Partial Derivatives

Definition:

If 𝑓 is a function of two or more independent variables and all but one of those
variables are held fixed, then the derivative of 𝑓 with respect to that one
remaining independent variable is called a partial derivative of 𝑓.

Let, 𝑓 be a function of 𝑥 and 𝑦. If we held 𝑦 constant say, 𝑦 = 𝑦0 and consider

𝑥 as variable, then 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦0 ) is a function of 𝑥 alone. If this function is
differentiable at 𝑥 = 𝑥0 , then the value of this derivative is denoted by
𝑓𝑥 (𝑥0 , 𝑦0 ) and is called partial derivative of 𝑓 with respect to 𝑥 at the point
(𝑥0 , 𝑦0 ).

Similarly, If we held 𝑥 constant say, 𝑥 = 𝑥0 and consider 𝑦 as variable, then

𝑓( 𝑥0 , 𝑦) is a function of 𝑦 alone. If this function is differentiable at 𝑦 = 𝑦0 ,
then the value of this derivative is denoted by 𝑓𝑦 (𝑥0 , 𝑦0 ) and is called partial
derivative of 𝑓 with respect to 𝑦 at the point (𝑥0 , 𝑦0 ).

Partial Derivative notation:

If 𝑧 = 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) then the partial derivative 𝑓𝑥 and 𝑓𝑦 can also be denoted by the
symbol

𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑧
, = 𝑓𝑥 , 𝑧𝑥
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥

𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑧
, = 𝑓𝑦 , 𝑧𝑦
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆: If 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑥 3 𝑦 + 3𝑥𝑦 2 + 2𝑦 + 5𝑥 + 6, then find

𝑓𝑥 (1,2), 𝑓𝑦 (1,2).
Solution: Given equation, 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑥 3 𝑦 + 3𝑥𝑦 2 + 2𝑦 + 5𝑥 + 6

Then, 𝑓𝑥 (𝑥, 𝑦) = 3𝑥 2 𝑦 + 3𝑦 2 + 5

𝑓𝑦 (𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑥 3 + 6𝑥𝑦 + 2

𝑥2𝑦
Example 02: If 𝑧 =
𝑥 2 +𝑦 2

𝜕 𝜕
𝜕𝑧 (𝑥+2 𝑦 2 )𝜕𝑥(𝑥 2 𝑦)−𝑥 2 𝑦𝜕𝑥(𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )
Now, = (𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2
𝜕𝑥

(𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2𝑥𝑦−𝑥 2 𝑦∙2𝑥
= (𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2

2𝑥𝑦 3
= (𝑥 2
+𝑦 2 )2

𝜕 𝜕
𝜕𝑧 (𝑥+2 𝑦 2 )𝜕𝑦(𝑥 2 𝑦)−𝑥 2 𝑦𝜕𝑦(𝑥 2 +𝑦2 )
= (𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2
𝜕𝑦

(𝑥2 +𝑦2 )𝑥2 −𝑥2 𝑦.2𝑦

= (𝑥2 +𝑦2 )2

𝑥 4 +𝑥2 𝑦2 −2𝑥2 𝑦2
= (𝑥2 +𝑦2 )2

𝑥2 (𝑥2 −𝑦2 )
= (𝑥2 +𝑦2 )2

𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌
𝟑
𝟐 𝟑
1. If 𝒇(𝒙, 𝒚) = (𝒙 𝒚 + √𝒚𝒙 ), find 𝒇𝒙 (𝟏, 𝟎), 𝒇𝒚 (𝟏, 𝟎).
𝟐

2. If 𝒛 = 𝒙𝟑 𝒚 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝒙𝒚𝟐 ), find 𝒛𝒙 , 𝒛𝒚 .
Higher order partial derivative:

𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓
Since the partial derivative and are function of 𝑥 and 𝑦, each can have
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

partial derivative. This give rise to four possible second order partial
derivatives of 𝑓, which are defined by,

𝜕2𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓 𝜕2𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓
𝑓𝑥𝑥 = 2 = ( ) , 𝑓𝑦𝑦 = 2 = ( )
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

𝜕2𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓
𝑓𝑥𝑦 = = ( ) , 𝑓𝑦𝑥 = ( )
𝜕𝑥𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥

Problem: Find second order of 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 2𝑥 2 𝑦 3 + 4𝑥 4 𝑦.

Solution: Given equation, 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 2𝑥 2 𝑦 3 + 4𝑥 4 𝑦.

