1-Coordinates, Graphs and Lines VU

Lecture 1

Coordinates, Graphs and Lines

What is Calculus??

Well, it is the study of the continuous rates of the change of quantities. It is the study of how various
quantities change with respect to other quantities. For example, one would like to know how distance changes
with respect to (from now onwards we will use the abbreviation w.r.t) time, or how time changes w.r.t speed,
or how water flow changes w.r.t time etc. You want to know how this happens continuously. We will see
what continuously means as well.

In this lecture, we will talk about the following topics:

-Real Numbers

-Set Theory

-Intervals

-Inequalities

-Order Properties of Real Numbers

Let's start talking about Real Numbers. We will not talk about the COMPLEX or IMANGINARY
numbers, although your text has something about them which you can read on your own. We will go through
the history of REAL numbers and how they popped into the realm of human intellect. We will look at the
various types of REALS - as we will now call them. So Let's START.

The simplest numbers are the natural numbers

Natural Numbers

1, 2,3, 4,5,...

They are called the natural numbers because they are the first to have crossed paths with human intellect.
Think about it: these are the numbers we count things with. So our ancestors used these numbers first to
count, and they came to us naturally! Hence the name

NATURAL!!!

The natural numbers form a subset of a larger class of numbers called the integers. I have used the word
SUBSET. From now onwards we will just think of SET as a COLLECTION OF THINGS.

This could be a collection of oranges, apples, cars, or politicians. For example, if I have the SET of politicians
then a SUBSET will be just a part of the COLLECTION. In mathematical notation we say A is subset of B
if ∀x ∈ A ⇒ x ∈ B .Then we write A ⊆ B .

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Set

The collection of well defined objects is called a set. For example

{George Bush, Toney Blair, Ronald Reagoan}

Subset

A portion of a set B is a subset of A iff every member of B is a member of A . e.g. one subset of above
set is

{George Bush, Tony Blair}

The curly brackets are always used for denoting SETS. We will get into the basic notations and ideas of sets
later. Going back to the Integers. These are

..., −4, −3, −2, −1, 0,1, 2,3, 4,...

So these are just the natural numbers, plus a 0 , and the NEGATIVES of the natural numbers.

The reason we didn’t have 0 in the natural numbers is that this number itself has an interesting
story, from being labeled as the concept of the DEVIL in ancient Greece, to being easily accepted in the
Indian philosophy, to being promoted in the use of commerce and science by the Arabs and the Europeans.
But here, we accept it with an open heart into the SET of INTEGERS.

What about these NEGATIVE Naturals??? Well, they are an artificial construction. They also have a history
of their own. For a long time, they would creep up in the solutions of simple equations like

x+2=0 . The solution is x = −2

So now we have the Integers plus the naturals giving us things we will call REAL numbers. But that's not all.
There is more. The integers in turn are a subset of a still larger class of numbers called the rational numbers.
With the exception that division by zero is ruled out, the rational numbers are formed by taking ratios of
integers.

Examples are

2 7 6 −5
, , ,
3 5 1 2

Observe that every integer is also a rational number because an integer p can be written as a ratio. So every
integer is also a rational. Why not divide by 0 ? Well here is why:

If x is different from zero, this equation is contradictory; and if x is equal to zero, this equation is satisfied
by any number y , so the ratio does not have a unique value a situation that is mathematically unsatisfactory.

x/0 =y⇒ x=
0. y ⇒ x =
0

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For these reasons such symbols are not assigned a value; they are said to be undefined.

So we have some logical inconsistencies that we would like to avoid. I hope you see that!! Hence, no
division by 0 allowed! Now we come to a very interesting story in the history of the development of Real
numbers. The discovery of IRRATIONAL numbers.

Pythagoras was an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician. He studied the properties of numbers for
its own sake, not necessarily for any applied problems. This was a major change in mathematical thinking as
math now took on a personality of its own. Now Pythagoras got carried away a little, and developed an
almost religious thought based on math. He concluded that the size of a physical quantity must consist of a
certain whole number of units plus some fraction m / n of an additional unit. Now rational numbers have a
unique property that if you convert them to decimal notation, the numbers following the decimal either end
quickly, or repeat in a pattern forever.

