Differentiation helps to find the gradient at a point in any function.

The ‘gradient’
function is said to be the derivative.
df
d
The derivative of a function f (x) (with respect to x) is denoted as dx (f (x)) , f 0 (x) , or dx .
d
The dx operator is composed of the following:

1: d refers to the differential operator, it has an inherent meaning which says ‘small
change of’
2: note that ‘dx’ is by itself, so the d in 1 does not cancel with this d; dx represents a
small change, further reading at Section 8
3: x here refers to the variable of differentiation; the x here is merely a dummy
variable (a variable that can change in terms of naming); in the calculus syllabus
(single-variable calculus), the variable of differentiation must be the same as
the variable in the function. Note that functions in the syllabus will strictly only be of
single-variable type (e.g. f (x), g(t), k(a) are possible functions but not t(a, b), Γ (s, x), Π (r, θ, ϕ)
et cetera)

There are multiple notations for denoting the derivative.

df
Leibniz’s Notation: dx ; it is useful in that it sometimes treats derivatives as fractions
rather than the idea about infinitesimal changes.
Lagrange’s Notation: f 0 (x); it is most common in denoting derivatives of functions with
a single variable.
Newton’s Notation (try not to use): f˙; commonly used in physics, in the GCSE notation
sheet, it represents (using the other two notation,) dfdt
or f 0 (t), where t is a time variable.

1
Example of a derivative:
Consider the function f (x) = x2

A tangent at x = 2 has been drawn and its gradient at that point, denoted by f 0 (2)
(f 0 (x) is the gradient at a general x, so gradient at x = 2 is f 0 (2)), can be calculated
manually using the gradient formula as follows:
∆f (x)
f 0 (2) =
∆x
4−0
=
2−1
=4
Performing this gradient algorithm for every other value of x, and then plotting the
gradient against its point results in its derivative.
For f 0 (x) = x2 , it’s derivative is as such:

we can quickly see that its derivative seems to be 2x, and with better approximations,
the observation is true. It’s derivative is denoted as follows:
f (x) = x2
df d
f 0 (x) = x2 = 2x


=
dx dx
However, this process takes too long and is too time-consuming so the definition for the
derivative of a function is created which follow rules and properties. The derivative of a
function can be found without much effort and can be found in a more simpler, easier
way as shown in the later tables.

2
 Derivative rules (See Section 5 for Proofs)

Sum-Difference rule (f ± g)0 = f 0 ± g 0

Product rule (f · g)0 = f 0 g + f g 0

 0
f f 0g − f g0
Quotient rule =
g g2

(f ◦ g)0 = (f 0 ◦ g) · g 0
OR
d
Chain rule (f (g (x))) = [f 0 (g (x))] · g 0 (x)
dx
OR
df df dg
= ·
dx dg dx

(kf )0 = kf 0
Constant Multiple OR
d d
(k · f (x)) = k · f (x)
dx dx

Note that f, g are functions of x, k is independent of x.

3
 Common Derivatives (See Section 5 for Proofs)

d
Derivatives of c=0 [C∂ ]
Constants dx

d n
Power rule x = nxn−1 [P∂ ]
dx

d x
a = ax ln (a) [axp∂ ]
Derivatives of dx
d x
Exponentials e = ex [exp∂ ]
dx

d 1
loga (x) = [log∂ ]
Derivatives of dx x ln (a)
Logarithms d 1
ln (x) = [ln∂ ]
dx x

d
sin (x) = cos (x) [sin∂ ]
dx
d
Derivatives of cos (x) = − sin (x) [cos∂ ]
Trigonometric dx
d
Functions tan (x) = sec2 (x) [tan∂ ]
dx

4
 Examples:
d 7
• x = 7x7−1 . . . [P∂ ]
dx
= 7x6
d 1
• (log5 (t) + sin (t)) = + cos (t) . . . [log∂ ] . . . [sin∂ ]
dt t ln (5)
d d
• x2 − ln (cos (x)) + 3t5 = 2x −


(ln (cos (x))) + 0 . . . [P∂ ] . . . [C∂ ]
dx dx
let u = cos (x)
du
= − sin (x) . . . [cos∂ ]
dx
let y = ln (cos (x))
by substitution, y = ln (u)
dy 1
= . . . [ln∂ ]
du u
dy dy du
by chain rule, = ·
dx du dx
dy 1
from earlier, = · − sin (x)
dx u
sin (x)
=−
u
sin (x)
undoing substitution, = −
cos (x)
= − tan (x)
d
∴ (ln (cos (x))) = − tan (x)
dx
d
x2 − ln (cos (x)) + 3t5 = 2x − (− tan (x)) + 0