𝜕2 𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓
= 𝑓𝑥𝑥 = ( )
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥

𝜕 𝜕
= { (2𝑥 2 𝑦 3 + 4𝑥 4 𝑦)}
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥

𝜕
= {4𝑥𝑦 3 + 16𝑥 3 𝑦}
𝜕𝑥

= 4𝑦 3 + 48𝑥 2 𝑦

𝜕2 𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓
= 𝑓𝑦𝑦 = ( )
𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

𝜕 𝜕
= { (2𝑥 2 𝑦 3 + 4𝑥 4 𝑦)}
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

𝜕
= {6𝑥 2 𝑦 2 + 4𝑥 4 }
𝜕𝑦

= 12𝑥 2 𝑦
𝜕2 𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓
= 𝑓𝑥𝑦 = ( )
𝜕𝑥𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

𝜕
= {6𝑥 2 𝑦 2 + 4𝑥 4 }
𝜕𝑥

= 12𝑥𝑦 2 + 16𝑥 3

𝜕2 𝑓 𝜕 𝜕𝑓
= 𝑓𝑦𝑥 = ( )
𝜕𝑦𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥

𝜕
= {4𝑥𝑦 3 + 16𝑥 3 𝑦}
𝜕𝑦

= 12𝑥𝑦 2 + 16𝑥 3

Partial derivative of two variable by using definition: (First Principle)

𝜕𝑓 𝑓(𝑥+∆𝑥,𝑦)−𝑓(𝑥,𝑦)
𝑓𝑥 = = lim
𝜕𝑥 ∆𝑥→0 ∆𝑥

𝑓(𝑥+ℎ,𝑦)−𝑓(𝑥,𝑦)
= lim
ℎ→0 ℎ

𝜕𝑓 𝑓( 𝑥,𝑦+∆𝑦)−𝑓(𝑥,𝑦)
𝑓𝑦 = = lim
𝜕𝑦 ∆𝑦→0 ∆𝑦

𝑓(𝑥,𝑦+𝑘)−𝑓(𝑥,𝑦)
= lim
𝑘→0 𝑘

𝑓𝑥 (𝑥+ℎ,𝑦)−𝑓𝑥 (𝑥,𝑦)
Similarly, 𝑓𝑥𝑥 = lim
ℎ→0 ℎ

𝑓𝑦 (𝑥+ℎ,𝑦)−𝑓𝑦 (𝑥,𝑦)
𝑓𝑦𝑥 = lim
ℎ→0 ℎ

Common formula:

𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣
a) (𝑢 ± 𝑣) = ±
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥
𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣
b) (𝑢 ± 𝑣) = ±
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
 𝜕 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑢
c) (𝑢𝑣) = 𝑢 +𝑣
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣
𝜕 𝑢 𝑣 −𝑢
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥
d)
𝜕𝑥 𝑣
( )= 𝑣2

1
𝜕2 𝑢 𝜕2 𝑢 1
Problem 01: If 𝑢 = (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )2 , then show that 2
+ = .
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2 𝑢

1
Solution: Given the equation, 𝑢 = (𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2
,

1
𝜕2 𝑢 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕 𝜕
∴
𝜕𝑥 2
= ( ) = 𝜕𝑥 {𝜕𝑥 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )2 }
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥

1
𝜕 1
= { (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 ∙ 2𝑥}
𝜕𝑥 2

1
𝜕
= {𝑥(𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 }
𝜕𝑥

3 1
1
= 𝑥 (− ) (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 ∙ 2𝑥 + (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 ∙ 1
2

1
= (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 {1 − 𝑥 2 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−1 }
1
𝜕2 𝑢 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕 𝜕
𝜕𝑦 2
= ( ) = 𝜕𝑦 {𝜕𝑦 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )2 }
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

1
𝜕 1
= { (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 ∙ 2𝑦}
𝜕𝑦 2

1
𝜕
= {𝑦(𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 }
𝜕𝑦

3 1
1
= 𝑦 (− ) (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 ∙ 2𝑦 + (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2
2

1
= (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 {1 − 𝑦 2 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−1 }
1
𝜕2 𝑢 𝜕2 𝑢
∴ 2
+ = (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 {1 − 𝑥 2 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−1 + 1 − 𝑦 2 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−1 }
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2
 1
2𝑥 2 +2𝑦 2 −𝑥 2 −𝑦 2
= (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 { }
𝑥 2 +𝑦 2

1
𝑥 2 +𝑦 2
= (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )−2 ( )
𝑥 2 +𝑦 2

1
= 1
(𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2

1
=
𝑢

𝜕2 𝑢 𝜕2 𝑢 1
∴ 2
+ =
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2 𝑢

𝑥2 𝑦2 𝑧2 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝟎𝟐: If 𝑢 = | 𝑥 𝑦 𝑧 | then show that , 𝜕𝑥 + 𝜕𝑦 + 𝜕𝑧 = 0
1 1 1