Example:

1
= 0.500000
= … 0.5
2

1
= 0.33333…
3

This fit in well with Pythagoras’ beliefs. All is well. But this idea was shattered in the fifth century B.C. by
Hippasus of Metapontum who demonstrated the existence of irrational numbers, that is, numbers that cannot
be expressed as the ratio of integers.

Using geometric methods, he showed that the hypotenuse of the right triangle with base and opposite
side equal to 1 cannot be expressed as the ratio of integers, thereby proving that 2 is an IRRATIONAL
number. The hypotenuse of this right triangle can be expressed as the ratio of integers.

Other examples of irrational numbers are

Cos 190 ,1 + 2

The rational and irrational numbers together comprise a larger class of numbers, called REAL NUMBERS or
sometimes the REAL NUMBER SYSTEM. So here is a pictorial summary of the hierarchy of REAL
NUMBNERS.

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Pictorial summary of the hierarchy of REAL NUMBNERS

COORDINATE Line

In the 1600 ’s, analytic geometry was “developed”. It gave a way of describing algebraic formulas by geometric
curves and, conversely, geometric curves by algebraic formulas. So basically you could DRAW PICTURES
OF THE EQUATIONS YOU WOULD COME ACROSS, AND WRITE DOWN EQUATIONS OF
THE PICTURES YOU RAN INTO!

The developer of this idea was the French mathematician, Descartes .The story goes that he wanted
to find out as to what Made humans HUMANS?? Well, he is said to have seated himself in a 17th century
furnace (it was not burning at the time!) and cut himself from the rest of the world. In this world of cold and
darkness, he felt all his senses useless. But he could still think!!!! So he concluded that his ability to think is
what made him human, and then he uttered the famous line: “ I THINK, THEREFORE I AM” .In analytic
geometry , the key step is to establish a correspondence between real numbers and points on a line. We do
this by arbitrarily designating one of the two directions along the line as the positive direction and the other as
the negative direction.

So we draw a line, and call the RIGHT HAND SIDE as POSITIVE DIRECTION, and the LEFT HAND
SIDE as NEGATIVE DIRECTION. We could have done it the other way around too. But, since what we
just did is a cultural phenomenon where right is + and left is − , we do it this way. Moreover, this has now

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become

a standard in doing math, so anything else will be awkward to deal with. The positive direction is usually
marked with an arrowhead so we do that too. Then we choose an arbitrary point and take that as our point
of reference.

We call this the ORIGIN, and mark it with the number 0. So we have made our first correspondence
between a real number and a point on the Line. Now we choose a unit of measurement, say 1 cm. It can be
anything really. We use this unit of measurement to mark of the rest of the numbers on the line. Now this
line, the origin, the positive direction, and the unit of measurement define what is called a coordinate line or
sometimes a real line.

With each real number we can now associate a point on the line as fo1lows:

• Associate the origin with the number 0.

• Associate with each positive number r the point that is a distance of r units (this is the unit we
chose, say 1 cm) in the positive direction from the origin.
• Associate with each negative number − r the point that is a distance of r units in the negative
direction from the origin.

The real number corresponding to a point on the line is called the coordinate of the point.

Example 1:

In Figure we have marked the locations of the points with coordinates −4, −3, −1.75, −0.5, π , 2 and 4 .
The locations of π and 2 which are approximate, were obtained from their decimal approximations,

π = 3.14 and 2 = 1.41

It is evident from the way in which real numbers and points on a coordinate line are related that each real
number corresponds to a single point and each point corresponds to a single real number. To describe this
fact we say that the real numbers and the points on a coordinate line are in one-to-one correspondence.

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Order Properties

In mathematics, there is an idea of ORDER of a SET. We won’t go into the general

concept, since that involves SET THEORY and other high level stuff. But we will define the ORDER of the
real number set as follows:

For any two real numbers a and b , if b − a is positive, then we say that b > a or that a < b .

Here I will assume that we are all comfortable working with the symbol “ < ” which is read as “less than” and
the symbol “ > ” which is read as “greater than.” I am assuming this because this stuff was covered in algebra
before Calculus. So with this in mind we can write the above statement as

If b − a is positive, then we say that b > a or that a < b . A statement involving < or > are called an
INEQUALITY. Note that the inequality a < b can also be expressed as b > a .

