Calculus 2B (M2504)

Dr. Khaphetsi Joseph Mahasa

National University of Lesotho
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

April 8, 2022

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 Partial derivatives

Important
In this lesson, we shall study the fundamental concepts of partial
derivatives for functions of two or more variables. In particular, we shall
study the effect of x and y separately on the value of the function f (x, y)
by holding one fixed and letting the other vary. This leads to the following
definitions.
The objective of this lesson is to understand:
Higher-order partial derivatives for two or more variables.
Euler’s Theorem (Mixed Derivative Theorem)
Implicit differentiation

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 Higher-order partial derivatives: Definitions

Higher-order partial derivatives

∂ ∂f ∂2f
 
(fx )x = fx x = =
∂x ∂x ∂x2
∂ ∂f ∂2f
 
(fx )y = fx y = =
∂y ∂x ∂y∂x
∂ ∂f ∂2f
 
(fy )x = fy x = =
∂x ∂y ∂x∂y
∂ ∂f ∂2f
 
(fy )y = fy y = =
∂y ∂y ∂y 2

Example 1: Calculate all the second partial derivatives of

f (x, y) = xy − y3 + x2 y 4

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 Higher-order partial derivatives

Solution:
We have
∂2f ∂ ∂f ∂ 
  
(x, y) = (x, y) = y + 2xy 4 = 2y 4 ,
∂x2 ∂x ∂x ∂x
∂2f ∂ ∂f ∂ 
  
(x, y) = (x, y) = x − 3y 2 + 4x2 y 3 = −6y + 12x2 y 2 ,
∂y 2 ∂y ∂y ∂y
∂2f ∂ ∂f ∂ 
  
(x, y) = (x, y) = x − 3y 2 + 4x2 y 3 = 1 + 8xy 3 , and
∂x∂y ∂x ∂y ∂x
∂2f ∂ ∂f ∂ 
  
(x, y) = (x, y) = y + 2xy 4 = 1 + 8xy 3 .
∂y∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y

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 Higher-order partial derivatives
Important note
A noteworthy occurrence may be observed in Example 1 above. The first
order partial derivatives for f (x, y) = xy − y3 + x2 y 4 turned out to be

∂f ∂f
(x, y) = y + 2xy 4 and (x, y) = x − 3y 2 + 4x2 y 3 .
∂x ∂y
At first glance, these expressions do not appear to have much in common.
Yet, when we used ∂f ∂f
∂x and ∂y to calculate the mixed partial derivatives
∂2f ∂2f
∂x∂y and ∂y∂x , we discovered that

∂2f ∂2f
= 1 + 8xy 3 = .
∂x∂y ∂y∂x

 Is this a coincidence, or a particular case of something that is

true all the time?
khaphetsimahasa@gmail.com: Lecture 04: NUL Calculus 2B (M2504) April 8, 2022 5 / 17
 Higher-order partial derivatives

Definition
A function (x, y) 7→ f (x, y) is called continuously differentiable on an
open disk D(P0 , r) if f and its partial derivatives

fx and fy

are continuous on D(P0 , r). The function f is called

twice continuously differentiable on D(P0 , r) if f and its partial derivatives

fx , fy , fxx , fyy , fxy , fyx

are all continuous on D(P0 , r).

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 Higher-order partial derivatives

Theorem (Euler’s Theorem (Mixed Derivative Theorem))

If (x, y) 7→ f (x, y) is twice continuously differentiable on an open disk

D(P0 , r), then its mixed partial derivatives are equal in the disk:

fxy (x, y) = fyx (x, y) (x, y) ∈ D(P0 , r).

For a given point (a, b), the above theorem can be stated as
Theorem (The Mixed Derivative Theorem)

If f (x, y) and its partial derivatives fx , fy , fxy , and fyx are defined
throughout an open region containing a point (a, b) and are all continuous
at (a, b), then

fxy (a, b) = fyx (a, b).

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 Higher-order partial derivatives

In some applications, it is necessary to calculate derivatives of order higher

than two. For example,
!
∂ ∂2f
∂x ∂x∂y

∂
is a third derivative obtained by applying ∂x to the already familiar
2 3
quantity ∂x∂y . We write the resulting partial derivative as ∂x∂ 2 f∂y . In
∂ f

general, the expression

∂mf
,
∂xj ∂y k
where j + k = m, denotes a derivative of order m: Differentiation in x is
applied j times, and differentiation in y is applied k times.

