NOTES AS SUPPLEMENTARY

LEARNING MATERIAL FOR

FORM 6 STUDENTS

DIFFERENTIATION

By :
NAME
: AG ZAMRIN BIN AG ISMAIL
MATRIX NO. : 791107125123

SECTION A

INTRODUCTION

DIFFERENTIATION
The following table lists, without proof, the derivatives of some
well-known functions. Throughout, a is a constant.

Here are two more useful rules of differentiation. They follow from
the definition of differentiation but are stated without proof.
If a is any constant and u, v are two functions of x, then

The use of these rules is illustrated on the next page.

SECTION B

CONCEPT OF
DIFFERENTIATION

BASIC MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS

Differentiation
Differentiation of y with respect to x is defined as the ratio of the change in y to the change in x, when the change in x,
when the change in x is extremely small (x o).

Rules of differentiation
If y = C where c is a constant, then,
If y =
If y = C

then,
, then,

If y = u v w --------- where u, v, w,------- are the the functions of x, then,

If y = uv where u and v are the functions of x, then,

If y =

, where u and v are functions of x, then,

THE DEFINITION OF DIFFERENCES

The essence of calculus is the derivative. The derivative is the
instantaneous rate of change of a function with respect to one of its
variables. This is equivalent to finding the slope of the tangent line to the
function at a point. Let's use the view of derivatives as tangents to motivate
a geometric definition of the derivative.
We want to find the slope of the tangent line to a graph at the point P. We
can approximate the slope by drawing a line through the point P and
another point nearby, and then finding the slope of that line, called a secant
line. The slope of a line is determined using the following formula
(m represents slope) :

Let P = (x,y) and Q := (a,b). Let

Then the slope of the line

Now, we chose an arbitrary interval to be Delta-x. How does the size of Deltax affect our estimate of the slope of the tangent line? The smaller Delta-x is, the
more accurate this approximation is.
There is a wonderful animation of this
by Douglas Arnold . Look at it here.

Link video DDDDDD 1

You can see on the left of the animation

how Delta-x decreases, causing the secant
line the approach the tangent, where it
zooms in on the right. Another animation of
this (also from Douglas Arnold) is here.

Link video DDDDD 2

What we want to do is decrease the

size of Delta-x as much as possible.
We do this by taking the limit as
Delta-x approaches zero. In the limit,
assuming the limit exists, we will find
the exact slope of the tangent line to
the curve at the given point. This
value is the derivative;
There are a few different, but
equivalent, versions of this definition.
In more general considerations, h is
often used in place of Delta-x. Or
Delta-y is used in place of
This leads to three commonly used
ways of expressing the definition of
the derivative:

SECTION C

THREE METHODS
OF DIFFERENTIATION

THREE METHODS OF DIFFERENTIATION

PART A : BASIC RULES OF DIFFERENTIATION
Basic Short Cuts for Differentiation
Assumptions:
c, m, b, and n are real constants.
f and g are functions that are differentiable where we care.
If h (x) =

Then h (x)

Comments

The derivative of a contant is 0.

mx + b

The derivative of a linear funcyion is

the slope.

nx

c f (x)

c f (x)

f (x) + g(x)

f (x) + g(x)

Sum Rule (Linearity)

f (x) - g(x)

f (x) g(x)

Difference Rule (Linearity)

Power Rule
Constant Multiple Rule (Linearity)

 Linearity. Because of Rules 4, 5, and 6, the differentiation operator Dx is

called a linear operator. (The operations of taking limits (Ch.2) and integrating
(Ch.5) are also linear.) The Sum Rule, for instance, may be thought of as the
derivative of a sum equals the sum of the derivatives, if they exist.
Linearity allows us to take derivatives term-by-term and then to pop out
constant factors.
Proofs. The Limit Definition of the Derivative can be used to prove
these short cuts. The Linearity Properties of Limits are crucial to proving
the Linearity Properties of Derivatives.

Armed with these short cuts, we may now differentiate all polynomial functions.
Example 1
(Differentiating a Polynomial Using Short Cuts)
Let f (x) = 4x3 + 6x 5 . Find f (x) .
Solution
f (x) = D ( 4x ( + 6x 5)
= D ( 4x3 ) + D (6x) D (5) (Sum and Difference Rules)
= 4 . D (x) + D (6x) D (5) (Constant Multiple Rule)
TIP 1: Students get used to applying the Linearity Properties,
skip all of this work, and give the answer only.
= 4 (3x)+ 6 0
= 12x + 6
Challenge to the Reader: Observe that the 5 term has no impact on the
derivative. Why does this make sense graphically? Hint: How would the
graphs of y = 4x + 6x and y = 4x + 6x 5 be different? Consider the
slopes of corresponding tangent lines to those graphs.

