SCHOOL OF GENERAL EDUCATION

MATH1030
Unit 1
The Derivative
Limits 3
31TU U31T

Continuity ..................................................................................................................3
31T 31T

Graphical Limits .........................................................................................................5

31T 31T

Algebraic Limits .........................................................................................................7

31T 31T

Limit as x goes to 0 x  0 ......................................................................................12

31T 31T

Limit as x goes to infinity x   ............................................................................14

31T 31T

The Derivative .............................................................................................................20

31T 31T

Slope of a Straight Line ...........................................................................................20

31T 31T

The Tangent Line .....................................................................................................24

31T 31T

The Delta Process – Definition of the Derivative ....................................................26

31T 31T

Basic Derivative Rules .............................................................................................29

31T 31T

Product Rule f ( x ) g  x  ..........................................................................................34

31T 31T

f (x)
Quotient Rule
31T 31T
g  x ..................................................................................................37
Chain Rule  f  g  x    ...........................................................................................40
31T 31T

Mixed Derivatives ....................................................................................................44

31T 31T

Implicit Differentiation ............................................................................................45

31T 31T

Higher Derivatives ...................................................................................................46

31T 31T

Variables other than x ............................................................................................50

31T 31T
Page 2 of 50
Limits

Continuity

Most graphs we will study in this course are smooth

simple functions:

Think: you can draw the graph from  to 

without lifting your pencil

These functions are called continuous.

Continuity of a Function

A function f ( x) is continuous at x  a if:

1. f (a ) exists
2. lim f ( x) exists
xa

3. lim f ( x)  f ( a )
x a

Graphically continuity means that over a given interval there are no holes, breaks or
“sharp peaks” in the graph over that interval.

If a function is not continuous we say it is discontinuous.

The following graphs are Discontinuous:

Infinite Jump Removable

They are caused by:

  x  1  4, x  1
2
1 x( x  3)
y 2 f  x   y
x  2 x  4, x  1 2( x  3)

Note: A removable discontinuity will not show on your graphing device!

Example:

Page 3 of 50
Sketch the following graphs, state any types of discontinuity and any values not in
the domain.

2
a) y 
x2

x ( x  2) 2
b) y 
x

 x3 , x0
c) f  x  
 x  2, x0

Page 4 of 50
Graphical Limits

A limit is the value the function, f  x  , approaches as x approaches a value.

For this graph we can approach x  3 from the

left or right, and see that f  x  approaches 2 .

Limit as x  3 of f ( x) is 2
[Right-hand limit]

Limit as x  3 of f ( x) is 2
[Left-hand limit]

1
Numerically: For the graph above. f  x     x  3  2
2

3
x3
x3
x f  x x f  x
2.9 1.997
3.1 1.997
2.99 1.99997
3.01 1.99997
2.999 1.9999997
3.001 1.9999997
2.9999 1.999999997
3.0001 1.999999997
From the tables we can see to approach a number means to get “infinitesimally
close”.

To approach a value also means to get close but NEVER equal the number.

Definition: Limit of a Function

We denote the limit as lim f ( x)  L , x  a
x a
and say “the limit of f  x  as x
approaches a is L ”

Condition for Existence of The Limit

lim f ( x)  L exists if and only if lim f ( x)  L and lim f ( x)  L .

x a x a x a

That is: If the left and right handed limits exist and are equal, then the limit exists.

Page 5 of 50
Example:
Determine left and right hand limits as x approaches zero ( x  0 ) for the following
graphs. Determine if the limits exist.

U LEFT U U RIGHT

Page 6 of 50
Algebraic Limits

From the graphs section, we see that finding limits for certain functions is very easy.

The graphs below are all continuous.

f  x   ( x  1) 2  1 f  x   x3  x f  x   x 6  3x 2  x  1

lim ( x  1) 2  1  lim x3  x  lim x 6  3 x 2  x  1 

x2 x 1 x 0

For all values of a, lim f  x  f  a

x a

For graphs that are discontinuous,

As long as we choose the points that belong to the domain:

x( x  1) 1
lim  lim  lim x 1 
x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 3

Direct Substitution Rule

For the limit lim

x a
f ( x) , if a is in the domain of f ( x)
then we can just substitute the value
so lim f ( x)  f ( a)
x a

Page 7 of 50
Example:
Determine the following limits using Direct Substitution if possible.

a) lim
x 4
 x2  7  b) lim
x 2
 2 x 2  3x  2 

c) lim
x 0

ex  x2  d) lim
x 5
x2  9

Example 2:
Determine the following limits using Direct Substitution if possible.

x ( x  2) x2  4 x2  4
a) lim b) lim c) lim
x 0 ( x  2) x2 x2 x2 x2

1 1
d) xlim e) lim x4 f) xlim
1 x x 8 10 x 9

What values are not in the domain for the above functions?

