Chapter 3

Differentiation

Instructor: Fatma Ben Yahia

 Differentiation
• In economics, there are many problems which require us to take
into account how a function value changes with respect to small
changes of the independent variable (e.g. input, time, etc.).

A useful tool for such investigations is differential calculus. It is

an important field of mathematics with many applications, e.g.
graphing functions, determination of extreme points of functions
with or without additional constraints, etc.

Differential calculus allows us to investigate specific properties of

functions such as monotonicity or convexity.
2
Section I

LIMIT AND CONTINUITY

3
The Limit Process
The Idea of a Limit

We start with a number c and a function f defined at all numbers x near c

but not necessarily at c itself. In any case, whether or not f is defined at c.

f  x that
lim say
Now let L be some real number. We   L the limit of f (x) as x tends to
x c

c is L and we write
provided that

as x approaches c, f(x) approaches L

or (somewhat more precisely) provided that

The Limit Process

The curve in Figure 2.1.4 represents the graph of a function f. The number c is on the

x-axis and the limit L is on the y-axis. As x approaches c along the

x-axis, f (x) approaches L along the y-axis.

The Limit Process
One-Sided Limits

Numbers x near c fall into two natural categories: those that lie to the left of c
lim f  x   L
and those thatxlie
 c to the right of c. We write
[The left-hand limit of f(x) as x tends to c is L.]

to indicate that

as x approaches c from the left, f(x) approaches L.

lim f  x   L
x c 
[The right-hand limit of f(x) as x tends to c is L.]
And we write
to indicate that

as x approaches c from the right, f(x) approaches L

 The Limit Process
Example

Take the function indicated in Figure 2.1.7. As x approaches

lim f  x   2
x  5
5 from the left, f (x) approaches 2; therefore
As x approaches 5 from the right, f (x) approaches 4; therefore
lim f  x   4
x 5

lim f  x 
x 5
The full limit, , does not exist: consideration of x < 5 would force the limit to

be 2, but consideration of x > 5 would force the limit to be 4.

For a full limit to exist, both one-sided limits have to exist and they have to be equal
The Limit Process

8
The Limit Process

9
 The Limit Process
Example 9

We refer to function indicated in Figure 2.1.10 and examine the behavior of f(x) for x

close to 3 and close to to 7.

As x approaches 3 from the left or from the right, f(x)

becomes arbitrarily largex →and

3 cannot stay close to any

number L. Therefore

limx →
f(x)
7 does not exist.

As x approaches 7 from the left, f(x) becomes arbitrarily large and cannot stay close

to any number L. Therefore

 The Limit Process
Remark To indicate that f (x) becomes arbitrarily large, we can write

f (x)→∞. To indicate that f (x) becomes arbitrarily large negative, we can write

f (x)→−∞.

Consider Figure 2.1.10, and note that for the function depicted

there the following statements hold:

as x → 3¯, f (x) → (∞) and as x → 3 , f (x)→∞.

Consequently,

as x → 3, f (x)→∞.
12
 Example
Given the function f with

x2 1 If we apply Theorem 2, part (4), and

f ( x) 
x 1
separately determine the limit of the

Compute the limit numerator and the denominator, we find

that both terms tend to zero, and we cannot
L  lim f ( x) find the limit in this way.
x 1

We can try factoring to find the limit

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-13

If we apply Theorem 2, part (4), and separately determine the limit of the numerator and the

denominator, we find that both terms tend to zero, and we cannot find the limit in this way.

14
Example
Compute the limit

x 2  x  12
lim
x 3 x3

2 x  2
lim
x 0 x

x 4  16
lim
x 2 x2

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-15

Continuity of a function

o We can define continuous using Limits

o A function f is continuous when, for every value c in its

Domain:
f(c) is defined, and:
lim f ( x)  f (c)
x c

"the limit of f(x) as x approaches c equals f(c)"

o The limit says:
"as x gets closer and closer to c then f(x) gets closer and closer to f(c)"

