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DIFFERENTIATION FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES

At the end of these activities you should be able

to:

Understand that the gradient of the curve at the point is the limit of the
gradient of the chord drawn from that point Differentiate simple polynomials
from first principles Derive the law of differentiation
•

Previous knowledge: Gradient of a straight line, tangent of a curve

Activity la. Review of Previous Knowledge Gradient of a Straight Line

Estimated time for completion: 15mins

Review the explanation below of finding the gradient of a straight line then answer
the question which follows.

Explanation of finding the gradient, m, of a straight-line

graph:

It is often useful or necessary to find out what the gradient of a graph is. For a
straight-line graph, pick two points on the graph, let the coordinates of one
point be (X1, Yı) and
let the coordinates of the other point be (x2, y2)

The gradient of the line, m = (change in y-coordinate y2 - Y): (change in

x-coordinate X2 - X1)

Which may be written as

m
= 92-91
X2-X1

Example:

(10,8)

X6, 6)

In this graph, let (x1, y) be the coordinates the first point (6,6),

Therefore

X1 will be 6 and
Y1 will be 6

Also

let (X2, y2) be the coordinates the other point (10,8), Therefore

x2 will be 10 and

y2 will be 8

the gradient

m
=
Y2 - Y1 X2 – X1
Will then be

m
=
8 – 6 10 - 6

Therefore

We can, of course, use this to find the equation of the line. Since the line, as
seen on the diagram crosses the y-axis when y = 3, the equation of this graph is:

y = 12x + 3, This may also be written as

y =
+ 3
Question 1: Find the gradient and equation of the straight line in the following diagram:

-3
-2
-1/
Activity lb. Review of Previous Knowledge Tangent to a curve

Estimated time for completion: 10mins

Review the definition of a tangent line and answer the question which follows

A tangent line is a line that touches a curve at a single point and does not cross through
it. The point where the curve and the tangent meet is called the point of
tangency. We know that for a line y=mx+c its slope at any point is m. The same
applies to a curve. When we say the slope of a curve, we mean the slope of tangent to
the curve at a point.

Examples of Tangent Lines

Tangent: same direction as curve
Non Examples of Tangent Lines
Tangent
not in same direction
as curve

yo
Question 2: Draw the tangent to the curve in the
diagram below at the point A:

2.5
 -0.5
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
mathcentre

Differentiation from first principles

mc-TY-firstppls-2009-1

In order to master the techniques explained here it is vital that you undertake plenty of practice
exercises so that they become second nature.

After reading this text, and/or viewing the video tutorial on this topic, you should be
able to:
 • understand the process involved in
differentiating from first principles
• differentiate some simple functions from first
principles

Contents 1.
Introduction 2. Differentiating a linear function 3.
Differentiation from first principles of some simple
curves

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BY NC ND

1.
Introduction
In this unit we look at how to differentiate very simple functions from first principles. We
begin by looking at the straight line.
2. Differentiating a linear function A straight line has a
constant gradient, or in other words, the rate of change of y with respect to
x is a constant.

Exampl
e

Consider the straight line y = 3.r + 2 shown in Figure 1.

60
gradient = =
3
=

-
4
-3 -2
-12
1
2
3
4
x

Figure 1. A graph of the straight line y = 3.x + 2. We can calculate the gradient of
this line as follows. We take two points and calculate the
change in y divided by the change in r. When
I
changes from – 1 to 0, y changes from –1 to 2,
and so

_ 2- (-1) 3 the gradient =

. == = 3
-1)
No matter which pair of points we choose the value of the
gradient is always 3. Values of the function y = 3.0 + 2 are shown
in Table 1.

2 3r
2 y = 3r + 2
-3 -9
2 -7
-
2
-6
2 -4
-
1
-3
2 -1
0
0
2
2
1 3 2 5
2 6 2 8
3
9
2
1
1

Table 1: Table of values of y

= 3.x + 2
Look at the table of values and note that for every unit increase in r we always get an
increase of 3 units in y. In other words, y increases as a rate of 3 units, for every unit increase
in r. We say that the rate of change of y with respect to x is 3". Observe that the
gradient of the straight line is the same as the rate of change of y with respect to
r.

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k
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COCO
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N

y Point
For a straight line: the
rate of change of y with respect to r is
the same as the gradient of the line.

3. Differentiation from first principles of

some simple curves For any curve it is clear that if we
choose two points and join them, this produces a straight line. For
different pairs of points we will get different lines, with very different gradients. We
illustrate this in Figure 2.
w

wwwwwwwww
ww.

Figure 2. Joining different pairs of points on a curve produces

lines with different gradientsV Consider a specific example:
 Suppose we look at y = x2. Table 2 gives values of this function:
1 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 y = x2 9 4 1 0 1 4 9
Table 2: values of y= r2 Note that as x increases by one unit, from –3
to -2, the value of y decreases from 9 to 4. It has reduced by 5 units. But
when x increases from –2 to -1, y decreases from 4 to 1. It has reduced by 3.
So even for a simple function like y = r we see that y is not changing
constantly with x. The rate of change of y with respect to c is not a constant
Calculating the rate of change at a point We now explain how to
calculate the rate of change at any point on a curve y = f(x). This is defined to
be the gradient of the tangent drawn at that point as shown in Figure 3.

wwwwwwwww

Figure 3. The rate of change at a point P is defined to be the gradient of the

tangent at P.