Page 8 of 50
When a is NOT in the domain for the limit lim
x a
f ( x) : We can try some ALGEBRA

x  x  2
lim
x 2  x  2

x  x  2 x  x  2
We simplify to x
 x  2  x  2

Since x  2 is not in the domain but we can simplify the function, we call this a
removable discontinuity.

x  x  2
lim  lim x  2
x2  x  2  x2

If we cannot fix the discontinuity algebraically, we can look at the graph or a table
of values to see if the limit exists.

1
The lim can’t be factored
x 0 x2

However, graphically we can assess that,

1 1
lim 2  lim 2 
x 0 x x 0 x

1
So lim 
x 0 x2

1
For lim , we can say from the graph that:
x 0 x

1 1
lim  lim 
x 0 x x 0 x

1
So lim 
x 0 x

Page 9 of 50
Practice
1. Find the following limits by simplifying algebraically if possible.
x2  1 (3  h) 2  9
a) lim b) lim
x 1 x  1 h 0 h

x2  2x  3 2 x 2  3x  2
c) lim d) lim
x 3 x 3 x 2 x2

x2  x  2 x2 1
e) lim f) lim
x 1 x2  2x  3 x 1 x 1

2. Sketch the graphs to assess the limits

x 1 x
a) lim  b) lim 
x 1 x  1 x 3 ( x  3) 2

Page 10 of 50
3. Using the table below, determine the left- and right-hand limits of the
piecewise function, as x  0 .

 x  1, x  0
f  x  
 x  1, x  0

x  0 x  0 lim f ( x) 
x f ( x) x f ( x) x 0
1 0 1 0
0.1 0.9 0.1 0.9
lim f ( x) 
x  0

y



 x

        







Page 11 of 50
Limit as x goes to 0 x  0

Consider the case where we want x  0 and x only appears in the denominator of a
rational expression. In such a case we would basically have some number divided by
a “really small” positive/negative number. This will give a “really big”
positive/negative result. Since ‘really big’ occurs often in limit calculations we give it
the special symbol  , called infinity. Don’t forget to check the left and right hand
limit.

1 1
Example: Evaluate (a) lim (b) lim .
x 0 x x  0 x2
x 1 11
f(x) = 1/x




lim 2   


x x 0 x


x  THE limit





-0.1 -10 100 1

  

does not exist.



lim   






-0.01 -100 10000

x 0 x 








-0.001 -1000 1000000





-0.0001 -10000 1
100000000 
lim 2   
x 0 x  1

f(x) = 1/x^2

  lim 






1 x0 x 2


0.0001 +10000 100000000 



lim 2  





0.001 +1000 1000000

x  0 x


0.01 +100 10000



  



0.1 +10 100

Example: Sketch the graphs to assess the following limits.

7
a) lim
x0 3x 4

5x
b) lim
x0 2 x3

8
c) lim
x0 2 x3

5
d) lim
x0 x6

1 1
When n is even , lim  and lim 
xn xn
U U

x 0 x 0

1 1
When n is odd , lim  and lim 
xn x 0 x n
U U

x 0

Page 12 of 50
Practice: Evaluate the following limits.

5
a) lim
x 0 x7

2
b) lim
x 0 x8

5x
c) lim
x 0 x 9

2
d) lim
x 0 x11

2
e) lim
x 0 x10

Page 13 of 50
Limit as x goes to infinity x  

Consider the special case where x   and, as above, x appears only in the
denominator of a rational expression. In such a case we would basically have some
number divided by a “really big” positive/negative number. This will of course give a
“really small” positive/negative result that, for large enough x will approach zero.

