Ultimate A-Level & Further Maths Calculus Guide

(Edexcel)

Contents

1 Standard Derivatives & Integrals (Formula Sheet) 1

1.1 Standard Derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Standard Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Essential Identities 3
2.1 Trigonometric Identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Hyperbolic Identities (Osborn’s Rule) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Differentiation Techniques: Step-by-Step 4

3.1 The Chain Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 The Product Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3 The Quotient Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.4 Parametric Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.5 Implicit Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4 Integration Techniques: Step-by-Step 5

4.1 Integration by Substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 Integration by Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.3 Integration by Partial Fractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.4 Reverse Chain Rule (Inspection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.5 Integrating Factors (First Order Differential Equations) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.6 Reduction Formulae (Further Maths) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Standard Derivatives & Integrals (Formula Sheet)

1
Standard Derivatives

dy
Function y Derivative dx

xn nxn−1
ekx kekx
ax ax ln a
1
ln x x

sin kx k cos kx
cos kx −k sin kx
tan kx k sec2 kx
cot kx −k csc2 kx
sec kx k sec kx tan kx
csc kx −k csc kx cot kx

Inverse Trig (Further Maths)

arcsin x √ 1
1−x2
1
arccos x − √1−x 2

1
arctan x 1+x2

Hyperbolic (Further Maths)

sinh x cosh x
cosh x sinh x
tanh x sech2 x
arsinh x √ 1
x2 +1
arcosh x √ 1
x2 −1
1
artanh x 1−x2

2
Standard Integrals
R
Function f (x) Integral f (x)dx (+ C)
xn+1
xn (n ̸= −1) n+1

x−1 = 1
x ln |x|
1 kx
ekx ke

sin kx − k1 cos kx
1
cos kx k sin kx
1
sec2 kx k tan kx
1
sec kx tan kx k sec kx
csc kx cot kx − k1 csc kx
tan x ln | sec x|
cot x ln | sin x|

Further Maths Standard Forms

√ 1 arcsin( xa )
a2 −x2
1 1
a2 +x2 a arctan( xa )
√
√ 1 arsinh( xa ) or ln(x + x2 + a2 )
x2 +a2
√
√ 1 arcosh( xa ) or ln(x + x2 − a2 )
x2 −a2

Essential Identities

Trigonometric Identities
ˆ sin2 x + cos2 x ≡ 1

ˆ tan2 x + 1 ≡ sec2 x

ˆ 1 + cot2 x ≡ csc2 x

ˆ sin 2x ≡ 2 sin x cos x

ˆ cos 2x ≡ cos2 x − sin2 x ≡ 2 cos2 x − 1 ≡ 1 − 2 sin2 x

ˆ tan 2x ≡ 2 tan x
1−tan2 x

ˆ R sin(x ± α) = R(sin x cos α ± cos x sin α)

Hyperbolic Identities (Osborn’s Rule)

Osborn’s Rule: Replace trig functions with hyperbolic ones. If a term involves the product of two sines
(sin2 x, sin x sin y), flip the sign.
ˆ cosh2 x − sinh2 x ≡ 1

ˆ 1 − tanh2 x ≡ sech2 x

ˆ sinh 2x ≡ 2 sinh x cosh x

ˆ cosh 2x ≡ cosh2 x + sinh2 x ≡ 2 cosh2 x − 1 ≡ 1 + 2 sinh2 x

3
Differentiation Techniques: Step-by-Step

The Chain Rule

Use when: You have a function inside another function, y = f (g(x)).
dy dy
Formula: dx = du × du
dx

1. Identify the ”inner” function (u) and the ”outer” function (y).

2. Differentiate the outer function with respect to the bracket (u).

3. Differentiate the inner function (u) with respect to x.

4. Multiply the two results together.

Example: y = (3x2 + 1)5 =⇒ y ′ = 5(3x2 + 1)4 × (6x) = 30x(3x2 + 1)4 .