𝑥2 𝑦2 𝑧2
Solution: Given, 𝑢 = | 𝑥 𝑦 𝑧|
1 1 1

⇒ 𝑢 = 𝑥 2 (𝑦 − 𝑧) − 𝑦 2 (𝑥 − 𝑧) + 𝑧 2 (𝑥 − 𝑦)

= 𝑥 2 𝑦 − 𝑥 2 𝑧 − 𝑥𝑦 2 + 𝑦 2 𝑧 + 𝑥𝑧 2 − 𝑦𝑧 2

𝜕𝑢 𝜕
= (𝑥 2 𝑦 − 𝑥 2 𝑧 − 𝑥𝑦 2 + 𝑦 2 𝑧 + 𝑥𝑧 2 − 𝑦𝑧 2 )
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥

= (2𝑥𝑦 − 2𝑥𝑧 − 𝑦 2 + 0 + 𝑧 2 − 0)

= 2𝑥𝑦 − 2𝑥𝑧 − 𝑦 2 + 𝑧 2

𝜕𝑢 𝜕
= (𝑥 2 𝑦 − 𝑥 2 𝑧 − 𝑥𝑦 2 + 𝑦 2 𝑧 + 𝑥𝑧 2 − 𝑦𝑧 2 )
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

= (2𝑥𝑦 − 2𝑥𝑧 − 𝑦 2 + 0 + 𝑧 2 − 0)

= 𝑥 2 − 2𝑥𝑦 + 2𝑦𝑧 − 𝑧 2
 𝜕𝑢 𝜕
= (𝑥 2 𝑦 − 𝑥 2 𝑧 − 𝑥𝑦 2 + 𝑦 2 𝑧 + 𝑥𝑧 2 − 𝑦𝑧 2 )
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧

= (0 − 𝑥 2 − 0 + 𝑦 2 + 2𝑥𝑧 − 2𝑦𝑧)

= −𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 2𝑥𝑧 − 2𝑦𝑧

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
+ + = 2𝑥𝑦 − 2𝑥𝑧 − 𝑦 2 + 𝑧 2 + 𝑥 2 − 2𝑥𝑦 + 2𝑦𝑧 − 𝑧 2 −𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 +
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

2𝑥𝑧 − 2𝑦𝑧

=0

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
+ + =0
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

𝑦 𝜕2 𝑢 𝜕2 𝑢
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝟎𝟑. If 𝑢 = 𝑎𝑙𝑛 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 ) + 𝑏 tan−1 ( ), then show that, 2 + 2 = 0.
𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

𝜕𝑢 2𝑎𝑥−𝑏𝑦 𝜕2 𝑢 2(𝑎𝑦 2 +𝑏𝑥𝑦−𝑎𝑥 2 )

= , =
𝜕𝑥 𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 𝜕𝑢2 (𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2

𝜕𝑢 2𝑎𝑦+𝑏𝑥 𝜕2 𝑢 2(𝑎𝑥 2 −𝑎𝑦 2 −𝑏𝑥𝑦)

= , =
𝜕𝑦 𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 𝜕𝑦 2 (𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )2

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝟎𝟒: If 𝑢 = ln(𝑥 3 + 𝑦 3 + 𝑧 3 − 3𝑥𝑦𝑧) show that,

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 3
i. + + =
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝑥+𝑦+𝑧

𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 2 −9
ii. (𝜕𝑥 + 𝜕𝑦 + 𝜕𝑧) 𝑢 = (𝑥+𝑦+𝑧)2

𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 3 54
iii. (𝜕𝑥 + 𝜕𝑦 + 𝜕𝑧) 𝑢 = (𝑥+𝑦+𝑧)3

𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:

𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
(𝜕𝑥 + 𝜕𝑦 + 𝜕𝑧) ∙ (𝜕𝑥 + 𝜕𝑦 + 𝜕𝑧) 𝑢
 𝑁: 𝐵: 𝑥 3 + 𝑦 3 + 𝑧 3 − 3𝑥𝑦𝑧 = (𝑥 + 𝑦 + 𝑧)(𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 𝑧 2 − 𝑥𝑦 − 𝑦𝑧 − 𝑧𝑥)

Problem 05: If 𝑢(𝑥, 𝑦) = ln(𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )

𝑦
𝑣(𝑥, 𝑦) = 2 tan−1 ( )
𝑥

Then show that 𝑢 & 𝑣 satisfy Cauchy-Riemann equations,

𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑢𝑥 = 𝑣𝑦 , 𝑢𝑦 = −𝑣𝑥

2𝑥𝑦
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝟎𝟔: If 𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = tan−1 ( )
𝑥 2 −𝑦 2

𝜕2 𝑓 𝜕2 𝑓
Then show that it satisfy the Laplace equation, 2
+ = 0.
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2