∴
dx
= 2x + tan (x)
Note: the chain rule substitution process can be done mentally without the need for writing down the
d



performance of substitution. E.g. dx tan x2 = 2x sec2 x2 , the differentiation is trivial and won’t be
explained.

d p  d  1

• sin (x) + 1 = (sin (x) + 1) 2
dx dx
1 1 d
= (sin (x) + 1) 2 −1 · (sin (x) + 1) . . . [P∂ ]
2 dx
1 1
= (sin (x) + 1)− 2 · (cos (x)) . . . [sin∂ ]
2
cos (x)
= p
2 sin (x) + 1

5
 d p  d  2
1 
• 3 2 2
x −y = x −y 2 3
dy dy
1 2
1 −1 d
x − y2 3 · x2 − y 2 . . . [P∂ ]


=
3 dy
1 2 − 2
x − y 2 3 · (−2y) . . . [P∂ ]


=
3
2y
= − p 2
3 3 x2 − y 2

Example questions:
1) Find the equation of the line tangent to f (x) = 2x + sin (x) at x = 2π.

f (x) = 2x + sin (x)

f (2π) = 2 (2π) + sin (2π) = 4π
f 0 (x) = 2 + cos (x)
f 0 (2π) = 2 + cos (2π) = 3
⇒ Gradient of line at x = 2π is 3

Equation of tangent line:

∴ y − 4π = 3 (x − 2π)
y = 3x − 2π

2) Given the curve f (x) = ex + x at a point K has a tangent whose equation is given by
the following equation y = 2x + 1, find the coordinates of K.

Let the coordinates of K be (t, f (t))

f (x) = ex + x
f 0 (x) = ex + 1

Gradient of tangent at t = 2
⇒ f 0 (t) = 2
et + 1 = 2
et = 1
t=0
∴ K (0, f (0)) = K 0, e0 + 0

= K (0, 1)

6
The normal to a point refers to the line perpendicular to the tangent to that point.
Graphically, suppose we have a graph of h = f (x) for instance below:

L0 is the line of tangency to x0 and L1 is the line of normalcy to x0 . Notice that

the point of intersection between L1 and L0 is at (x0 , f (x0 )), so, using knowledge from
coordinate geometry about gradients of perpendicular lines, we get the following equations
to describe both lines by using the point-slope form of a line:

L0 : y − f (x0 ) = f 0 (x0 ) (x − x0 )
1
L1 : y − f (x0 ) = − 0 (x − x0 )
f (x0 )

Do note that you are expected to be able to derive these equations but you should not
memorise them as separate equations but rather understand the notion of perpendicular
gradients and the constant product, and by using the point-slope form of a straight line,
produce different, but equivalent, equations that describe the same line(s).

Example questions:
1) Find the equation of the normal to the point t = 0 at the curve f (t) = et − cos (t).

f (t) = et − cos (t)

f (0) = e0 − cos (0) = 0
f 0 (t) = et + sin (t)
f 0 (0) = e0 + sin (0) = 1

⇒ Gradient of tangent at t = 0 is 1
1
∴ Gradient of normal to t = 0 = − = −1
1
∴ Equation of normal: y − 0 = − (t − 0)
y = −t

7
2) Given that a point A on g (x) = x3 − 9x2 + 1, x > 3 has a normal that is parallel to
1
the line y = 15 x − 35 , find the coordinates of A.
Let the coordinate of A be (k, g (k)).

g (x) = x3 − 9x2 + 1
g 0 (x) = 3x2 − 18x

1
Gradient of normal to k =
15
1
⇒ Gradient of tangent to k = − 1 = −15
15

⇒ g 0 (k) = −15
3k 2 − 18k = −15
3k 2 − 18k + 15 = 0
3 (k − 1) (k − 5) = 0
∴ k − 1 = 0 or k − 5 = 0
k = 1 or k = 5
∵ x > 3, ∴ reject k = 1
∴k=5
∴ A (5, g (5)) = A 5, (5)3 − 9 (5)2 + 1

= A (5, −99)

A stationary point is defined a point whose tangent at that point is zero. Formally, its
mathematical definition is as such:

ps is a stationary point on f
⇔
f 0 (ps ) = 0

A stationary point falls into either of the three categories: maximum turning point,
minimum turning point, or point of inflection. The former two can be split into
two further categories whilst the latter will be discussed in the later subtopic. A turning
point falls under global or local but those are rarely ever tested for the syllabus and as
a result will be discussed in Section 8 Further Reading. A point is a maximum turning
point of a function if it has the largest value among all the other points. Similarly, a
point is a minimum turning point of a function if it has the smallest value among all the
other points.