Example: Evaluate:
1 1
(a) lim (b) lim
x  x x  x2
x 1 x 1
x x2
10 0.1 10 0.01
100 0.01 100 0.0001
1000 0.001 1000 0.000001
10000 0.0001 10000 0.00000001

In the above table of values you can see that the bigger we make x, the smaller we
U

make the fraction ; the result approaches zero.

U

1
lim 0
x  x n

Questions:
(a) How would the above result be different for x   ?
(b) Does it make sense to consider left and right limits at infinity?

To evaluate limits as x   algebraically where there are x terms in both the

numerator and denominator, the common practice is to:
1. Divide both the numerator and denominator by the highest power of x that
appears in the denominator
2. Simplify
1
3. Using lim n  0 , take the limit of each term as x   .
x  x

Complete the examples below using this method. Once completed we should see a
pattern that will help us answer these questions quickly.

Page 14 of 50
Example 7:
x2  1
a) lim
x  2 x 2  3

3 x8  2 x 3  3 x
b) lim
x  6 x7  9 x

x2  4
c) lim
x  x  2

5 x3  x
d) lim
x  x 5  4 x 4

x3  4
e) lim
x  x  3

If the highest degree in the numerator and denominator equal, you can use the
coefficients to determine the limit.
If the highest degree in the numerator is larger than the highest degree of the
denominator, the limit will be infinity.
If the highest degree in the denominator is larger than the highest degree of the
numerator, the limit will be 0.

Page 15 of 50
U Practice
1. Find the following limits.
x2  x b) lim(3 x  2)
a) lim x 3
x 0 x

c) lim x2  7 4x2  8x
x 4 d) lim
x 2 x2

x2  2 x  3 x4
e) lim f) lim
x 3 3 x x 4 x4

3 x 2  4.5 x 1
g) lim h) lim
x  x 2  1.5 x  7 x  4

Page 16 of 50
 x 1 1 x3  1
i) lim j) lim
x 0 x x 1 x 1

t 2  16 x2  x  6
k) lim l) lim
t  t 1 x 3 x3

1  2x2
m) lim
x  (4 x  3) 2

ANS:
 6 RHL  1
 1 1  2  7  3 x  4, so only lim x2  7  3  4 8  5 4
x4 LHL  1
 11 1, highest power
 7  3  8 1
7  9 1
2 , rationalize numerator  10  3 of x is 1, which becomes  12  5
2 under the radical
 13 1
8

Page 17 of 50
2. Find the points of discontinuity of the function (i.e., find domain values
that must be omitted),

x 2  2 x  17
f ( x) 
x2 1

3. Find the following limits:

a) lim
x 2  x  12 b) xlim
1
 x 2  2 x  3 c) lim
2 x  3 x5  11
x 3 x3 x  7  2 x 6  4 x 4

d) lim
3 x3  x e) lim
x 7
 x  3 f) lim
2 x 2  3x  2
x 0 7x x 2 x2

g) lim
1 h) lim
x 4
 x2  7  i) lim
x2  4
x 2 x2 x 2 x  2

4. Show that the following limit does not exist as x  2 ,

4 x  16 x  18, x  2
2

f ( x)  
2  x  1 , x2

Page 18 of 50
5. Use the graph of f  x  to find the limits.

a) lim f  x   b) lim f  x  c) lim f  x 

x  x  x 0

d) xlim f  x  e) lim f  x  f) lim f  x  

2 x 8 x 13

Page 19 of 50
The Derivative
Slope of a Straight Line

We know that the slope of a line is calculated between two points on the line

We can find the slope graphically using

rise over run (always go left to right).

Or we calculate it using two points:

y y2  y1
Slope  
x x2  x1

The slope between two points on a curved graph is called the Secant Line

We can find the slope of this line:

And, we can find the equation of the Secant line:

Point-Slope Form Slope-Intercept Form
y  y1  m  x  x1  y  mx  b

The secant is also called the Average Slope of the curve between the two x values.
y
Average Slope =
x

Page 20 of 50
Example:
Find the average slope (slope of the secant line) between x  1 and x  2 for the
function f  x   x  6 x  8 .
2

Find the equation of the secant line:

Example:
1
For the curve y  x  x  1 , find the average slope between x  1 and x  2 .
3

Find the equation of this secant line

Page 21 of 50
Practice

1. Calculate the average slope of the graph below between x  2 and x  4 .

2. For the two lines in the graph:

a. Calculate the slope

b. Find the equation of each line.