The Product Rule

Use when: Two functions are multiplied, y = u(x)v(x).
dy dv
Formula: dx = u dx + v du
dx

1. Label one function u and the other v.

2. Find u′ and v ′ separately.

3. Apply the formula: (First × Diff Second) + (Second × Diff First).

The Quotient Rule

u(x)
Use when: One function is divided by another, y = v(x) .
dy v du dv
−u dx
Formula: dx = dx
v 2

1. Label top function u and bottom function v.

2. Find u′ and v ′ .

3. Apply formula: (Bottom × Diff Top) - (Top × Diff Bottom), all over (Bottom)2 .

Parametric Differentiation
Use when: x and y are defined by a parameter t.
dy dy/dt
Formula: dx = dx/dt

1. Differentiate y with respect to t.

2. Differentiate x with respect to t.

dy dx
3. Divide dt by dt .

d2 y d dy dt
4. (Optional) To find dx2
, use the chain rule: dt ( dx ) × dx .

4
Implicit Differentiation
Use when: x and y are mixed together (e.g., x2 + y 2 = 25).

1. Differentiate every term with respect to x.

dy
2. Crucial: Whenever you differentiate a term with y (e.g., y 2 ), multiply the result by dx (Chain
d dy
Rule). Example: dx (y 3 ) = 3y 2 dx .
d dy
3. Be careful with product rule terms like xy: dx (xy) = x dx + y(1).
dy
4. Gather all terms containing dx on one side of the equation.
dy
5. Factor out dx and divide to isolate it.

Integration Techniques: Step-by-Step

Integration by Substitution
Use when:R A function is multiplied by its derivative, or to simplify composite functions.
dx
Formula: f (u) du du

1. Choose substitution u = g(x) (usually the ”inside” bit or the denominator).

du
2. Differentiate to find du: Calculate dx , then rearrange to get dx = . . . du.

3. Change Limits (if definite): Plug original x limits into u = g(x) to get new u limits.

4. Substitute u and dx into the integral. Ensure all x’s are eliminated.

5. Integrate with respect to u.

6. If indefinite, substitute x back in at the end.

Integration by Parts
Use when:R Integrating a product x
dv
R du of two unrelated functions (e.g., xe , x ln x).
Formula: u dx dx = uv − v dx dx

1. Choose u using the priority list LATE (Logs, Algebra, Trig, Exponentials). The other part is
dv
dx .
du
2. Differentiate u to get dx .
dv
3. Integrate dx to get v.

v du
R
4. Plug into formula: uv − dx dx.

5. Evaluate the second integral.

6. Note: For ex sin x loops, integrate by parts twice and rearrange.

5
Integration by Partial Fractions
Use when: Integrating an algebraic fraction with a factorizable denominator.

1. Check if fraction is improper (top degree ≥ bottom degree). If yes, use algebraic long division
first.

2. Factorize denominator completely.

3. Split into partial fractions:

ˆ Distinct linear factors: A

(x+a) + B
(x+b)

ˆ Repeated linear factors: A

(x+a) + B
(x+a)2

4. Find constants A, B by substitution or equating coefficients.

A B
5. Integrate each term separately. Terms like x+a become A ln |x + a|. Terms like (x+a)2
become
B
− x+a .

Reverse Chain Rule (Inspection)

Use when: Integral is of the form k · f ′ (x)[f (x)]n .

1. Guess the answer is the bracket with power increased by 1: y = [f (x)]n+1 .

2. Differentiate your guess to check the constant factor.

3. Adjust the constant to match the original integral.

4. Example: x(x2 + 1)5 dx. Guess (x2 + 1)6 . Diff gives 12x(x2 + 1)5 . We want 1x..., so divide by
R
1
12. Result: 12 (x2 + 1)6 .

Integrating Factors (First Order Differential Equations)

dy
Use when: Solving dx + P (x)y = Q(x).

1. Ensure equation is in the exact form above (divide by coefficient of dy/dx if needed).
R
2. Calculate Integrating Factor (IF): I(x) = e P (x)dx .

3. Multiply the entire DE by I(x).

d
4. The LHS automatically becomes dx [y · I(x)].
R
5. Integrate both sides with respect to x: y · I(x) = Q(x)I(x)dx.

6. Solve for y.

Reduction Formulae (Further Maths)

Use when: Integrating powers like In = sinn xdx.
R

1. Apply Integration by Parts once (or twice for trig) to the integral with power n.

2. Rearrange the resulting expression to find terms resembling In−2 or In−1 .

n−1
3. Form a recursive relationship (e.g., In = n In−2 ).

4. Use the formula to calculate specific values (e.g., calculate I0 or I1 manually, then step up to
I4 ).