General Derivative Rules – Part 2

Power Rule (More in depth)

• We discussed in part one that ‫ ݔ‬௕ = ܾ‫ ݔ‬௕ିଵ , however there
is also a more useful form of this rule. Although it is not
necessary for this equation, it can be noted that ܾ‫ ݔ‬௕ିଵ =
ܾ‫ ݔ‬௕ିଵ ‫ ݔ‬ᇱ since the derivative of x is simply 1.
• Now that we know this, we may replace the x with any
function of x, which we will denote as f(x), and rewrite our
power rule:

݀‫ ݔ(݂( ݔ‬ሻሻ௕ = ܾ(݂(‫ ݔ‬ሻሻ௕ିଵ (݂ ᇱ (‫ݔ‬ሻሻ

• Where b is still a constant and f(x) is any function of x

• For Example:
o ݀‫( ݔ‬4 + ‫ ݔ‬ଶ ሻଷ = 3(4 + ‫ ݔ‬ଶ ሻଶ (2‫ݔ‬ሻ
• Notice that the previous rule still holds, however this one
can be used in more circumstances.

Introduction to ‘e’ and ‘ln’

• ‘e’ is a constant number that appears a lot in advanced math
courses. This is a constant number which is approximately
equal to 2.72, and has many unique properties which come
in very handy in math.
• Quick intro to logs (if you know how logs work, then skip this
section).
 o A logs are usually written as logxy, where x is referred
to as the ‘base’ and y is the number you are finding the
derivative of.
o In general, the purpose of logs is to put very large
range of numbers into a reasonable range. This comes
in very handy for graphing in some cases.
o General formula:
݈‫݃݋‬௫ ‫ ݔ‬௬ = ‫ݕ‬
o Where x can be any number and y is also any number.
The value of x, for standard logarithms is 10. In many
instances you will see a log written as ݈‫ݔ݃݋‬, with no
subscript at all. In this case, it is safe to assume that
the subscript or ‘base’ is 10.
o Example: ݈‫݃݋‬ଵ଴ 10 = 1, which would normally be
written as ݈‫݃݋‬10 = 1
• Note: those that already knew how to do logs should
continue reading from here.
• A ln is a log with a base of e. For example, ݈‫݃݋‬௘ 5 = ݈݊5
• A handy rule to know is that log base anything of 1 is always
0. This is because x0 = 1 for any value of x.

Now That we all understand what e and ln are, we can learn

how to do the derivates of other functions such as 10x
• General formula: ݀‫ݔ‬10௫ = ‫ݔ‬′10௫ ݈݊10
• Where x’ is the derivative of x, which is usually 1 unless
there is some function of x as the exponent, in which case
this comes in handy.
 • A very key point to this rule is the value of e when in comes
to finding derivatives of functions similar to this.
Note: ݈݊݁ = 1
• Now that we know this, we know that ݀‫ ݁ݔ‬௫ = ݁ ௫
• Which means, that the derivative of ݁ ௫ is simply ݁ ௫ .
• This is because of the rule presented above (݈݊݁ = 1ሻ
• Therefore, working this out, we can find that the true
solution of this is ݀‫ ݁ݔ‬௫ = ݁ ௫ ݈݊݁ = ݁ ௫

Applications:
• There are many applications for derivatives, one of the main
ones of these is in physics. Note that since a derivative is
really the slope of a graph, the derivative is really a function
of the rate of change of something. This means, that if you
are given a function of the position of a car, then you can
find its velocity from this equation, and subsequently, you
can find the equation for its acceleration.
• Example: If the function of a car’s position is ݀ (‫ݐ‬ሻ = ‫ ݐ‬ଶ +
5‫ ݐ‬+ 2 where d(t) is a function of its position in meters as a
function of time, and where t is in seconds. what is its;
a) Position at t = 10?
b) Velocity at t = 4?
c) Acceleration at t = 6?
a) To find the car’s position, we simply need to plug in the
given time, and we will get a position since the function
given is already a function for the position of the car.
 Therefore, ܲ‫ ݐ = ݊݋݅ݐ݅ݏ݋‬ଶ + 5‫ ݐ‬+ 2

= 10ଶ + 5(10ሻ + 2
= 100 + 50 + 2 = 152m

b) Finding the car’s velocity at a specific time is slightly more

complicated, however we already know that the velocity
of something is the rate of change of the position, so, in
other words, the derivative of the position will be a
function of the velocity.

