at a if the left and right limits of
f (a+h)−f (a)
h
are different. In this case, the slope of the tangent on the left and the slope of the tangent
on the right side of a are different and f (x) is said to have a corner or a sharp turn at x = a.
The last scenario of f (x) failing to be differentiable at a is when either left, right (or both) limits
f (a+h)−f (a)
of h
exist but are not finite. In this case, f (x) is said to have a vertical tangent.
Thus, f (x) can fail to be differentiable at x = a in any of the following cases.
1. f (x) is not continuous at a.
2. f (x) has a corner or a sharp turn at a.
3. f (x) has a vertical tangent at a.
Example 4. Discuss the differentiability of the following
( functions.
x x≥0
(a) f (x) = x (b) f (x) =
x+1 x<0
(
x x≥0 √
(c) f (x) = (d) f (x) = 3 x
−x x < 0
Solution. (a) The derivative f 0 (x) of f (x) at any x is 1. Since f 0 (x) = 1 is defined at every x,
f (x) = x is differentiable for every x.
(b) Graph the function (or find limit when x → 0) and note that there is a jump from 1 to 0 at
x = 0. Thus, the function is not continuous and, hence, not differentiable at x = 0.
The function is differentiable at any other point since the graph is a smooth and continuous
function without any turns or sharp corners for any point except x = 0. Alternatively, you can argue
that the derivative of f (x) = x is f 0 (x) = 1 for x > 0 and the derivative of f (x) = x + 1 is f 0 (x) = 1
for x < 0.
(c) The graph of the function, which turns out to be the absolute value |x| of x, is given below.
The graph of |x| has a corner at x = 0, so the function is not differentiable at x = 0. For x > 0,
f 0 (x) = 1 so f (x) is differentiable for every x > 0. Similarly, for x < 0, f 0 (x) = −1 so f (x) is
differentiable for every x < 0 as well.

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 √
(d) f (x) = 3 x = x1/3 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 13 x−2/3 = 3 √ 1
3 2 . This derivative is defined for every value
x
of x except 0. So, f (x) is differentiable for every x 6= 0. f 0 (x) is not defined at 0 so f (x) is not
differentiable at 0. The graph of f (x) reveals a vertical tangent at x = 0.

Example 5. Discuss the differentiability of

the function given by the graph on the right.

Solutions. The function is differentiable at

every point different from −1 and 1 since there is
a well defined tangent to the graph for all x 6= ±1.
At x = −1 the function has a break so it is not
continuous and thus also not differentiable. At
x = 1 the function is not differentiable since there
is a corner in the graph.

Practice problems.
1. Find the first and the second derivative of the following functions.
3 √ √
(a) f (x) = x2 + x42
3
(b) f (x) = x3 + x2

2. Discuss the differentiability of the following

functions.

(a) f (x) = x2 + 2
√3
(b) f (x) = 5 x2
(c) The function given by the graph on the
right.

Solutions.
x3
1. (a) f (x) = 2
= 21 x3 + 4x−2 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 32 x2 − 8x−3 ⇒ f 00 (x) = 3x + 24x−4 = 3x + x244
+ 4
x2
√ √
(b) f (x) = x3 + x2 = x3/2 + x2/3 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 32 x1/2 + 23 x−1/3 ⇒ f 00 (x) = 34 x−1/2 − 29 x−4/3
3

2. (a) f (x) = x2 + 2 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 2x. The derivative is defined at every x-value so f (x) is differen-
tiable for every x.
√
(b) f (x) = 5 x2 = 5x2/3 ⇒ f 0 (x) = 10 x−1/3 = 310
3
3 3 x . This function is defined for every value of
√

x except x = 0. Graphing f (x), you can notice that it has a corner (and a vertical tangent) at
x = 0 so it is not differentiable at 0. Thus, f (x) is differentiable for every x 6= 0.
(c) The function is differentiable at every point different from −2, 0 and 1 since there is a well
defined tangent to the graph for all x 6= −2, 0, 1. At x = −2 and x = 0 the function is not
differentiable since it is not continuous (a jump at −2 and a hole at 0). At x = 1 the function
is not differentiable since there is a corner in the graph.

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