So ORDER of the real number set in a sense defines the SIZE of a real number relative to another real
number in the set. The SIZE of a real number a makes sense only when it is compared with another real b. So
the ORDER tells you how to “ORDER” the numbers in the SET and also on the COORDINATE
LINE!

A little more about inequalities. The inequality a ≤ b is defined to mean that either a < b or a = b .

So there are two conditions here. For example, the inequality 2 ≤ 6 would be read as 2 is less than or it is
equal to 6 . We know that it’s less than 6 , so the inequality is true. SO IF ONE OF THE CONDITIONS IS
TRUE, THEN THE INEQUALITY WILL BE TRUE, We can say a similar thing about. The expression
a < b < c is defined to mean that a < b and b < c . It is also read as “ b is between a and c ”.
As one moves along the coordinate line in the positive direction, the real numbers increase in size. In other
words, the real numbers are ordered in an ascending manner on the number line, just as they are in the SET
of REAL NUMBERS. So that on a horizontal coordinate line the inequality a < b implies that a is to the
left of b , and the inequality a < b < c implies that a is to the left of b and b is to the left of c .

The symbol a < b < c means a < b and b < c . I will leave it to the reader to deduce the meanings of such
symbols as ≤ and ≥ .

Here is an example of INEQUALITIES.

a≤b<c
a≤b≤c
a<b<c<d
Example:

Correct Inequalities

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3 < 8, − 7 < 1.5, − 12 ≤ x, 5 ≤ 5

0 ≤ 2 ≤ 4, 8 ≥ 3, 1.5 > −7
−π > −12, 5 ≥ 5, 3 > 0 > −1 > −3

Some incorrect inequalities are:

2 ≥ 4, π ≤ 0, 5 < −3

REMARK: To distinguish verbally between numbers that satisfy a ≥ 0 and those that satisfy a > 0 , we
shall call a nonnegative if a ≥ 0 and positive if a > 0 .

Thus, a nonnegative number is either positive or zero.

The following properties of inequalities are frequently used in calculus. We omit the proofs, but will look at
some examples that will make the point.

THEOREM 1.1.1

a ) If a < b and b < c, then a < c

b) If a < b and a + c < b + c, then a − c < b − c

c) If a < b and ac < bc, when c is positive

and ac > bc when c is negative.

d ) If a < b and c < d , then a + c < b + d

e) If a and b are both positive or both negative

1 1
and a < b then >
a b

REMARK These five properties remain true if < and > are replaced by ≤ and ≥

INTERVALS

We saw a bit about sets earlier. Now we shall assume in this text that you are familiar with the
concept of a set and fully understand the meaning of the following symbols. However, we will give a short
explanation of each.

Given two sets A and B

a ∈ A : a is an element of the set A,

2 ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4}

a ∉ A : a is NOT an element of the set A

5 ∉{1, 2, 3, 4}

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∅ represents the Empty set, or the set that contains nothing.

A ∪ B represents the SET of all the elements of the Set A and the Set B taken together.
Example:

=A {1, 2,3,
= 4} , B {1, 2,3, 4,5, 6, 7} , then
=, A ∪ B {1, 2,3, 4,5, 6, 7}

A ∩ B represents the SET of all those elements that are in Set A AND in Set B .
Example:

=A {1, 2,3,
= 4} , B {1, 2,3, 4,5, 6, 7} , then
= A ∩ B {1, 2,3, 4}

A = B means the A is exactly the same set as B

Example:

A = {1,2,3,4} and B = {1,2,3,4}, then A = C

and A ⊂ B means that the Set A is contained in the Set B. Recall the example we did of the Set of all
politicians!