݀‫ ݐ(ݐ‬ଶ + 5‫ ݐ‬+ 2ሻ
= 2‫ ݐ‬+ 5

= 2(4ሻ + 5

=8+5

= 13m/s

c) Lastly, the acceleration, we also know that the

acceleration of an object is the rate of change of its
velocity, so the derivative of the velocity function will be a
function of the acceleration. However, it can be noted
that the derivative of the velocity function is just 2 so this
means that at any time the acceleration will be 2m/s2.
Multiplication Rule:
• The Multiplication Rule is a General rule for finding the
derivative of two variables that are multiplied together.
• The general formula for this rule is;

݀‫ݔ‬൫݂(‫ ݔ‬ሻ൯൫݃(‫ ݔ‬ሻ൯ = ݂ ᇱ (‫ ݔ‬ሻ݃(‫ ݔ‬ሻ + ݃ᇱ (‫ ݔ‬ሻ݂(‫ݔ‬ሻ

Where f(x) and g(x) are both functions of x

• A clear way to demonstrate how this works is with an
example which we already know how to solve other ways.
Therefore, we will define f(x) as x and g(x) as x2

So, from the ways we know from before we can solve this to
be: ݀‫ ݔݔ ݔ‬ଶ = ݀‫ ݔ ݔ‬ଷ = 3‫ ݔ‬ଶ

Or, we can now also solve this with the method we just
learn, which gives us:

݀‫ ݔݔ ݔ‬ଶ = ‫ ݔ‬ଶ + ‫ݔ‬2‫ ݔ = ݔ‬ଶ + 2‫ ݔ‬ଶ = 3‫ ݔ‬ଶ

Therefore, the two methods result in the same answer,
although the previous methods that we learned were much
easier for this particular question. So now you’re probably
wondering why we need to know this if we can just use the
other ways and it will be faster. Well, that’s not always the
case; sometimes it is simply not possible to solve the
question with our other methods. A good example of this is
a question which involves something with a constant to the
power of x, or function of x with a large exponent which
would be too difficult to factor out.
Division Rule:
The division rule is a general rule for finding the derivative of some
function of x divided by some other function of x. The general formula
for this can be expressed as:
௙(௫ሻ ௙ ᇲ (௫ሻ௚(௫ሻି ௚ᇲ (௫ሻ௙(௫ሻ
݀‫ݔ‬ =
௚(௫ሻ ௚(௫ሻమ

Where, as in previous examples, f(x) and g(x) are both any functions of
x. As with the multiplication rule, there are many cases in which this
could be used but there are easier ways. However, also similar to the
multiplication rule, there are cases in which there are not any other
ways to solve questions. Therefore, I will do an example of a question in
which there are easier ways, simply to prove that it works in the
simplest circumstances. As before, will define f(x) as x and g(x) as x2;
௫ ଵ ଵ
݀‫ݔ‬ మ = ݀‫ݔ‬ =− = ݈݊‫ݔ‬
௫ ௫ ௫మ

This lnx rule was not discussed preciously, however this is an important
rule to remember, that 1/x = lnx. Through the power rule we would
have resulted in a different solution to this, and this is the only
exception to the power rule. Now to prove the division rule;
௫ ௫ మ ି ଶ௫௫ ௫ మ ି ଶ௫ మ ௫మ ଵ
݀‫ݔ‬ మ = మమ
= = − = − = ݈݊‫ݔ‬
௫ ௫ ௫ర ௫ర ௫మ

Therefore, both cases result in the same answer, even though the
original way is much faster. This division rule (sometimes referred to as
the quotient rule) is, however, a very important rule for derivatives.