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 Exercise 1

1 Calculate the partial derivatives

∂3f ∂3f
(a)
∂y 3 and ∂x2 ∂y for the function f (x, y) = xy − y3 + x2 y 4 .
∂3f
2 Find ∂y∂x2
for f (x, y) = exy .
3 Find all 2nd order derivatives for the following function

x2 y 6
f (x, y, z) = − 2x6 z + 8y −3 x4 + 4z 2
z3

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 Solutions to selected exercise 1
2. We have
∂f
= yexy
∂x
∂2f
= y 2 exy
∂x2
∂3f
= 2yexy + xy 2 exy
∂y∂x2

3. First, we know we’ll need the three 1st order partial derivatives. Here
they are,

fx = 2xy 6 z −3 − 12x5 z + 32y −3 x3

fy = 6x2 y 5 z −3 − 24y −4 x4
fz = −3x2 y 6 z −4 − 2x6 + 8z

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 Solutions to selected exercise 1
Now let’s compute each of the second order partial derivatives (and there
will be a few of them...).

fx x = (fx )x = 2y 6 z −3 − 60x4 z + 96y −3 x2

fx y = (fx )y = 12xy 5 z −3 − 96y −4 x3
fx z = (fx )z = −6xy 6 z −4 − 12x5
fy x = fx y = 12xy 5 z −3 − 96y −4 x3 by Euler’s Theorem
2 4 −3 −5 4
fy y = (fy )y = 30x y z + 96y x
fy z = (fy )z = −18x2 y 5 z −4
fz x = fx z = −6xy 6 z −4 − 12x5 by Euler’s Theorem
fz y = fy z = −18x2 y 5 z −4 by Euler’s Theorem
2 6 −5
fz z = (fz )z = 12x y z +8

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 Implicit differentiation

Implicit differentiation
A technique used when it is not easy to express y as a function of x
explicitly. The steps are as follows: Differentiate both sides with respect to
dy
x, collect all terms involving dx on the left side of the equation and move
dy
all other terms to the right side, factor dx out of the left side, and solve
dy
for dx .

Example 2
dy
Calculate dx if y is defined implicitly as a function of x via the equation
2 2
x + 3y + 4y − 4 = 0.

khaphetsimahasa@gmail.com: Lecture 04: NUL Calculus 2B (M2504) April 8, 2022 12 / 17

 Implicit differentiation

Solution
d 2 d
(x + 3y 2 + 4y − 4) = (0)
dx dx
dy dy
2x + 6y +4 =0
dx dx
dy
(6y + 4) = −2x
dx
dy x
=−
dx 3y + 2

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 Implicit differentiation

Theorem (Implicit Differentiation of a Function of Two or More Variables)

Let the function z = f (x, y) defines y implicitly as a function y = g(x) of

x via the equation f (x, y) = 0. Then

dz ∂f /∂x
=−
dx ∂f /∂y

provided fy (x, y) 6= 0.
For three variables, let the equation f (x, y, z) = 0 define z implicitly as a
differentiable function of x and y, then

dz ∂f /∂x dz ∂f /∂y
=− and =−
dx ∂f /∂z dy ∂f /∂z

provided fz (x, y, z) 6= 0.

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 Implicit differentiation

Example 3
dy
Use the previous theorem to find dx for the function
f (x, y) = x2 + 3y 2 + 4y − 4.
Solution
We have
∂f
= 2x,
∂x
∂f
= 6y + 4,
∂y
dz ∂f /∂x 2x x
∴ =− =− =− .
dx ∂f /∂y 6y + 4 x+2

which is the same result obtained by the earlier use of implicit

differentiation.

khaphetsimahasa@gmail.com: Lecture 04: NUL Calculus 2B (M2504) April 8, 2022 15 / 17

 Exercise 2

dy
1 Calculate dx for y defined implicitly as a function of x through the
equation 3x2 − 2xy + y 2 + 4x − 6y − 11 = 0.
∂f ∂z
2 Calculate ∂y and ∂y , given x2 ey − yzex = 0.

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 THANK YOU

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