{George Bush, Tony Blair} ⊂ {George Bush, Toney Blair, Ronald Reagoan}

One way to specify the idea of a set is to list its members between braces. Thus, the set of all positive integers
less than 5 can be written as

{ 1, 2, 3, 4}

and the set of all positive even integers can be written as

{ 2, 4, 6, …}

where the dots are used to indicate that only some of the members are explicitly and the rest can be obtained
by continuing the pattern. So here the pattern is that the set consists of the even numbers, and the next
element must be 8, then 10, and then so on. When it is inconvenient or impossible to list the members of a
set, as would be if the set is infinite, then one can use the set- builder notation. This is written as

{ x : _________ }

which is read as “the set of all x such that ______” , In place of the line, one would state a property that
specifies the set, Thus,

{ x : x is real number and 2 < x < 3}

is read, "the set of all x such that x is a real number and 2 < x < 3," Now we know by now that
2 < x < 3 means that all the x between 2 and 3.

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This specifies the “description of the elements of the set” This notation describes the set, without actually
writing down all its elements.
When it is clear that the members of a set are real numbers, we will omit the reference to this fact. So we will
write the above set as Intervals.

We have had a short introduction of Sets. Now we look particular kind of sets that play a crucial role in
Calculus and higher math. These sets are sets of real numbers called intervals. What is an interval?

{ x: 2< x< 3}

Well, geometrically, an interval is a line segment on the co-ordinate line. S if a and b are real numbers such that
a < b , then an interval will be just the line segment joining a and b.

But if things were only this simple! Intervals are of various types. For example, the question might be raised
whether a and b are part of the interval? Or if a is, but b is not?? Or maybe both are?

Well, this is where we have to be technical and define the following:

The closed interval from a to b is denoted by [a, b] and is defined as

[a, b] = { x : a ≤ x ≤ b}

Geometrically this is the line segment

So this includes the numbers a and b, a and b a are called the END- POINTS of the interval.

The open interval from a to b is denoted by and is defined by

( a, b ) = {x : a < x < b}
This excludes the numbers a and b. The square brackets indicate that the end points are included in the
interval and the parentheses indicate that they are not.

Here are various sorts of intervals that one finds in mathematics. In this picture, the geometric pictures use
solid dots to denote endpoints that are included in the interval and open dots to denote endpoints that are
not.

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INTERVAL SET GEOMETRIC PICTURE CLASSIFICATION

NOTATION NOTATION

( a, b ) { x : a < x < b} a
Finite ; Open
b
[ a, b ] { x : a ≤ x ≤ b} Finite ; Closed
a b
[ a, b ) { x : a ≤ x < b} Finite ; Half-open
a b
( a, b ] { x : a < x ≤ b} Finite ; Half-open
a b
( −∞,b] { x : x ≤ b} Infinite ; Closed
b
( −∞,b ) { x : x < b} Infinite ; Open
b

As shown in the table, an interval can extend indefinitely in either the positive direction, the negative
direction, or both. The symbols −∞ (read "negative infinity") and +∞ (read, 'positive infinity' ) do not
represent numbers: the +∞ indicates that the interval extends indefinitely in the positive direction, and the
−∞ indicates that it extends indefinitely in the negative direction.
An interval that goes on forever in either the positive or the negative directions, or both, on the coordinate
line or in the set of real numbers is called an INFINITE interval. Such intervals have the symbol for infinity
at either end points or both, as is shown in the table

An interval that has finite real numbers as end points are called finite intervals.

A finite interval that includes one endpoint but not the other is called half-open (or sometimes half-closed).

[a, + ∞), (a, − ∞), (−∞, b], (−∞, b)

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Infinite intervals of the form [a, + ∞) and (−∞, b] are considered to be closed because they contain their
endpoint. Those of the form (a, − ∞) and (−∞, b) has no endpoints; it is regarded to be both open and
closed. As one of my Topology Instructors used to say:

“A set is not a DOOR! It can be OPEN, it can be CLOSED, and it can be OPEN and CLOSED!!

Let's remember this fact for good!” Let's look at the picture again for a few moments and digest the
information. PAUSE 10 seconds.

SOLVING INEQUALITIES

We have talked about Inequalities before. Let's talk some more. First Let's look at an inequality involving and
unknown quantity, namely x. Here is one: x < 5,x = 1, is a solution of this inequality as 1 makes it true, but
x = 7 is not. So the set of all solutions of an inequality is called its solution set. The solution set of x < 5 will
be

It is a fact, though we wont prove this that if one does not multiply both sides of an inequality by zero or an
expression involving an unknown, then the operations in Theorem 1.1.1 will not change the solution set of
the inequality. The process of finding the solution set of an inequality is called solving the Inequality.