8
Graphically, suppose we have a graph of y = f (x) as an example below:

From the graph, the set of all stationary points, S = {x0 , x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 }. From the
definition of a stationary point, we can say that

f 0 (x0 ) = f 0 (x1 ) = f 0 (x2 ) = f 0 (x3 ) = f 0 (x4 ) = f 0 (x5 ) = 0

in a more symbolic way, we can say

∀s ∈ S, f 0 (s) = 0

this is read as ‘for every element in S, its derivative is 0’

x0 , x2 , x4 are all maximum turning points while x1 , x3 , x5 are all minimum turning points.
The global turning points in the graph above are coloured in grey while the (local) turning
points are coloured in black. For this graph, the maximum value of f = f (x0 ) and the
minimum value of f = f (x1 ). Note that this example uses strictly the graph to deduce the
turning points which is only for illustration purposes; in other exercises, do not use the graph to justify
turning points unless instructed but instead calculate the derivative and setting that to 0.

Consider the function g (x) below:

The coordinate (a, g (a)) is said to be a stationary point as well, more specifically a point
of inflection. Notice that this point a is neither a maximum nor a minimum, but rather
a point that joins two either increasing or decreasing sections of the curve. This point
is analogous to taking a break after running, then resuming afterwards. Do note that

9
although this point is said to be the point of inflection, it has a more rigorous definition
that will be discussed in the next subtopic, for now, the point of inflection is also a
stationary point but keep it at the back of your mind that it rather is related to the
‘curviness’ a curve is.

Example questions:
1) Find the coordinates of the stationary point on the curve f (x) = 2x3 − 15x2 + 36x + 2.

f (x) = 2x3 − 15x2 + 36x + 2

f 0 (x) = 6x2 − 30x + 36
let f 0 (x) = 0
6x2 − 30x + 36 = 0
6 (x − 2) (x − 3) = 0

⇒x−2=0 x−3=0
x=2 x=3
∴ f (2) = 2 (2)3 − 15 (2)2 + 36 (2) + 2 f (3) = 2 (3)3 − 15 (3)2 + 36 (3) + 2
f (2) = 30 f (3) = 29
∴ stationary points occur at (2, 30) and (3, 29)

2) Determine the coordinates of the stationary point on the curve f (x) = 2xex .

f (x) = 2xex
f 0 (x) = 2xex + 2ex = 2ex (x + 1)
let f 0 (x) = 0
2ex (x + 1) = 0
∵ ex > 0,
∴ 2ex > 0 (6= 0) ,
∴x+1=0
∴ x = −1
2
∴ f (−1) = 2 (−1) e(−1) = −
 e 
2
∴ f (x) has a stationary point at −1, −
e

10
 3) Show that the function f (x) = 2x + ln (x) has no stationary points.

f (x) = 2x + ln (x)
1
f 0 (x) = 2x ln (2) +
x

1
∵ 2x > 0, 6 0
=
x
1
∴ 2x ln (2) > 0, = 6 0
x

1
∴ 2x ln (2) + 6= 0
x
∴ f 0 (x) 6= 0
∴ there are no points whose gradient is 0
∴ f (x) has no stationary points (shown).

0.0.1 Higher Order Derivatives

In the syllabus, only up to Second Order Derivative is included, which should rename
this subtopic as “Second Order Derivatives”; however, in some notes, this subtopic will
be introduced as “Higher Order Derivatives”, hence the nomenclature of this subtopic.
Also, only the Second Derivative Test and the First Derivative Test is taught in this
section, making this subtopic even more smaller, but the importance of this subtopic is
not sacrificed.

Given a function y = f (x), its second derivative is provides information on the concavity
of the function; in colloquial terms, it tells us how ‘curvy’ the function is. It is denoted
as the following:
d2 f d2 y
f 00 (x) = 2 = 2
dx dx
The Leibniz’s notation for
the second derivative comes from the fact that the derivative,
d dy d2 y
of the derivative, is dx dx
= dx 2.

11
 Suppose we have a function f (x) = x3 − 4x

where the solid line is the graph of f (x), the dotted line is the graph of f 0 (x), and the
dots is the graph of f 00 (x)
As expected, we see that at the turning points of f (x), f 0 (x) = 0; also, comparing
between f 0 (x) and f 00 (x), the turning point of f 0 (x) is when f 00 (x) = 0. But the
question is, what does f 00 (x) tell us about f (x) (the term ‘curvy’ is ambiguous)?

Observe the minimum turning point of f (x), the value of f 00 (x) at that point is
positive, which means that the gradient around that minimum point is increasing. The
concavity is said to be positive.

