Differentiation from First

Principles

Learning Objective: to understand that

differentiation is the process for calculating
the gradient of a curve. The rate of change
can be calculated from first principles by
considering the limit of the function at any
one point.
 Rates of change
This graph shows the distance that a car travels over a period of 5
seconds.
The gradient of the graph tells us the
rate at which the distance changes with
distance (m)

40
respect to time.
In other words, the gradient tells us the
0 time (s) 5 speed of the car.

change in distance 40
gradient = = = 8 m/s
change in time 5
The car in this example is travelling at a constant speed since the
gradient is the same at every point on the graph.
 Rates of change
In most situations, however, the speed will not be constant and the
distance–time graph will be curved.
For example, this graph shows the
distance–time graph as the car moves off

distance (m)
from rest.
The speed of the car, and therefore the
gradient, changes as you move along the
0 time (s)
curve.
To find the rate of change in speed we need to find the gradient of the
curve.
The process of finding the rate at which one variable changes with
respect to another is called differentiation.
In most situations this involves finding the gradient of a curve.
 The gradient of a curve
The gradient of a curve at a point is given by the
gradient of the tangent at that point.

Look at how the gradient changes as we move along a curve:

 Differentiation from first principles
Suppose we want to find the gradient of a curve at a point A.
We can add another point B on the line close to point A.
δx represents a small
change in x and δy
represents a small
change in y.

As point B moves
closer to point A, the
gradient of the chord
AB gets closer to the
gradient of the tangent
at A.
 Differentiation from first principles
We can write the gradient of the chord AB as:
change in y y
=
change in x x
y
As B gets closer to A, δx gets closer to 0 and gets closer
x
to the value of the gradient of the tangent at A.
δx can’t actually be equal to 0 because we would then have
division by 0 and the gradient would then be undefined.

Instead we must consider the limit as δx tends to 0.

This means that δx becomes infinitesimal without actually becoming
0.
 Differentiation from first principles
If A is the point (3, 9) on the curve y = x2 and B is another point close
to (3, 9) on the curve, we can write the coordinates of B as (3 + δx,
(3 + δx)2).
The gradient of chord AB is:
 y (3   x )2  9
=
B(3 + δx, (3 + δx) )
2
x (3   x )  3
9  6 x  ( x )2  9
=
x
δy 6 x  ( x )2
=
x
A(3, 9)  x(6   x )
δx =
x
= 6 + x
 Differentiation from first principles
At the limit where δx → 0, 6 + δx → 6.
We write this as:
y
lim = lim 6 +  x = 6
 x 0  x  x 0

So the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x2 at the point (3, 9)

is 6.
Let’s apply this method to a general point on the curve y = x2.
If we let the x-coordinate of a general point A on the curve
y = x2 be x, then the y-coordinate will by x2.
So, A is the point (x, x2).
If B is another point close to A(x, x2) on the curve, we can write the
coordinates of B as (x + δx, (x + δx)2).
Differentiation from first principles
The gradient of chord AB is:
 y ( x   x )2  x 2
B(x + δx, (x + δx)2)
=
x ( x   x)  x
x 2  2 x x  ( x )2  x 2
=
δy
x
2 x x  ( x )2
=
A(x, x2) x
δx  x(2 x   x )
=
x
= 2x +  x

2 y
So for y = x , lim = 2x
 x 0  x
 The gradient function
So the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x2 at the general point
(x, y) is 2x.
2x is often called the gradient function or the derived function of y
= x 2.
If the curve is written using function notation as y = f(x), then the
derived function can be written as f ′(x).
So, if: f(x) = x2
Then: f ′(x) = 2x
This notation is useful if we want to find the gradient of f(x) at a
particular point.
For example, the gradient of f(x) = x2 at the point (5, 25) is:
f ′(5) = 2 × 5 = 10
Now we shall differentiate y = x3 from
first principles:
 dy
Using the notation dx
We have shown that for y = x3
y
lim = 3 x2
 x 0  x

y dy
lim is usually written as .
 x 0  x dx
dy 2
So if y = x3 then: = 3 x
dx
dy
represents the derivative of y with respect to x.
dx
y dy
Remember, is the gradient of a chord, while is the gradient
x dx
of the tangent.
 dy
Using the notation dx

This notation can be adapted for other variables so, for example:

ds
represents the derivative of s with respect to t.
dt
If s is distance and t is time then we can interpret this as the rate of
change in distance with respect to time. In other words, the speed.

Also, if we want to differentiate 2x4 with respect to x, for example,

we can write:
d
(2 x 4 )
dx
We could work this out by differentiating from first principles, but in
practice this is unusual.
Task 1
Differentiate from first principles

1. y = x4

2. y = 1/x