Differentiation:

Basic Concepts

Chapter
■ 1. The Derivative:
Slope and Rates

■ 2. Techniques of
Differentiation

■ 3. The Product and

Quotient Rules

■ 4. Marginal Analysis:
Approximation by
Increments

■ 5. The Chain Rule

■ 6. The Second
Derivative

■ 7. Implicit
Differentiation and
Related Rates

■ Chapter Summary and

Review Problems
 98 Chapter 2 Differentiation: Basic Concepts

1 Calculus is the mathematics of change, and the primary tool for studying rates of
change is a procedure called differentiation. In this section, we describe this proce-
The Derivative: dure and show how it can be used in rate problems and to find the slope of a tangent
line to a curve.
Slope and Rates
A FALLING BODY PROBLEM As an illustration of the ideas we shall explore, consider the motion of an object
falling from a great height. In physics, it is shown that after t seconds, the object will
have fallen s(t)  16t2 feet. Suppose we wish to compute the velocity of the object
after, say, 2 seconds.
Unless the falling object has a speedometer, it is hard to simply “read” its veloc-
ity, but we can measure the distance it falls between time t  2 and time t  2  h
and compute the average velocity over the time period (2, 2  h) by the ratio
distance traveled s(2  h)  s(2)
vave  
elapsed time h
16(2  h)  16(2)
2 2
16(4  4h  h2)  16(4)
 
h h
64h  16h2
  64  16h
h
If the elapsed time of h seconds is small, we would expect the average velocity to be
very close to the instantaneous velocity at t  2. Thus, it is reasonable to compute
the instantaneous velocity vins by the limit
vins  lim vave  lim (64  6h)  64
hfi 0 hfi 0

Explore! That is, after 2 seconds, the falling object is traveling at the rate of 64 feet per second.
The graphing calculator can The procedure we have just described is illustrated geometrically in Figure 2.1.
simulate secant lines approach- Figure 2.1a shows the graph of the distance function s  16t2, along with the points
ing a tangent line. For a simple P(2, 64) and Q(2  h, 16(2  h)2). The line joining P and Q is called a secant line
example, store f(x)  x2  2 of the graph and has slope
into Y1 of the equation editor, 16(2  h)2  64
selecting a bold graphing style. msec   64  16h
(2  h)  2
In Y2 write L1*X  2. Using
the stat edit menu, input the val-
ues 3.6, 2.4, 1.4, .6, 0.
Graph in sequential mode, us-
ing a window of size [4.7,
4.7]1 by [2.2, 12.2]1. De-
scribe what you observe. What
is the limiting tangent line?

(a) The secant line through P(2,
64) and Q(2  h, 16(2  h)2).
(b) As h→0 the secant line PQ
tends toward the tangent
line at P.
RATES OF CHANGE AND SLOPE
Chapter 2 ■ Section 1 The Derivative: Slope and Rates 99
s
Q(2 + h, 16(2 + h)2)
s = 16t 2
P(2, 64)
t
2 2+h
s
Secant lines Q
Tangent line
P
t
2 2+h
FIGURE 2.1 The graph of s  16t 2.
As indicated in Figure 2.1b, when we take smaller and smaller h, the correspond-
ing secant lines PQ tend toward the position of what we intuitively think of as the tan-
gent line at P. This suggests that we compute the slope of the tangent line mtan by find-
ing the limiting value of the slopes of the approximating secant lines PQ; that is,
mtan  lim msec  lim (64  16h)  64
hfi 0 hfi 0
Thus, the slope of the tangent line to the graph of s(t)  16t2 at the point where
t  2 is exactly the same as the instantaneous rate of change of s with respect to t
when t  2.
The procedure illustrated for the falling body function s(t)  16t2 applies to a vari-
ety of other functions f(x). In particular, the average rate of change in f(x) over the
interval (x, x  h) is given by the ratio
f(x  h)  f(x)
h
 100 Chapter 2 Differentiation: Basic Concepts

which can be interpreted geometrically as the slope of the secant line through the
points P(x, f(x)) and Q(x  h, f(x  h)) (Figure 2.2a). To find the instantaneous rate
of change of f(x) at x, we compute the limit
f(x  h)  f(x)
lim
hfi 0 h
which also gives the slope of the tangent line to the graph of f(x) at the point
P(x, f(x)), as indicated in Figure 2.2b.