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-16

 Continuity of a function

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-17

Continuity of a function

18
Continuity of a function

19
 Continuity of a function

o If the limit of a function f as x tends to c exists

o But the function value f(c) is different

o Or function f is not defined at point c

In the case when a function f is not defined at point c, we

also say that function f has a gap at c.
Then c is called a remouvable discontinuity

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-20

 Continuity of a function
lim  lim  L
x c  x c

f (c )  L

This discontinuity can be 'removed to make f continuous

at c, or more precisely, the function

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-21

 Continuity of a function

o If both one-sided limits of a function f as x tends to c- and

x tends to c+ exists
o But they are different,

Function f has a finite jump at point c.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-22

 Continuity of a function

o If at least one of the one-sided limits of a function f as x

tends to c- or x tends to c+ does not exist (tends to ∞ or -∞) .

Function f has an infinite jump at point c.

Graphically, this situation corresponds to a vertical asymptote.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-23

 Continuity of a function

o A rational function f =P/Q has a pole at point c if:

Q (c)=0 but P(c)≠0

o As a consequence, the function values of f as x tends to c- or
to c+ tend either to ∞ or -∞, i.e function f is definitely
divergent as tends to c

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-24

 Continuity of a function
o  A f
• has an oscillation point at c if:

Function f is indefinitely divergent as x tends to c.i.e neither

the limit of a function f as x tends to c exist nor function f tends
to as x tends to c.
o An oscillating discontinuity exists when the values of the
function appear to be approaching two or more values
simultaneously. A standard example of this situation is the
1
f ( x)  sin  
function    x

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-25

 Continuity of a function

In the above cases of a finite or infinite jump, a pole and an

oscillation point we say that function f has an irremouvable
discontinuity at point c.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-26

 Continuity of a function
o Let function f:
x2 1
f ( x) 
x 1
In this case, we have c  1 D f , but lim f ( x)  2
x 1

Thus function f has a gap at point c=1.

This is a removable discontinuity, since we can define a

function f with:
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-27
 Continuity of a function

𝑓(𝑥) 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ≠ 1
𝑓 ∗(𝑥) = ൜
2 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = 1

Which is continuous at point c=1

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-28

 • Check the continuity of the following functions:

 2x  6   x 2  6 x for x  3
 for x  3  
a. f ( x)   x  3  at c  3 c. f ( x)  0 for x  3  at c  3
2 for x  3  5 x  3 for x  3 
 

 x 2  3 for x  2
b. f ( x)    at c  2  x  1 for x  1 
2 x  3 for x  2  
d . f ( x)  3x  3 for 1  x  3 at c  1 and c  3
4 x  2 for x  3 
 

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-29

Continuity
Example 1
x3  x
The function F  x  3 x  2 4
x  5x  6

is continuous at all real numbers other than 2 and 3. You can see this by noting

that

F = 3 f + g/h + k

where

3 2
f (x) = |x|, g(x) = x − x, h(x) = x − 5x + 6, k(x) = 4.
Properties of continuous functions

31
Properties of continuous functions

32
Properties of continuous functions

33
Properties of continuous functions
• The theorem says that if a function is continuous and it's positive
somewhere and negative somewhere else, then the function has to
equal zero at some point between those two values. The important
part of this theorem is to note that f(x) must be continuous.

• If f(x) is not continuous, we can't apply the theorem.

• Its most often used to prove that there is a solution to a given

equation. It only proves that there is a solution - it doesn't give us
any indication of what that solution may be.
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-34
 Intermediate Value Theorem

If f is a continuous function on a closed interval [a, b] and L is any number between f

(a) and f (b), then there is at least one number c in [a, b] such that f(c) = L.

y  f ( x)
f (b)

f (c) =L

f (a)

a c b
Section 2

DIFFERENCE QUOTIENT AND THE DERIVATIVE

36
Difference quotient

•  Now we consider the changes in the

• function value y=f() in
relation to changes in the independent variable .

• If we change the value by some value the function value

may also change by some difference , i.e. we have:

=f(+)-f()

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-37

Difference quotient of function f
•  We now consider the ratio of the changes
• and and give the
following definition:

• This also called the average rate of change from x0 to x0   x0

 x   x0   x   x0
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-38
 Difference quotient of function f

• The Difference Quotient is used to find the average rate of change of the value of

function f between two points.