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Key
Point
The gradient of a curve y = f(x) at a given point is defined to be the gradient of
the tangent at that point.
We use this definition to calculate the gradient at any particular
point. Consider Figure 4 which shows a fixed point P on a curve. We also show a sequence
of points Q1, Q2, ... getting closer and closer to P. We see that the lines from P to each of the
Q's get nearer and nearer to becoming a tangent at P as the Q's get nearer to P.

tangent drawn at
P

Figure 4. The lines through P and Q approach the tangent at P when Q is very
close to P. So if we calculate the gradient of one of these lines, and let the point Q approach
the point P along the curve, then the gradient of the line should approach the gradient of the
tangent at P, and hence the gradient of the curve. Example We shall perform the calculation
for the curve y = r2 at the point, P, where r = 3.

Figure 5 shows the graph of y = x2 with the point P marked. We choose a nearby point Q and join
P and Q with a straight line. We will choose Q so that it is quite close to P. Point R is vertically
below Q, at the same height as point P, so that APQR is right-angled.

.....
.
.........D
 R

Figure 5. The graph of y = x2. P is the point (3,9). Q is

a nearby point.

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BY NC ND

Suppose we choose point so that PR = 0.1. The I coordinate of Q is then 3.1 and its y
coordinate is 3.12. Knowing these values we can calculate the change in y divided by
the change in x and hence the gradient of the line PQ.

QR 3.12 - 32 gradient of PQ = ♡
gradient o
PR
= 6.1
0.1 We can take the gradient of PQ
as an approximation to the gradient of the tangent at P, and hence the rate of change of y
with respect to x at the point P.
The gradient of PQ will be a better approximation if we take Q closer to P. Table 3 shows
the effect of reducing PR successively, and recalculating the gradient.
PR 0.1 0.01 0.001 0.0001 QR 0.61
0.0601 0.006001 0.00060001
OR 6.1 6.01 6.001 6.0001 Table 3: The gradient of the line
PQ, R seems to approach 6 as Q approaches P. Observe that as Q gets
closer to P the gradient of PQ seems to be getting nearer and nearer to 6. We will
now repeat the calculation for a general point P which has coordinates (x, y).
D

/y=r?

Q(x + dr, y + dy)

 P(x,y) /
DR
18

Figure 6. The graph of y = x2. P is the point (x,y). Q is a

nearby point. Point Q is chosen to be close to P on the curve. The x
coordinate of Q is x + dx where 8x is the symbol we use for a small change, or small
increment in 2. The corresponding change in y is written as dy. So the coordinates of Q
are (r + dr, y + dy). Because we are considering the graph of y= r, we know that y+dy =
(x + x)2 Squaring out the brackets:

y+dy = (x + 8x)?
= 22 + 2x(8x)
+ (8x)? But y = r2 and so
dy = 2x(8x)
+ (8x)2 So the gradient of PQ is
2x(8x) +
(8x)2
8x(2x +
8x)
2x + ox

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As we let dr become zero we are left with just 2.x, and this is the formula for the
gradient of the tangent at P. We have a concise way of expressing the fact that we are letting
or approach zero. We write

gradient of tangent = lim = lim (2x + x) = 2x

 Or
o

'lim' stands for 'limit 'and we say that the limit, as dr tends to zero, of 2x + or is 2.r. Note
that when r has the value 3, 2.r has the value 6, and so this general result agrees with the
earlier result when we calculated the gradient at the point P(3,9).

We can do this calculation in the same way for lots of curves. We have a special
symbol for the phrase
lim oy
dr-o dr

We write this as 49 and say this as "dee y by dee x". This is also
referred to as the derivative of y with respect to r. Use of function
notation We often use function notation y = f(r). Then, the point P has coordinates
(x, f(x)). Point Q has coordinates (x + 8x, f(x + 8x)). So, the change in y, that is
Sy is f (x + 8x) - f(x). Then,

dy = f(x+ 8) –
f(x)
δα

So

fx + 8x) - f(x)
=
lim or-o
8.

This is the definition, for any function y =

f(x), of the derivative,
 Key Point Given y = f(x), its derivative, or rate of
change of y with respect to x is defined as
f(x + 8r) – f(r)
-= da
lim 8-0

AAA

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Example

Suppose we want to differentiate the function f(x) = – from first principles. A

sketch of part of this graph is shown in Figure 7. We have marked point P(x,
f(x)) and the neighbouring point Q(x + 8x, f(x + 8x)).

dy
 Figure 7. Graph
of y = 1

= $(x+82) –
f(x)
дх
I+II

or 1-(+or
(2+82)

- dr (x + or
de
-1 (1 +82).

In the limit as dr → Othis becomes

So the derivative of y = – with

respect to x is -
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Differentiate, using 1st principles, the following:

3x2 5x2
2x3
arn

Review - Gradient of a Straight

Line YouTube Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7D6b kxqZE&ab channel=FuseSchool-GlobalEducation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INIORF3 Wb8&ab
channel=Tuition Kit

Math is Fun Links

https://www.mathsisfun.com/gradient.html
Differentiation is the same as gradient and is sometimes called the gradient
function.

Differentiation from First Principles YouTube

Links https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGTclUriGBs&ab
channel=John Fletcher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1 PQJcQogo&ab channel=MathsGenie

Math is Fun Links

https://www.mathsisfun.com/calculus/derivatives introduction.html