Similarly, the maximum turning point of f (x) has a negative value for its f 00 (x),
which means that the gradient around that maximum point is decreaing. The concavity
is said to be negative.

Looking at the turning point of f 0 (x), we see that the gradient at that instant does not
change, which corresponds to the point (0, 0) on f (x). In simple terms, at (0, 0), f (x)
changes from having a generally-decreasing gradient to a generally-increasing gradient,
which is exactly when f 00 (x) = 0. This point is known as the point of inflection. The
concavity is said to be zero.

12
The table below summarises everything in the above 3 paragraphs.

f 00 (a) >0 <0 =0

(a, f (a))

f (x) (a, f (a))

(a, f (a))
a is a point of inflection,
a is a minimum point, a is a maximum point,
Description where the curve changes
f (a) is the minimum f (a) is the maximum
in concavity.

0.0.2 Rates of Change

Rates of Change, commonly known as Related Rates, is a small subtopic in Calculus
which can branch out to bigger topics. It makes use of the concept of the chain rule
and is exactly the chain rule; however, it’s ‘main difference’ is that the chain rule usually
refers to differentiating a function within another function, but Rates of Change refers to
multiplying the differentiated parts together in numbers.
Key concept in Rates of Change:

dy dy dt
= ·
dx dt dx

Do note that y can be a function of anything whose variable is x – Volume of sphere to

its Radius, Area of cone to its Volume et cetera. The t here generally refers to time (from
the term Rates). However, in some cases, y need not have a variable of x and can be any
function. With that in mind, you should have adequate knowledge about Differentiation
already and, with some examples/practices, you should be able to understand the crux
of this subtopic.

13
Three examples will be shown, of which the first two will include guiding explanations
and tips:

1) Consider an inverted cone whose volume, V cm3 , is filled up with water from the
top at a rate of 4 cm3 /s. The height of the cone, h cm, and the radius of the cone, r cm,
are 8 cm and 4 cm respectively. Find the rate at which the radius of the water level is
increasing at r = 3.5.

Let t be time
Firstly, it’s always useful to construct a diagram to visualise the requirements of the
question.

From this diagram, we can generate the following

relationship between h and r
h 8
= =2
r 4
h = 2r

Recall the formula for the volume of a cone

1
V = πr2 h
3
1 2 2
from above, V = πr (2r) = πr3
3 3
dV
= 2πr2
dr

By the Rates of Change concept, we can construct

the following relationship between derivatives,
dV dV dr
= ·
dt dr dt
From the question, dVdt
= 4. Substituting that in
alongside with the equation for dV
dr
gives

dr
4 = 2πr2 ·
dt
dr 2
= 2
dt πr
dr 2 8
at r = 3.5, = 2 =
dt π (3.5) 49π
8
∴ The radius at r = 3.5 is increasing at cm/s
49π

14
2) Given a cylinder whose volume, V cm3 , radius, r cm = 3 cm, and height, h cm = 10
cm, that is completely filled with water, has a hole at the bottom for which water is
leaking at a rate of 3 cm3 /s. Find the rate at which the height of the water level is
decreasing at time, t = 2 s.

Similarly, a diagram will be used to visualise what the question requires.

Recall the formula for the volume of a cylinder

V = πr2 h = π (3)2 h
V = 9πh
dV
= 9π
dh
By the Rates of Change concept, we can construct
the following relationship between derivatives,
dV dV dh
= ·
dt dh dt
From the question, dV dt
= −3 (note the ‘-’ sign as
water is leaking, so the total volume is decreasing).
Substituting that alongside with the value for dV dh
gives
dh
−3 = 9π ·
dt
dh 1
=−
dt π
dh 1
At t = 2 s, =−
dt π
∴ Rate at which the height of the water level is decreasing at t = 2
1
is cm/s.
π
Do note that, although dVdh is independent of t, it is suggested that the abnormal substitution is still
presented so as to be awarded presentation marks

15
3) A man views a balloon falling down at a constant speed of 0.4 m/s whose initial altitude
was 10 m. The man is standing 20 m away from the balloon in terms of horizontal
distance. Find the rate at which the tangent of the angle of elevation of the balloon
viewed by the man is decreasing at time, t = 10 s.

Let h be the vertical distance between the man and the balloon, θ be the angle of elevation
of the balloon viewed by the man

h
let r = tan (θ) =
10
dr 1
=
dh 10
from the question,
dh
= −0.4
dt

dr dr dh
= ·
dt dh dt
dr 1
∴ = · −0.4
dt 10
dr 2
=−
dt 50
∴ Rate at which the tangent of the angle of elevation
of the balloon viewed by the man is decreasing at t = 10
2
is /s
50

16