Page 22 of 50
The actual slope of a curve is represented by a Tangent Line.

Graphically the Tangent Line:

a) is the slope of the curve at one point
b) touches the curve at only that point

Algebraically the Tangent Line is much more difficult to define and will be the focus
of this unit.

Page 23 of 50
The Tangent Line

We need 2 points to calculate slope. Since the tangent line only touches at 1 point,
we can use the secant line to approximate the tangent line:

We can shrink the distance But this would be

between the two points until dividing by zero!
x  0 .

However, using limits we can see what happens:

f ( x  x)  f ( x)
Slope of the Tangent Line: lim
x 0 x

Page 24 of 50
Example:

a) Estimate the slope of the curve f ( x)  x 2 at the point  1,1 by using secants
at the points x  2 , x  1.5 , and x  1.1 .

Average slope between x  1 and x  2

Average slope between x  1 and x  1.5

Average slope between x  1 and x  1.1

What do you notice about the average slope as the second x-value gets closer to
x 1 ?

b) Find the exact slope of the tangent at the point  1,1 .

Page 25 of 50
The Delta Process – Definition of the Derivative

Previously we used limits to find the slope of the tangent at a particular value of x .
Algebraically, it is more useful to know the slope at any value of x . In this case, we
leave x in the equation and solve.
f  x  x   f  x 
For f ( x)  x 2 , m tangent = lim
x
R R

x  0

This is a function that gives us the slope of the tangent line at any x .
x0 x 1 x  1

Definition: The derivative of a function expressed as a function is

f  x  x   f  x  f  x  h  f  x
f '  x   lim OR f '  x   lim
x 0 x h 0 h

It is read “The derivative of f with respect to x” or “ f -prime of x”.

U Derivative Notation

Some common notations for the derivative of y  f ( x ) are:

y' Dx y f '( x) dy
dx

The process of finding a derivative is called differentiation .

U U

Remember: At a point  x, y  on a curve,

The slope of the The slope of the The derivative

curve = tangent line =
Example:

Page 26 of 50
Find the function for the slope of the following functions using the definition of the
derivative.
a) f ( x )  5 x 2  1 b) f ( x )  2 x 2  3x

Example: Find the derivative of f ( x )  4( x  2) 2  4 using the definition

f  x  x   f  x 
f '  x   lim
x 0 x

What is the slope at

x 1 ? x  2? x3 ?

Page 27 of 50
Practice
Find the derivative of the following functions by the delta-process.

a) y  4 x  2

b) y  6 x  2 x 2

c) y  x2  5x  2

As you can see from above, using the delta-process can be very tedious and time-
consuming. Starting with the delta-process and some general type functions we can
develop some simple rules that will help us to solve for the derivative quickly and
easily.

Page 28 of 50
Basic Derivative Rules

Algebraically and graphically we can find patterns to the derivative that make the
process easier.
There are also many notations for derivatives, depending on the function you are
given:

Function: y  2 x 2  3x either f ( x)  2 x 2  3x

Derivative: dy d (2 x 2  3x) f '( x)  4 x  3

 4x  3  4x  3
dx dx
d
y '  4x  3 (2 x 2  3 x)  4 x  3
dx

Constant Rule: For a function f  x   c where c is a constant number

f ' x  0

Graphically, Algebraically,
f  x  h  f  x
f '  x   lim
h 0 h

Example: Find the derivative of the following

a) y  5 b) f  x   e c) y  sin  2 

Page 29 of 50
 Power Rule
For a variable raised to a constant power n,
d n
dx  
x  nx n 1

Example: Find the following derivatives:

a) y  x 3 b) f ( x )  x8 c) y  x d) f ( x)  x 2

Page 30 of 50
 Constant Multiple Rule

For a constant a,
d
dx  
ax n  a  nx n 1 

Example: Find the derivative of each of the following:

1 9
(a) y  3 x 5 (b) y  6 x 3 (c) y  x
3

Sum & Difference Rule

d
For any number of terms,  f ( x )  g ( x)   f '  x   g '  x 
dx

Example: Find the derivative of each of the following:

(a) y  3 x5  7 x3  3x  2 (b) y  6 x3  5 x

Often we need to rewrite a power to use the rule:

1 x
y x f ( x)  y  x3 x y
x x

x 2  3x
y
x2

Page 31 of 50
Example: Find the derivative of each of the following:

(a) y  x 2  7 x (b) y  x 4  3 x 3  x 2  x  2

2
(c) y  2 x  4 x3 (d) y 
x2

Example: Find the slope of the curve at the indicated point:

(a) y  9 x  x3 at the point (2,10) .