Let's do some fun stuff, like some concrete example to make things a bit more focused

Example 4.

Solve 3 + 7 x ≤ 2 x − 9

Solution.

We shall use the operations of Theorem 1.1.1 to isolate x on one side of the inequality

7 x ≤ 2 x − 12 Subtracting 3 from both sides

5 x ≤ − 12 Subtracting 2 x from both sides
x ≤ −12 / 5 Dividing both sides by 5

Because we have not multiplied by any expressions involving the unknown x, the last inequality has the same
solution set as the first. Thus, the solution set is the interval shown in Figure 1.1.6.

Example

Solve 7 ≤ 2 − 5x < 9
Solution ; The given inequality is actually a combination of the two inequalities

7 ≤ 2 − 5 x and 2 − 5 x < 9

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We could solve the two inequalities separately, then determine the value of x that satisfy both by taking the
intersection of the solution sets , however, it is possible to work with the combined inequality in this problem

5 ≤ −5 x < 7 Subtracting 2 from both sides

−1 ≥ x > −7 / 5 Dividing by − 5 inequality symbols reversed
−7 / 5 < x ≤ −1 Re writing with smaller number first
(−7 / 5, −1]

Thus the solution set is interval shown the figure

Example

Similarly, you can find

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Lecture 2

Absolute Value

In this lecture we shall discuss the notation of Absolute Value. This concept plays an important role in
algebraic computations involving radicals and in determining the distance between points on a coordinate
line.

Definition

The absolute vale or magnitude of a real number a is denoted by |a| and is defined by

 a if a ≥ 0, that is, a is non − negative

|a|= 
−a if a < 0, that is, a is negative.

Technically, 0 is considered neither positive, nor negative in Mathematics. It is called a non-negative number.
Hence whenever we want to talk about a real number a such that a ≥ 0, we call a non-negative, and positive
if a > 0.

Example

4 4 4
5 =5 , − = −( − ) = , 0 =0
7 7 7

since 5>0 since -4/7 < 0 since 0 ≥0

Note that the effect of taking the absolute value of a number is to strip away the minus sign if the number is
negative and to leave the number unchanged if it is non-negative. Thus, |a| is a non-negative number for all
values of a and − a ≤ a ≤ a , if ‘a’ is itself is negative, then ‘–a’ is positive and ‘+a’ is negative.

a + b ≥ 0 or a + b < 0

a+b= a+b
a+b ≤ a + b

a+b =−( a + b)

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Caution: Symbols such as +a and –a are deceptive, since it is tempting to conclude that +a is positive and –a
is negative. However this need not be so, since a itself can represent either a positive or negative number. In
fact , if a itself is negative, then –a is positive and +a is negative.

Example: Solve x−3 =

4

Solution:

Depending on whether x-3 is positive or negative , the equation |x-3| = 4 can be written as

x-3 = 4 or x-3 = -4

Solving these two equations give

x=7 and x=-1

Example Solve 3x − 2 = 5 x + 4
Because two numbers with the same absolute value are either equal or differ only in sign, the given
equation will be satisfied if either

3 x − 2 =5 x + 4
3 x − 2 =−(5 x + 4) or
3 x − 5 x =4 + 2
3 x − 2 =−5 x − 4 or
−2 x =63 x + 5 x =−4 + 2 or
1
x=
−3 or x= −
4

Relationship between Square Roots and Absolute Values :

Recall that a number whose square is a is called a square root of a.

In algebra it is learned that every positive real number a has two real square roots, one positive and one
negative. The positive square root is denoted by a For example, the number 9 has two square roots, -3
and 3. Since 3 is the positive square root, we have 9 = 3.

In addition, we define 0 = 0.

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It is common error to write a 2 = a . Although this equality is correct when a is nonnegative, it is false for
negative a. For example, if a=-4, then a 2 = (−4) 2 = 16 =4 ≠ a

The positive square root of the square of a number is equal to that number.

A result that is correct for all a is given in the following theorem.

