Differentiation

By Bill, Ford & Ice

History

The development of Differential calculus started by a Greek mathematician named

Archimedes. He was the first person to be able to find the tangent of a curve from a method
similar to the modern differential calculus. Archimedes found the tangent of a curve from the
studying of spiral by separating the motion of a point into two components; radial motion and
circular motion component. He then continued to add on the two motion components together
and resulted in finding the tangent of a curve. In 499, an Indian mathematician-astronomer
named Aryabhata used a notion of infinitesimals to express an astronomical problem in a form of
a basic differential equation. This differential equation was further used by other mathematicians
from the 10th and 12th century; Manjula who elaborated this equation in a commentary and
Bhaskara who used the equation to develop the concept of a derivative representing infinitesimal
change. The first person to discover the derivation of cubic polynomials was a Persian
mathematician named Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi whose work had created the concept related to
differential calculus such as the derivative function and the maxima and minima of curves to
solve the cubic equations. Calculus is important in the field of mathematics because it is being
used and studied to find the rate of change also known as derivation in a form of a curve and
slope of a line. Differentiation that mostly concerns about derivation is one of the two major
branches in calculus alongside with Integration. Differential calculus is used to find the rate of
change that is instantaneous such as speed velocity and acceleration while Integral calculus is
used to find the areas under a curve, surface area, volume and linear distance travel. Differential
calculus is especially important in natural sciences, engineering and technology. The
development of calculus began during 1630s and 1640s when a mathematician named Giles
Persone de Roberval used tangent to find the rate of change of tangent of a curve that resembled
the modern method of calculus. Pierre de Fermat who used the notion of maxima and
infinitesimal to find the tangent of a curve was also credited for his contribution for the discovery
of calculus. Yet, it was not until Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz rigorously
defined their methods of tangents that a generalized technique became accepted. Although both
of them were interested in objects that are in motion, Newton and Leibniz looked at different
aspects of this; Newton on the speed of a falling object and Leibniz on the illustration of the rate
of change on the slope of curves. This resulted in Newton creating Integral calculus and Leibniz
creating Differential calculus. In spite of interested in different areas of calculus, they happened
to come up with the same results which had led to the accusations of stealing the other’s ideas.
However, their combined ideas had created the fundamental theorem of calculus that links the
concept of integration to derivation.
 Differentiation
By Bill, Ford & Ice

Theorem

Differential calculus is one of the subfield of calculus. It’s the study of the rates at which
quantities change.
The primary objects of study in differential calculus are the derivatives of a function. The
process of finding a derivative is called differentiation. The main theorem of derivative is “If
f(x) is differentiable at x=a then f(x) is continuous at x=a.”
The method of differentiation, while in the more simpler function is not hard. However,
in more complex function, it will be more problematic. So, that’s why there are some basic
properties and formulas. There are two main properties of differentiation.
The first one is, “(f(x)±g(x))′=f′(x)±g′(x) OR d/dx(f(x)±g(x))=df/dx±dg/dx” In other
words, to differentiate all we need to do is differentiate the the individual terms and then put
them back together with the appropriate signs.
The second properties is “(cf(x))′=cf′(x) O Rd/dx(cf(x))=c(df/dx), c is any number” In
other words, we can factor a multiplicative constant out of a derivative if we need to do it.
Moreover, there are two main formulas differentiation. The first one is “If f(x)=c then
f′(x)=0 OR d/dx(c)=0” This means that the derivative of a constant must be zero.
The second formula is “If f(x)=x^n then f′(x)=nx^(n−1) OR d/dx(x^n)=nx^(n−1), n is any
number. This formula can sometimes be called the power rule. All the formula does is bringing
the original exponent down in front and multiplying and then subtracting one from the original
exponent. To us this formula, “n” must be a number, it can’t be a variable. On the other hand,
“x” must be a variable, it can’t be a number.
 Differentiation
By Bill, Ford & Ice

Application

Differentiation can help us solve many types of real-world problems. There are 8 unit in this
chapter. Today, we will talk about the first unit, the most important par, Tangents and Normals which are
essential in physic. A tangent to a curve is a line that touches the curve at one point and has the same
slope as the curve at that point. For a normal to a curve is a line perpendicular to a tangent to the curve.
We often need to find tangents and Normals to curves when we are analyzing body. Also, we can use this
in mathematic. For mathematic, we need to find the gradient of a straight line by calculation and by
inspection of its equation first. As we know, the gradient of a curve changes as you move along it, and so
the gradient of a curves at a specific point is defined as being the same as the gradient of tangent to the
curve at that point. To find gradient is y​2​-y​1​/x​2​-x​1​.

Then for the gradient formula for y = f(x) is given by the equation: gradient = f’(x), where f’(x) is called
the derived function. f’(x) is defined as the gradient of the curve y = f(x) at the general point (x, f(x)). It is
also the gradient of the tangent to the curve at that point. For instance, the formula of derived function is
n-1​ 2​
d​y /​ d​x =
​ nx​ . if f(x) = x​ , so f” (x) = 2x.
If f(x) = x​ , so f” (x) = 1/2x​-1/2​. If f(x) = 1/x​4​, so f” (x) = -4x​-5​.
1/2​

Lastly, for the equation of the tangent to a curve at a point (a, f(a)) is y – f (a) = f’ (a)(x-a).