1 2
(b) y  x  x  2 at the point (2,16) .
4

(c) y  4 3 x 2 at the point where x  8 .

x  x2
(d) y  at x  4 .
x

Page 32 of 50
 Practice
1. Using the definition of derivative find f '  x  of the following,
f ( x)  x 2  2 x

2. Find the derivative of each of the following,

1 3 (b) f ( x )  7 x 3  3 x 2  13
(a) f ( x)  3 x  x
3

 8 4
(c) f ( x )  (d) f ( x )  5 x 
2
x
2 x

3. What is the slope of the function f ( x )  3x 3  4 x 2  6 x  3 at the point

 2, 7  ?

Page 33 of 50
Product Rule f ( x) g  x 

For f ( x)  4 x3 and g ( x)  2 x 5

f '( x)  g '( x ) 

For two functions multiplied together,

we take the derivative one part at a time:

y   4 x3   2 x5 

Simplify First (if practical) Using Product Rule

y dy

dx

dy

dx

With more complicated functions, it would take us much longer to multiply and use
the power rule. The product rule will be faster

Product Rule
When we have two functions multiplied together,
d
dx
 f ( x) g  x    f '  x  g  x   f  x  g '  x 

Page 34 of 50
Example: Find the derivative of y   2 x   3x  .
2 3

Example: Find the derivative of y   2 x  3 x   x  2 x  6  (Do not simplify)

3 4 2

Example: Find the slope of the tangent to the curve y   3 x  5   2 x  1 at x  1

2 2

Page 35 of 50
Practice:
1. Find the derivative of each of the following. (Simplify the result)

(a) y  2 x  3x  x  (b) y   3 x  2   4 x  3
3 4 2

2. What is the derivative of the function y   3 x  2 x  7   x  5  4 x  ? (Apply

3 2 4

the rule, you do not need to simplify the final answer)

dy
3. Given y   x  7 x   2  3 x  , what is
2 1
? Simplify the result.
dx

4. What is the slope of the curve representing the function

f ( x)   5 x 3  6 x 2   5 x 3  6 x 2  at the point  1,121 ?

Page 36 of 50
 f (x)
Quotient Rule g  x

Again for the quotient rule, we find that taking the derivative all at once will not
work.

For f ( x)  4 x3 and g ( x)  2 x 5

f '( x)  g '( x ) 

For two functions that divide each other,

we take the derivative one part at a time

4 x3
y
2 x5

Simplify First (if possible) Using Quotient Rule

y dy

dx

dy

dx

Quotient Rule
When we have two functions dividing each other,

d  f ( x)  f '  x  g  x   f  x  g '  x 
 
dx  g  x    g  x 
2

Page 37 of 50
 3  2x
Example: Find the derivative of y  .
x2  2

2 x3
Example: Find the derivative of y  .
4 x

y
 3x 2
 5
Example: Find the slope of the curve at x  1
 2x 2
 1

Page 38 of 50
Practice:
1. Find the derivative of each of the following.
4 e2
a) y  3 b) y  2
x 5x  4x

x
2. Find the derivative of the function q ( x)  4 x 
2
without getting a
x 1
common denominator? (Apply the rule for polynomials and the quotient rule
when required)

2x2  5x
3. Given y  , what is Dx y ?
3x  2

3x 2  x
4. What is the slope of the curve representing the function P  x   at
1 4x
the point (2, 2) ?

Page 39 of 50
Chain Rule  f  g  x   

In MA1101 we learned about Composite Functions like f  g  x  

For f ( x)  x 3 and g ( x)  x 2  1 we could, expand, and take the derivative

Expanding is not always practical, sometimes we need the chain rule.

y  f ( g ( x))   x 2  1
3

dy

dx

Chain Rule
When we have a composite function,
d
 f  g  x     f '( g ( x )) g '( x )
dx 

Page 40 of 50
Example:
Find the derivative of the following functions:

a) y   x 2  4 x  6 
5

f  x    x 2  x  1
3
b)

c) f  x   5x  x2

1
d) y 
x  5
2 4

Page 41 of 50
Practice:
1. Find the derivative of each of the following.
1 b) y  5 3 x  2
r 
a)
 t 2  2t  5
4

4
2. Find the slope of the tangent line to the curve y   4  3 x 2  3 .

