SH1657

Introduction to Derivatives

I. The Tangent Line

Definition 1.1
A secant line, simply called a secant, is a line passing through two points of a curve.

Suppose the given curve is (!) and the secant line passes through points "#!$ , (!$ )%
and '#!* , (!* )%, provided that !$ ≠ !* . The slope of the secant line is given by
(!* ) − (!$ )
-./0 (!$ , !* ) = ,
(1.1)
!* − !$

As the two (2) points are brought together (or, more precisely, as one is brought towards the
other), the secant line tends to become a tangent line. -./0 (!$ , !* ) measures the average rate
of change of a function (!) between ! = !$ and ! = !* (!$ ≠ !* ).

Definition 1.2
A straight line is tangent to a given curve (!) at point !$ if the line passes through the
point #!$ , (!$ )% on the curve and has slope.
(!$ + Δ!) − (!$ )
-234 (!$ ) = lim , :ℎ<>< Δ! ≠ 0,
(1.2)
56→$ Δ!
This line is called a tangent line and !$ is the point of tangency.

On the other hand, -234 (!$ ) measures the instantaneous rate of change of (!) at ! = !$ .

Not all functions have a tangent line at all points.

Example 1.1
(!) = |!| has no tangent line at (0, 0)
Proof:
Suppose has a tangent line at (0,0). By Definition 1.2, this line will have the slope
(0 + Δ!) − (0)
-234 (0) = lim
56→$ Δ!
|Δ!| − |0|
= lim
56→$ Δ!
|Δ!|
= lim
56→$ Δ!
For Δ! < 0, |Δ!| = −Δ!.
Hence,
|Δ!| −Δ!
lim A = limA = lim A(−1) = −1
56→$ Δ! 56→$ Δ! 56→$
But for Δ! > 0, |Δ!| = Δ!.
Hence,
|Δ!| Δ!
limD = limD = limD 1 = 1
56→$ Δ! 56→$ Δ! 56→$
Since

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|Δ!| |Δ!|
limA ≠ limD ,
56→$ Δ! 56→$ Δ!
|56|
lim does not exist implying that -234 (0) does not exist leading to a contradiction.
56→$ 56
Hence, has no tangent line at (0,0).
∎
II. The Derivative
Definition 2.1
The derivative of a function at the point ! = !$ is defined as
F (! )
(!$ + Δ!) − (!$ )
$ = lim , :ℎ<>< Δ! ≠ 0,
(2.1)
56→$ Δ!
Provided the limit exists. If the limit does exist, we say that is differentiable at ! = !$ .

Example 2.1
Let (!) = 3! H + 2! − 1, compute for F (1).
Solution:
F (1)
(1 + M!) − (1)
= JK-
L6→$ M!
[3(1 + M!)H + 2(1 + M!) − 1] − [3(1H ) + 2(1) − 1]
= JK-
L6→$ M!
[3(1 + 3M! + 3M! N + M! H ) + 2(1 + M!) − 1] − [3 + 2 − 1]
= JK-
L6→$ M!
[3 + 9M! + 9M! N + 3M! H + 2 + 2M! − 1] − 4
= JK-
L6→$ M!
[4 + 11M! + 9M! N + 3M! H ] − 4
= JK-
L6→$ M!
11M! + 9M! N + 3M! H
= JK-
L6→$ M!
= JK- (11 + 9M! + 3M! N )
L6→$
= 11

Definition 2.2
The derivative of the function is the function ′ given by
F (!)
(! + Δ!) − (!)
= lim ,
(2.2)
56→$ Δ!
The domain of F is the set for which this limit exists. The process of computing the
derivative is called differentiation. is differentiable on an interval R if it is differentiable
at every point on R.

Example 2.2
Find F (!) with (!) = 3! H + 2! − 1.
Solution:
F (!)
(! + M!) − (!)
= JK-
L6→$ M!

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[3(! + M!)H + 2(! + M!) − 1] − [3! H + 2! − 1]

= JK-
L6→$ M!
[3(! H + 3! N M! + 3!M! N + M! H ) + 2(! + M!) − 1] − [3! H + 2! − 1]
= JK-
L6→$ M!
[3! H + 9! N M! + 9!M! N + 3M! H + 2! + 2M! − 1] − [3! H + 2! − 1]
= JK-
L6→$ M!
9! N M! + 9!M! N + 3M! H + 2M!
= JK-
L6→$ M!
= JK- (9! N + 9!M! + 3M! N + 2)
L6→$
= 9! N + 2

There are other commonly used notations for F and one of these is the Leibniz notation,
ST
denoted as S6 . If we write U = (!), the following are alternative notations used:
F (!)
VU V V
= UF = = = (!)
V! V! V!
S
The expression S6 is called a differential operator and tells you to take the derivative of
whatever expression follows.

Theorem 2.1
If is differentiable at ! = !$ , then is continuous at ! = !$ .
Proof:
Assuming (!$ ) and lim (!) both exist and suppose F (!$ ) exists. By definition,
6→6W

F (! )
(!$ + Δ!) − (!$ )
= lim ,
(2.3)
$
56→$ Δ!
Let Δ! = ! − !$ . Then as Δ! → 0, ! → !$ . Therefore, (2.3) can be expressed as
F (! )
(!) − (!$ )
$ = lim .
(2.4)
X→6W ! − !$
Hence,
(!) − (!$ )
lim [ (!) − (!$ )] = lim Z (! − !$ )\
6→6W 6→6W ! − !$
(!) − (!$ )
= Z lim \ ^ lim (! − !$ )_
6→6W ! − !$ 6→6W
F (! )
= $ ∙0
= 0 (2.5)
Furthermore,
lim [ (!) − (!$ )] = lim (!) − lim (!$ )
6→6W 6→6W 6→6W
= lim (!) − (!$ ) (2.6)
6→6W
Hence, by (2.5) and (2.6),
lim (!) = (!$ )
6→6W
∎

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References:
Coburn, J. (2016). Pre-Calculus. McGraw Hill Education.
Minton, R. & Smith, R. (2016). Basic Calculus. McGraw Hill Education.
Secant Line. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SecantLine.html
Tangent Line. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mathworld.wolfram.com/TangentLine.html

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