(a) The graph of f (x) with a se-

cant line through points P (x, y
f(x)) and Q(x  h, f(x  h )).

line Q
P Secant (x + h, f (x + h))
(x, f (x))

Tangent line
x

(b) As h→0 the secant lines tend

toward the tangent line at P. y

(x, f (x))

Explore! P

Secants
Store f(x)  x2 into Y1 of the Tangent
x
equation editor and graph using
the window [4.7, 4.7]1 by
[2.2, 12.2]1. Access the tan- FIGURE 2.2 Secant lines approximating a tangent line.
gent line option of the DRAW key
Here is an example from economics illustrating the relationship between rate of
(second PRGM) and use the right
change and slope.
arrow to trace the cursor to the
point (2, 4) on your graph. Press
ENTER and observe what hap- EXAMPLE 1.1
pens. Where does this line in-
tercept the y axis? The graph shown in Figure 2.3 gives the relationship between the percentage of unem-
ployment U and the corresponding percentage of inflation I. Use the graph to estimate
Chapter 2 ■ Section 1 The Derivative: Slope and Rates 101

the rate at which I changes with respect to U when the level of unemployment is 3%
and again when it is 10%.

Solution
From the figure, we estimate the slope of the tangent line at the point (3, 15), corre-
sponding to U  3, to be approximately 14. That is, when unemployment is 3%,
inflation I is decreasing at the rate of 14 percentage points for each percentage point
increase in unemployment U.

50

40

30
Inflation, %

20

–7
10 –7 Slope = = –14
0.5
0.5
–1
Slope = = –0.4
0 2.5
2.5
Tangent lines –1

–10
0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5 15.0
Unemployment, %

FIGURE 2.3 Inflation as a function of unemployment.

Source: Adapted from Robert Eisner, The Misunderstood Economy: What Counts and How to Count It,
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994, page 173.

At the point (10, 5), the slope of the tangent line is approximately 0.4, which
means that when there is 10% unemployment, inflation is decreasing at the rate of
only 0.4 percentage point for each percentage point increase in unemployment.
 102 Chapter 2 Differentiation: Basic Concepts

THE DERIVATIVE The expression

f(x  h)  f(x)
h
that appears in both slope and rate of change computation is called a difference quo-
tient of the function f. Specifically, in both applications, we compute the limit of a
difference quotient as h approaches 0. To unify the study of these and other similar
applications, we introduce the following terminology and notation.

The Derivative of a Function ■ The derivative of the function

f(x) with respect to x is the function f (x) (read as “f prime of x”) given by
f(x  h)  f(x)
f(x)  lim
hfi 0 h
and the process of computing the derivative is called differentiation. We say
that f(x) is differentiable at c if f (c) exists (that is, if the limit of the differ-
ence quotient exists when x  c).

The advantage of the derivative notation is that the observations made earlier in
this section about slope and rates of change can be summarized in the following com-
pact form.

Slope as a Derivative ■ The slope of the tangent line to the curve

y  f(x) at the point (c, f(c)) is given by mtan  f (c).
Instantaneous Rate of Change as a Derivative ■ The
quantity f(x) changes at the rate f(c) with respect to x when x  c.

In the first of the following two examples, we find the equation of a tangent line.
Then in the second, we consider a business application involving rates.

EXAMPLE 1.2
First compute the derivative of f(x)  x3, and then use it to find the slope of the tan-
gent line to the curve y  x3 at the point where x  1. What is the equation of the
tangent line at this point?

Solution
According to the definition of the derivative
 Chapter 2 ■ Section 1 The Derivative: Slope and Rates 103

f(x  h)  f(x) (x  h)3  x3

f(x)  lim  lim
y hfi 0 h hfi 0 h
y = x3 (x3  3x2h  3xh2  h3)  x3
 lim  lim (3x2  3xh  h2)
hfi 0 h hfi 0

 3x2
Thus, the slope of the tangent line to the curve y  x3 at the point where x 
x 1 is f(1)  3(1)2  3 (Figure 2.4). To find an equation for the tangent line,
(–1, –1) we also need the y coordinate of the point of tangency; namely, y  (1)3  1.
Therefore, the tangent line passes through the point (1, 1) with slope 3. By apply-
ing the point-slope formula, we get
y  (1)  3[x  (1)]
3
FIGURE 2.4 The graph of y  x . or y  3x  2

EXAMPLE 1.3
A manufacturer estimates that when x units of a certain commodity are produced and
sold, the revenue derived will be R(x)  0.5x2  3x  2 thousand dollars. At what
rate is the revenue changing with respect to the level of production x when 3 units
are being produced? Is the revenue increasing or decreasing at this time?