• The Difference Quotient also represents to slope of the secant line between two points

on a curve. Secant line

 

  
 

  
 
   

 
 Derivative of function
•  Let us now consider what happens when
•

• That is, the derivative of the function f is the limit of its

difference quotient.
1-40
 Derivative of function
 
As a result, we call the derivative of f at the instantaneous rate of
change of f with respect to x at .

To resume, for a function f(x), its derivative at x=a is defined by: 

f ( x)  f (a ) f ( x  x)  f ( x)
f '(a)  lim  lim
xa xa x 0 x
1-41
 Example
•  During a month-long advertising campaign, the total sales S
•
of a magazine were given by

• where x represents the number of days of the campaign,

1. What is the average rate of change of sales from x=10 to

x=20 days?

2. What is the instantaneous rate of change of sales when x=10

days?

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.

1-42
 Example
• The fact that the average rate of sales from x =10 to
x =20 is 250 magazines per day indicates that on
the 10th day of the campaign, we can expect to
average 250 magazines per day of additional sales
if we continue the campaign for 10 more days.

• The fact that S’(10)=200 magazines per day

indicates that on the 10th day of the campaign, one
more day of advertising will result in additional
sales of approximately 200 magazines per day.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-43

Derivative of function

44
45
46
Using the Difference Quotient to Find a
Derivative

47
 Using the Difference Quotient to Find a
Derivative
1.   Use formula to find the derivative of
•
2. Find f’ (0), f’ (-1), f’ (3).

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 1-48

 Basic Differentiation Formulas

If the derivative of a function is its slope, then for a constant function, the

derivative must be zero.

d
 c  0 example: y3 y  0
dx
The derivative of a constant is zero.

d n
Power Rule:
dx
 x   nx n 1

If n is any real number, then

d du
Constant Multiple Rule:
 cu   c
If c is a constant and f is differentiable function, then dx dx
d du dv
The Sum Rule:
 u  v  
dx dx dx
 d du dv
The Difference Rule:
 u  v  
dx dx dx

The Product Rule: d dv du

 uv   u  v
dx dx dx

d  2
dx 
x  3 2 x 
3
 5 x    
 x 2  3  6 x 2  5    2 x3  5 x   2x 
du dv
The Quotient Rule:
v u  u  v du  u dv
d u dx dx d 
   2
dx  v  v2 v
  v
Example:
d 2 x  5x3

    
x 2  3 6 x 2  5  2 x3  5 x  2 x 
dx x  3
x 
2 2
2
3 1-50
GRAPHING FUNCTIONS

51
 1. Monotonicity

Checking a function f for monotonicity requires us to determine the intervals on which function f

52
is monotone and strictly monotone, respectively.
53
REVIEW

1-54
 Summary of Transformations

If a > 1, then vertical dilation or stretch by a factor of a

If 0 < a < 1, then vertical shrink or compression by a factor of a

If a < 0, then reflection about the x-axis

(as well as being dilated by a factor of a)

vertical translation of k

a f  x  h  k
f(-x) reflection about y-

axis

horizontal translation of h

(opposite sign of number with the x)

Vertex Form of the Quadratic Function

It is convenient to convert the general

form of a quadratic equation
f ( x)  ax  bx  c
2

f ( x )  a ( x  h)  k
2

to what is known as the vertex form:

 The general form The vertex form

f ( x)  ax  bx  c 2
f ( x )  a ( x  h)  k 2

The vertex
The vertex

Axis of symmetry:
x=h
Axis of symmetry:
Generalization
For f ( x )  a ( x  h)  k
2

• If a  0, then the graph of f is a parabola.

 If a > 0, the graph opens upward.

 If a < 0, the graph opens downward. Vertex is (h , k)

• Axis of symmetry: x = h
• f (h) = k is the minimum if a > 0, otherwise the
maximum
• Domain = set of all real numbers

y y  k if a < 0. If a > 0, the range is  y y  k 

• Range:
 
Properties of Polynomial Functions
• Even degree
 Leading coefficient positive

Leading coefficient negative

• Odd degree
 Leading coefficient positive

 Leading coefficient negative

 SUMMARY OF HOW TO FIND ASYMPTOTES

• Vertical Asymptotes are the values that are NOT in the

domain. To find them, set the denominator = 0 and solve.