Example 2
Find an equation of the tangent line to the graph of y = 4x3 + 6x 5 at
the point (1, 3) .
Solution
Let f (x) = 4x + 6x 5 , as in Example 1.
Just to be safe, we can verify that the point (1, 3) lies on the graph by
verifying that f (1) = 3 . (Remember that function values correspond to
y-coordinates here.)
Find m, the slope of the tangent line at the point where x = 1.
This is given by f (1) , the value of the derivative function at x = 1.
m = f (1)
From Example 1, remember that
f (x) = 12x + 6 .
= [12x + 6 ]
= [12 (1) + 6 ]
=6

 We can find a Point-Slope Form for the equation of the desired

tangent line.
The line contains the point: x1, y1 ( ) = (1, 3).
It has slope: m = 6 .
y y =m (x x)
y ( 3) = 6(x 1)

If we wish, we can rewrite the equation in Slope-Intercept Form.

y + 3 = 6x + 6
y = 6x + 3

We can also obtain the Slope-Intercept Form directly.

y = mx + b
(3) = ( 6)(1) + b
b=3
y = 6x + 3

 Observe how the red tangent line below

is consistent with the equation
above.

PART B: PRODUCT RULE OF DIFFERENTIATION

WARNING 1: The derivative of a product is typically not the product of the

derivatives.

Product Rule of Differentiation

Assumptions:
f and g are functions that are differentiable where we care.
If h(x) = f (x)g(x) ,
then h (x) = f (x)g(x) + f (x)g (x) .

Footnote : uses the Limit Definition of the Derivative to prove this.

Many sources switch terms and write: h (x) = f (x)g (x) + f (x)g(x) , but
our form is easier to extend to three or more factors.

Example (Differentiating a Product)

Find D [(x ( + 1) x + 4x 5 ( )
( x + 1) (x + 4x 5)
( D )
copy +
Copy ( D )
D [ (x + 1) (x + 4x 5) ]
= [D [ (x + 1)] . (x + 4x 5) +
x ( + 1) . D (x + 4x 5)]
= [4x] . (x + 4x 5) + (x + 1) . [2x + 4]
The Product Rule is especially
convenient
here if we do not have to simplify our
result.
Here, we will simplify
= 6x + 20x 20x + 2x + 4

Solution
TIP 2: Clearly break the product up into
factors, as has already been done here.
The number of factors (here, two) will
equal the number of terms in the
derivative when we use the Product Rule
to expand it out.

TIP 3: Pointer method. Imagine a

pointer being moved from factor to
factor as we write the derivative termby-term. The pointer indicates which
factor we differentiate, and then we
copy the other factors to form the
corresponding term in the derivative.

PART C: QUOTIENT RULE (and RECIPROCAL RULE) OF DIFFERENTIATION

Note : The derivative of a quotient is typically not the quotient of the
derivatives.
Quotient Rule of Differentiation
Assumptions:
f and g are functions that are differentiable where we care.
g is nonzero where we care.
Footnote : proves this using the Limit
If h(x) = f (x) ,
Definition of the Derivative.
g(x)
Footnote : more elegantly proves this
using the Product Rule.
then h (x) = g(x) f (x) f (x)g (x)
[g (x)]

Observe that the numerator and the denominator on the right-hand side
rhyme.
At this point, we can differentiate all rational functions.

Reciprocal Rule of Differentiation

This is a special case of the Quotient
Rule where f (x) = 1.
Think: D(Lo)
(Lo)2
TIP : While the Reciprocal Rule is
useful, it is not all that necessary to
memorize if the Quotient Rule has been
memorized.
Example : (Differentiating a Quotient)
=

TIP : Rewriting. Instead of running with the first technique that

comes to mind, examine the problem, think, and see if rewriting or
simplifying first can help.
EXAMPLE : (Rewriting Before
Differentiating)

Rewriting s (w) by splitting

the fraction yields a simpler
solution than applying the
Quotient Rule directly would
have.