R (thousands of dollars)
x
3 (units
produced)
FIGURE 2.5 The graph of R(x) 
0.5x2  3x  2, for x  0.
Solution
First, since x represents the number of units produced, we must have x  0. The dif-
ference quotient of R(x) is
R(x  h)  R(x) [0.5(x2  2xh  h2)  3(x  h)  2]  [0.5x2  3x  2]

h h
xh  0.5h2  3h
  x  0.5h  3
h
Thus, the derivative of R(x) is
R(x  h)  R(x)
R(x)  lim  lim (x  0.5h  3)  x  3
hfi 0 h hfi 0
and since
R(3)  (3)  3  6
it follows that revenue is changing at the rate of $6,000 per unit with respect to the
level of production when 3 units are being produced.
 104 Chapter 2 Differentiation: Basic Concepts

Since R(3)  6 is positive, the tangent line at the point on the graph of the rev-
enue function where x  3 must be sloped upward. This observation suggests that
revenue is increasing when x  3, as confirmed by the graph of R(x) shown in Figure
2.5.

dy
DERIVATIVE NOTATION The derivative f(x) of y  f(x) is sometimes written as (read as “dee y, dee x”),
dx
and in this notation, the value of the derivative at x  c (that is, f (c)) is written as

Explore!
Many graphing calculators
For example, if y  x , then
2
dy
dx 
x c

have a special utility for com-

puting derivatives numerically, dy
 2x
called the numerical derivative dx
(nDeriv). It can be accessed via
and the value of this derivative at x  3 is

 
the MATH key. This derivative
can also be accessed through the dy
 2x  2(3)  6
CALC (second TRACE) key, espe- dx x 3 x 3

cially if a graphical presentation dy y

is desired. For instance, store The notation for derivative suggests slope, , and can also be thought of as
dx x
f(x)  x into Y1 of the equa- “the rate of change of y with respect to x.” Sometimes it is convenient to condense
tion editor and display its graph a statement such as
using a decimal window. Use
dy dy
the option of the CALC key “when y  x2, then  2x”
dx dx
and observe the numerical de-
by writing simply
rivative value at x  1.
d 2
(x )  2x
dx
which reads, “the derivative of x2 with respect to x is 2x.”
The following example illustrates how the different notational forms for the deriv-
ative can be used.

EXAMPLE 1.4
First compute the derivative of f(x)  x, then use it to
(a) Find the equation of the tangent line to the curve y  x at the point where
x  4.
 Chapter 2 ■ Section 1 The Derivative: Slope and Rates 105

(b) Find the rate at which y  x is changing with respect to x when x  1.

Solution
The derivative of y  x with respect to x is given by
d f(x  h)  f(x) x  h  x
x  lim  lim
dx hfi 0 h hfi 0 h
(x  h  x)(x  h  x)
 lim
hfi 0 h(x  h  x)
xhx h
 lim  lim
hfi 0 h(x  h  x) hfi 0 h(x  h  x)

1 1
 lim 
hfi 0 x  h  x 2x

(a) When x  4, the corresponding y coordinate on the graph of f(x)  x is y 

1
4  2, so the point of tangency is P(4, 2). Since f (x)  , the slope of the
2x
tangent line to the graph of f(x) at the point P(4, 2) is given by
1 1
f(4)  
24 4
and by substituting into the point-slope formula, we find that the equation of the
tangent line at P is
1
y  2  (x  4)
4
or
1
y x1
4
(b) The rate of change of y  x when x  1 is
dy
dx 
x 1