3. For y   4  x 2 
2

What is the slope of the graph of at the point  3, 251  ?

Page 42 of 50
4. Find the derivative of the function q ( x)   4 x 2  3  6 x  .
18

5. Given f  g  x     x 2  1  2  x 2  1  5 , what is Dx f  g  x   ?
3 2

6. What is the slope of the curve representing the function P  x   x  7x

2 3
4

at the point (14, 71) ?

Page 43 of 50
Mixed Derivatives

So far we have focused on the power rule, the product and quotient rules, and the
chain rule of differentiation. In practice, finding a derivative will often involve
applying some combination of the above rules. Here we will look a few examples.

Example: Find the derivative of the following functions:

3
 x3  2 x 2 
a) f  x   
 4 x 

  x  7 x   14  x  
11
b) f  x  3 2

a. In this case the overall function form is again a composite

 
function. However, the g  x  in f g  x  is a product. To find
g '  x  we will have to apply the product rule.

 8x  4  9 x   3x  4 x
3 2 5

1

x3 
c) f  x 
 x9 x  5

2
 x 5  x3 
Example: Find the slope of y   3   2 x  at x  1 .
2 3

 x 

Page 44 of 50
Implicit Differentiation

There will be times when we are not able to solve for y explicitly. For example,
given the expression,
y 5  xy 2  3 x 2  5 ,
we are unable to get an expression y  f  x  .

Such a function where y is defined implicitly as a function of x (i.e., y as a function

of itself, which is a function of x ) is called an implicit function .
U U

dy
To find when y is implicitly defined as function of x , we differentiate each term
dx
of the equation with respect to x by applying the appropriate rule.

dy
Note: The derivative of y with respect to x is (or y ' ).
dx

dy
Example: Find if x  y  2 .
dx

dy
Example: Find if y 2  2 x 2  5 .
dx

dy
Example: Find if 3 y 4  xy 2  2 x 3  6  0 .
dx

Example: Find the slope of a line tangent to the curve of 2 y 3  xy  1  0 at the point
(3,1) .

Page 45 of 50
Higher Derivatives

Since the derivative of a function is also a function we may take the derivative of the
derivative.

The derivative of a function is called the first derivative .

U U

The derivative of the first derivative is the second derivative , and so on.
U U

The second derivative, third derivative and so on are collectively known as higher U

derivatives .U

Higher Derivative Notation

First Second Third Fourth

y' y '' y ''' y (4)
dy d2y d3y d4y
dx dx 2 dx3 dx 4
Dx y Dx2 y Dx3 y Dx4 y
f '( x) f ''( x) f '''( x) f (4) ( x)

Example: Find the higher derivatives for y  5 x 3  2 x .

Example: Find the higher derivatives of f ( x )  x ( x 2  1) 2 (Hint: Simplify f ' )

Page 46 of 50
 2
Example: Evaluate the second derivative of y  for x  2 .
1 x

Example: Find y '' for the implicit function defined by 2 x 2  3 y 2  6 .

Page 47 of 50
Practice:

2x2  1
1. Find Dx y given y  .
3x

2. Given xy 3  3 y  x 2  9 , find y '

3. Evaluate the second derivative of y  x  1  x  , for x  2 .

5

 
4
4. Find the derivative of the function K ( p )  3 p 2  p p 3  2 p (Do not
simplify).

Page 48 of 50
5. Given  y 2  2    x 4 y  3e2 y 3 , what is Dx y ?
3

2
6. What is the second derivative of the function P  x   x  at the point
x3
(4, 127
32 ) ?

Page 49 of 50
Variables other than x

While most of our work has focused on the functions of x , the same rules of
derivatives apply to any variables.

Practice:

1. Find the derivative of A with respect to t : A  3t 2  5t

2. Find the derivative of g with respect to r : 4r 3  3r 2 g  5 g

3. Find the derivative of P with respect to V : P   4V  5   3V 2  2 

3

Page 50 of 50