SECTION D

TWO APPLICATIONS
OF DIFFERENTIATION

Maximum and Minimum Values

OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES

1. A function f has an absolute maximum (or global maximum) at c if f (c)

f (x) for all x in D, where D is the domain of f . The number f (c) is called the
maximum value of f on D.
Click Here
2. Similarly, f has an absolute minimum at c if f (c) f (x) for all x in D and
number f (c) is called the minimum value of f on D.

3. The maximum and minimum values of f are called the extreme values of f .
Click Here
4. A function f has a local maximum (or relative maximum) at c if f (c) f
(x) when x is near c . [This means that f (c) f (x) for all x in some open
interval containing c .]
Similarly, f has a local minimum at c if f (c) f (x) when x is near c .

5. Example 1 The function f (x) = cos x

takes on its (local and absolute)
maximum value of 1 infinitely many times,
since cos 2n = 1 for any integer n and 1
cos x 1 for all x . Likewise, cos(2n +1)
= 1 is its minimum value, where n is any
integer.

6. Example 2 The graph of the function

f (x) = 3x 16x +18x 1 x 4 is
shown. We can see that f (1) = 5 is the
local maximum, whereas the absolute
maximum is f (1) = 37 . This absolute
maximum is not a local maximum because
it occurs at an endpoint. Also, f (0) = 0 is a
local minimum and f (3) = 27 is both a
local and an absolute minimum. Note that f
has neither a local nor absolute maximum
at x = 4 .

OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

Steps in Solving Optimization Problems

1. Understand the problem.
2. Draw a Diagram.
3. Introduce Notation. Assign a symbol to the quantity that is to be maximized
or minimized (say Q). Also select symbols (a, b, c, , x, y) for other
unknown quantities and label the diagram with these symbols.
4. Express Q in terms of some of the other symbols from Step 3.
5. Find the relationship between Q and the unknown quantities.
6. Find the absolute maximum or minimum value of f .

Example :
A cylindrical can is to be made to hold 1 L of oil. Find the
dimensions that will minimize the cost of the metal to
manufacture the can.

Solution :
Draw the diagram as in the figure 1 below, where r is the
radius and h is the height (both in centimeters). In order to
minimize the cost of the metal, we minimize the total surface
area of the cylinder (top, bottom, and sides).

From figure 2, we see that that the sides are made from
a rectangular sheet with dimensions 2 r and h . So the
surface area is
S = 2 r + 2 rh since the area of two circles for top
and bottom gives us 2 r and surface area of the
rectangular sheet is 2 rh .
To eliminate h we use the fact the volume is given as 1
L, which we take to be 1000 cm3.
Volume of a cylinder is r h , so
r h =1000

We only want one variable in the equation instead of two, so solve

for one of the variables and substitute
Which gives h =
Substitution of this into the expression of S gives
S = 2 r + 2 r (

) = 2 r +

Therefore, the function that we want to minimize is

S (r) = 2 r +

r>0

To find the critical numbers, we differentiate:

S (r) = 2 r +

Then S ' (r) = 0 when r = 500, so the only critical number is

5.4192
The sign of S ' (r) is represented on the number line.

So S is decreasing for all r to the left of the

critical number and increasing for all r to
the right. Thus
must give rise to an absolute minimum.

The value of h corresponding to

Thus, to minimize the cost of the can, the radius should be

cm and the height should be equal to twice the radius.

SECTION E

QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS

QUESTIONS
Differentiate the given function. Simplify your answers.

1.
2.
3.

y = x 3x 5x + 2; (1, 5)

4. WORKER EFFICIENCY
An efficiency study of the morning shift at a certain factory indicates that an
average worker who arrives on the job at 8:00 A.M. will have assembled
f(x)x3 6x2 15x transistor radios x hours later.
a) Derive a formula for the rate at which the worker will be assembling
radios after x hours.
b) At what rate will the worker be assembling radios at 9:00 A.M.?
c) How many radios will the worker actually assemble between 9:00 A.M.
and 10:00 A.M.?

THANK YOU

REFERENCES
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Spear, R. (1994). Teacher perceptions of ability grouping practices in middle level school.
Research in Middle Level Education, 18, 117-130.
Sutton, J., & Krueger, A. (Eds.). (2002). EDThoughts: What we know about mathematics
teaching and learning. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all Learners.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tomlinson, C. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the needs of all
Learners.