• To determine horizontal asymptotes, compare the degrees of

the numerator and denominator.
If the degree of the top < the bottom, horizontal asymptote
along the x axis (y = 0).
If the degree of the top = bottom, horizontal asymptote at
y = leading coefficient of top over leading coefficient of
bottom.
If the degree of the top > the bottom, no horizontal asymptote.
Basic Properties of the Graph of
f (x)  b , b  0, b  1
x

• All graphs will pass through (0,1) (y intercept)

• All graphs are continuous curves, with no holes of
jumps.
• The x axis is a horizontal asymptote.
• If b > 1, then bx increases as x increases.
• If 0 < b < 1, then bx decreases as x increases.
 5.3 Logarithms and Their
Properties
Logarithm

For all positive numbers a, wherey a  1,

a x is equivalent to y  log a x .

A logarithm is an exponent, and loga x is the exponent to which a must be raised in order

to obtain x. The number a is called the base of the logarithm, and x is called the

argument of the expression loga x. The value of x will always be positive.

Arithmetic Sequences
• 

an  a1  (n  1)d

an  an 1  d
Geometric Sequences
A geometric sequence is a special type of sequence
in which successive terms have a common ratio
(multiplying or dividing by the same number each
time)
The common ratio is denoted r
• the explicit formula for geometric seq. is:
n 1
an  a1  r
• the recursive formula for geometric seq. is:

an  (an 1 )  r
• 

1-65
Partial Sum Formulas
• Arithmetic sequence

n n
S n  (a1  an )  (2a1  (n  1)d )
2 2
• Geometric sequence

1 rn
S n  a1 
1 r
1-67
• 

1-68
Definitions of Convergent and
Divergent Series
1-70
Direct Comparison Test
1-72
73
The discontinuity can be removed by redefining f at x . If the limit is L, redefine f at x to be L.

1-74
75
 Intermediate Value Theorem

If f is a continuous function on a closed interval [a, b] and L is any number between f (a) and f

(b), then there is at least one number c in [a, b] such that f(c) = L.

y  f ( x)
f (b)

f (c) = L

f (a)

a c b
77
1-78
 Basic Differentiation Formulas

If the derivative of a function is its slope, then for a constant function, the derivative must be zero.

d
 c  0 example: y3 y  0
dx
The derivative of a constant is zero.

d n
Power Rule:
dx
 x   nx n 1

If n is any real number, then

d du
Constant Multiple Rule:
 cu   c
If c is a constant and f is differentiable function, then dx dx
d du dv
The Sum Rule:
 u  v  
dx dx dx
 d du dv
The Difference Rule:
 u  v  
dx dx dx

The Product Rule: d dv du

 uv   u  v
dx dx dx

d  2
dx 
x  3 2 x 
3
 5 x    
 x 2  3  6 x 2  5    2 x3  5 x   2x 
du dv
The Quotient Rule:
v u  u  v du  u dv
d u dx dx d 
   2
dx  v  v2 v
  v
Example:
d 2 x  5x3

    
x 2  3 6 x 2  5  2 x3  5 x  2 x 
dx x  3
x 
2 2
2
3 1-80
 1. Monotonicity

Checking a function f for monotonicity requires us to determine the intervals on which function f

is monotone and strictly monotone, respectively.

81
2. Extreme points

82
3. Convexity and concavity

83
1-84
Solution

• 

1-85
Ex2

• 

1-86
Ex3

A company is offering a job with a salary of $40,000

for the first year and 3% raise each year after that, If
the raise continues every year find the amount of
money you would earn in a 35-year career.

1-87
Ex5

• 

1-88
 Ex6

Find the equation of the line tangent to the following curve:

y  2x2  6x  4

At the point (1,4)

Write the equation of the tangent in the form y=mx+b

1-89