1

21 2
1

DIFFERENTIABILITY If a function f(x) is differentiable at the point P(x0, f(x0)), then the graph of y  f(x)
AND CONTINUITY has a nonvertical tangent line at P and at all points “near” P. Intuitively, this suggests
that a function must be continuous at any point where it is differentiable, since a graph
cannot have a “hole” or “gap” at any point where a well-defined tangent can be drawn.
 106
(a)
Explore!
Store f(x)  abs(X) into Y1 of
the equation editor. The ab-
solute value function can be ob-
tained through the MATH key by
accessing the NUM menu. Use a
decimal window and compute
dy
the numerical derivative at
dx
x  0. What do you observe and
how does this answer reconcile
with Figure 2.6(b)? The curve
is too sharp at the point (0, 0) to
possess a well-defined tangent
line there. Hence, the derivative
of f(x)  abs(x) does not exist at
x  0. Note that the numerical
derivative must be used with
caution at cusps and unusual
points. Try computing the
1 1
numerical derivative of y  at
x u
x  0 and explaining how such
a result could occur numeri-
cally.
Chapter 2 Differentiation: Basic Concepts
y (b) y (c) y
y = |x|
1
y= x y = x 2/3
0
x x x
0 0
FIGURE 2.6 Three functions that are not differentiable at (0, 0). (a) The graph has a gap at
x  0. (b) There is a sharp “corner” at (0, 0). (c) There is a “cusp” at (0, 0).
The converse, however, is not true; that is, a continuous function need not be
everywhere differentiable. For instance, consider the three graphs shown in Figure
2.6. The first has a gap at x  0, and certainly has no tangent there. The graphs in
Figures 2.6b and 2.6c are continuous at x  0. In both cases, however, there are sharp
points at (0, 0) (a “corner” in Figure 2.6b and a “cusp” in Figure 2.6c), which pre-
vent the construction of a well-defined tangent line there.
In general, the functions you encounter in this text will be differentiable at almost
all points. In particular, polynomials are everywhere differentiable and rational func-
tions are differentiable wherever they are defined.
P . R . O . B . L . E . M . S 2.1
In Problems 1 through 8, compute the derivative of the given function and find the
slope of the line that is tangent to its graph for the specified value of the independent
variable.
1. f(x)  5x  3; x  2 2. f(x)  x2  1; x  1
3. f(x)  2x2  3x  5; x  0 4. f(x)  x3  1; x  2
2 1 1
5. g(t)  ;t 6. f(x) ;x2
t 2 x2
7. f(x)  x; x  9 8. h(u)  ;u4
In Problems 9 through 12, compute the derivative of the given function and find the
equation of the line that is tangent to its graph for the specified value of x0.
9. f(x)  x2  x  1; x0  2 10. f(x)  x3  x; x0  2
3 1
11. f(x)  2 ; x0  12. f(x)  2x; x0  4
x 2
 Chapter 2 ■ Section 1 The Derivative: Slope and Rates 107

dy
In Problems 13 through 16, find the rate of change where x  x0.
dx
13. y  3; x0  2 14. y  6  2x; x0  3
15. y  x(1  x); x0  1 16. y  1  x; x0  3
17. Suppose f(x)  x3.
(a) Compute the slope of the secant line joining the points on the graph of f whose
x coordinates are x  1 and x  1.1.
(b) Use calculus to compute the slope of the line that is tangent to the graph when
x  1 and compare this slope with your answer in part (a).

18. Suppose f(x)  x2.

(a) Compute the slope of the secant line joining the points on the graph of f whose
x coordinates are x  2 and x  1.9.
(b) Use calculus to compute the slope of the line that is tangent to the graph when
x  2 and compare this slope with your answer in part (a).

In Problems 19 and 20, sketch the graph of the function f(x). Determine the values of
x for which the derivative is zero. What happens to the graph at the corresponding
points?
19. f(x)  x3  3x2 20. f(x)  x3  x2
P 21. In Example 4.5 of Chapter 1, we obtained the profit function P(x)  400(15  x)
(x  2) for the production of high-grade blank videocassettes. The graph of y 
P(x) is the downward opening parabola shown in the accompanying figure.
(a) Find P(x).
(b) Find where P(x)  0. This is where the graph of the profit function has a
horizontal tangent. What can be said about the profit at the corresponding value
of x?
x
2 15
22. Sketch the graph of the function y  x2  3x and use calculus to find its lowest
point.
PROBLEM 21 23. Sketch the graph of the function y  1  x2 and use calculus to find its highest
point.
MAXIMIZATION OF PROFIT 24. A manufacturer can produce tape recorders at a cost of $20 apiece. It is estimated
that if the tape recorders are sold for x dollars apiece, consumers will buy 120  x
of them each month. Use calculus to determine the price at which the manufac-
turer’s profit will be the greatest.
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR 25. Experiments indicate that when a flea jumps, its height (in meters) after t seconds
is given by the function
H(t)  (4.4)t  (4.9)t2
 108 Chapter 2 Differentiation: Basic Concepts

RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Volume of lumber V (units)
60
50
40
30
20
10
t
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (years)
PROBLEM 26 Graph showing
how the volume of lumber V in a
tree varies with time t.
Source: Adapted from Robert H.
Frank, Microeconomics and
Behavior, 2nd ed., New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994, page 623.
Using calculus, determine the time at which the flea will be at the top of its jump.
What is the maximum height reached by the flea?
26. The accompanying graph shows how the volume of lumber V in a tree varies with
time t (the age of the tree). Use the graph to estimate the rate at which V is chang-
ing with respect to time when t  30 years. What seems to be happening to the
rate of change of V as t increases without bound (that is, in the “long run”)?
27. (a) Find the derivative of the linear function f(x)  3x  2.
(b) Find the equation of the tangent line to the graph of this function at the point
where x  1.
(c) Explain how the answers to parts (a) and (b) could have been obtained from
geometric considerations with no calculation whatsoever.
28. (a) Find the derivatives of the functions y  x2 and y  x2  3 and account geo-
metrically for their similarity.
(b) Without further computation, find the derivative of the function y  x2  5.
29. (a) Find the derivative of the function y  x2  3x.
(b) Find the derivatives of the functions y  x2 and y  3x separately.
(c) How is the derivative in part (a) related to those in part (b)?
(d) In general, if f(x)  g(x)  h(x), what would you guess is the relationship
between the derivative of f and those of g and h?

30. (a) Compute the derivatives of the functions y  x2 and y  x3.

(b) Examine your answers in part (a). Can you detect a pattern? What do you
think is the derivative of y  x4? How about the derivative of y  x27?

31. Explain why the graph of a function f(x) is rising over an interval a  x  b if
f (x) 0 throughout the interval. What can you say about the graph if f(x)
0
throughout the interval a  x  b?

In Problems 32 and 33, sketch the graph of a function f that has all of the given
properties. You may need to refer to the result of Problem 31.
32. (a) f (x) 0 when x
1 and when x 5
(b) f (x)
0 when 1
x
5
(c) f (1)  0 and f (5)  0

33. (a) f(x) 0 when x

2 and when 2
x
3
(b) f(x)
0 when x 3
(c) f (2)  0 and f(3)  0
 Chapter 2 ■ Section 2 Techniques of Differentiation 109

UNEMPLOYMENT 34. In economics, the graph in Figure 2.3 is called the Phillips curve, after A. W.
Phillips, a New Zealander associated with the London School of Economics. Until
Phillips published his ideas in the 1950s, many economists believed that
unemployment and inflation were linearly related. Read an article on the Phillips
curve (the source cited with Example 1.1 would be a good place to start) and write
a paragraph on the nature of unemployment in the U.S. economy.
35. Find the slope of the line that is tangent to the graph of the function f(x) 
x2  2x  3x at the point where x  3.85 by filling in the following chart.
Record all calculations using five decimal places.

x 0.02 0.01 0.001 —0— 0.001 0.01 0.02

x  x
f(x)
f(x  x)
f(x  x)  f(x)
x

36. Find the x values at which the peaks and valleys of the graph of y  2x3 
0.8x2  4 occur. Use four decimal places.

37. Show that f(x)  x2  1 is not differentiable at x  1.

x1

2 If we had to use the limit definition every time we wanted to compute a derivative,
it would be both tedious and difficult to use calculus in applications. Fortunately, this
Techniques of is not necessary, and in this section and the next, we develop techniques that greatly
simplify the process of differentiation. We begin with a rule for the derivative of a
Differentiation constant.

y
The Constant Rule ■ For any constant c,
d
(c)  0
y=c dx
Slope 0 That is, the derivative of a constant is zero.

x
You can see this by considering the graph of a constant function f(x)  c, which
is a horizontal line (see Figure 2.7). Since the slope of such a line is 0 at all its points,
FIGURE 2.7 The graph of f(x)  c. it follows that f(x)  0. Here is a proof using the limit definition: