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MATENA1 Chapter 2-8

This document discusses the concept of derivatives as functions, explaining how the derivative f'(x) represents the slope of the tangent line to the function f(x) at any point x. It also covers examples of differentiability, including cases where functions are continuous but not differentiable, and introduces higher derivatives. Additionally, it provides notation for derivatives and includes practice problems for further understanding.

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9 views22 pages

MATENA1 Chapter 2-8

This document discusses the concept of derivatives as functions, explaining how the derivative f'(x) represents the slope of the tangent line to the function f(x) at any point x. It also covers examples of differentiability, including cases where functions are continuous but not differentiable, and introduces higher derivatives. Additionally, it provides notation for derivatives and includes practice problems for further understanding.

Uploaded by

hildahchikanya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MATENA1:

The Derivative as a Function

Chapter 2.8 (Stewart Calculus)


Consider some function f (x).
In the previous section we considered the
derivative of the function f (x) at some
specific point a:
f (a + h) − f (a)
f 0(a) = lim
h→0 h
However, it is not necessary that we consider
a fixed number a. Instead, we can let a be a
changing quantity (or variable).
If we let a be a changing quantity (or
variable), then f 0(a) becomes a changing
quantity as well.
Therefore, f 0 will be a function (with varying
input a).
Replacing a with a variable x we obtain

f (x + h) − f (x)
f 0(x) = lim
h→0 h
f 0(x) as defined above is called the
derivative of f .

The notation f 0(x) is read as “f prime x” or


sometimes as “f dash x”.
f (x + h) − f (x)
f 0(x) = lim
h→0 h
f 0(x) as defined above is called the
derivative of f .

If we consider y = f 0(x), then the output (or


y-value) of the function f 0 will be the slope
of the tangent of y = f (x) at the input
value x.
Example
Let f (x) = 2x3 + x, find f 0(x).
Comparing the graphs of f and f 0
Below we have y = f (x) = x3 − x (left) and
y = f 0 (x) = 3x2 − 1 (right):

Notice that f 0 (x) = 0 when f has horizontal


tangents and f 0 (x) > 0 when the tangents to f
have positive slope. (See Example 2 in the textbook
for the calculation of f 0 (x).)
√
Example Let f (x) = x. Find the
derivative of f and state the domain of f 0.
1−x
Example Let f (x) = . Find the
2+x
derivative of f .
Other notations for derivatives
Let f (x) be a function and let us denote
y = f (x). Then, some common of ways of
denoting the derivative of f include:

dy df d
f 0(x) = = = f (x) = Df (x)
dx dx dx
= Dxf (x)
Example Where is the function f (x) = |x|
differentiable?
Example: Consider the function
(
x2 − 2x if x > 1
f (x) =
x2 − 4x + 2 if x < 1
Show that f is continuous at x = 1 but that
f is not differentiable at x = 1.
Example: Consider the function
(
x2 − 2x if x > 1
f (x) =
x2 − 4x + 2 if x < 1
Show that f is continuous at x = 1 but that
f is not differentiable at x = 1.
(
x2 − 2x if x > 1
f (x) =
x2 − 4x + 2 if x < 1

Sketching the graph of the previous example, we see


a sharp point at x = 1.
Theorem.
If a function f is differentiable at a then it
is continuous at a.

Proof:
Note that the converse of the previous
theorem is not true.
Consider the function f (x) = |x|. We know
that this function is continuous at 0, however
in a previous example we showed that this
function is not differentiable at 0.
Failures of differentiability
There are three ways that a function can fail
to be differentiable at a point:

f (x) = |x| (at x = 0) is an example of a


√
corner and g(x) = 3 x (at x = 0) is an
example of a vertical tangent.
Higher Derivatives
If f is a differentiable function, then its
derivative f 0 is also a function, so f 0 may
have a derivative of its own, denoted by
(f 0)0 = f 00.
This new function f 00 is called the second
derivative of f because it is the derivative of
the derivative of f .
Higher Derivatives (continued)
We write the second derivative of y = f (x)
as
d2y
 
00 00 d dy
f (x) = y = = 2
dx dx dx
The notation f 00(x) is read as “f double
prime x” or as “f double dash x”.
Higher Derivatives (continued)
We can interpret f 00(x) as the slope of the
curve y = f 0(x) at the point (x, f 0(x)).

In other words, it is the rate of change of the


slope of the original curve y = f (x).
Example Let f (x) = 2x3 + x, find f 00(x).
Practice problems
I Chapter 2.8:
3, 21, 27, 31, 39, 44

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