Theorem: For any real number a, a2 = a

Proof :

Since a2 = (+a)2 = (-a)2, the number +a and –a are square roots of a2. If a ≥ 0 , then +a is
nonnegative square root of a2, and if a < 0 , then -a is nonnegative square root of a2. Since a2
denotes the nonnegative square root of a2, we have

a2 = +a if a ≥ 0
if
a 2 = −a if a < 0

That is, a2 = a

Properties of Absolute Value

Theorem

If a and b are real numbers, then

(a) |-a| = |a|, a number and its negative have the same absolute value.

(b) |ab| = |a| |b|, the absolute value of a product is the product of absolute values.

(c) |a/b| = |a|/|b|, the absolute value of the ratio is the ratio of the absolute values

Proof (a) :

| −a=| ( − a )=
2
a=
2
|a|

Proof (b) :

=
ab =
(ab) 2 =
a 2b 2 a=
2
b2 a b

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This result can be extended to three or more factors. More precisely, for any n real numbers,
a1,a2,a3,……an, it follows that

|a 1 a 2 …..a n| = |a 1 | |a 2 | …….|a n |

In special case where a 1 , a 2 ,…….,a n have the same value, a, it follows from above equation that

|an|=|a|n

Example

(a) |-4|=|4|=4

(b) |(2)(-3)|=|-6|=6=|2||-3|=(2)(3)=6

(c) |5/4|=5/4=|5|/|4|=5/4

Geometric Interpretation Of Absolute Value

The notation of absolute value arises naturally in distance problems, since distance is always
nonnegative. On a coordinate line, let A and B be points with coordinates a and b, the distance d between A
and B is

b − a if a < b

=
d a − b if a > b
0 if a = b


As shown in figure b-a is positive, so b-a=|b-a| ; in the second case b-a is negative, so

a-b = -(b-a) = |b-a| .

Thus, in all cases we have the following result:

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Theorem

(Distance Formula)

If A and B are points on a coordinate line with coordinates a and b, respectively, then the distance d between
A and B is

d = |b-a|

This formula provides a useful geometric interpretation

Of some common mathematical expressions given in table here

Table

EXPRESSION GEOMETRIC INTERPRETATION

ON A COORDINATE LINE

|x-a| The distance between x and a

|x+a| The distance between x and -a

|x| The distance between x and origin

Inequalities of the form |x-a|<k and |x-a|>k arise often, so we have summarized the key facts about them
here in following table

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Example

Solve |x-3| < 4

Solution: This inequality can be written as

-4 < x-3 < 4

adding 3 throughout we get

-1 < x < 7

This can be written in interval notation as (-1,7)

Example Solve x + 4 ≥ 2

Solution: The given inequality can be written as

 x + 4 ≤ −2  x ≤ −6
 
or or simply or
x + 4 ≥ 2  x ≥ −2
 

Which can be written in set notation as

( −∞, −6]U [ −2, +∞ )

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The Triangle Inequality

It is not generally true that a + b = a + b

For example , if a =2 and b =−3 , then a + b =−1
so that a + b =−1 =1
whereas
a = b = 2 + −3 = 2 + 3 = 5
so a + b ≠ a + b

It is true, however, that the absolute value of a sum is always less than or equal to the sum of the absolute
values. This is the content of the following very important theorem, known as the triangle inequality . This
TRIANGLE INEQUALITY is the essence of the famous HISENBURG UNCERTAINITY PRINCIPLE
IN QUANTUM PHYSICS, so make sure you understand it fully.

THEOREM 1.2.5

(Triangle Inequality)

If a and b are any real numbers, then

a+b ≤ a + b

PROOF

Remember the following inequalities we saw earlier .

− a ≤ a ≤ a and − b ≤ b ≤ b

Let's add these two together. We get

−a ≤a≤ a + − b ≤b≤ b
= ( − a ) + (− b ) ≤ a + b ≤ a + b (B)

Since a and b are real numbers, adding them will also result in a real number. Well, there are two types of real
numbers. What are they?? Remember!!!!! They are either > = 0, or they are < 0! Ok!!

SO we have

a + b ≥ 0 or a + b < 0

In the first of these cases where a+b ≥ 0 certainly a+b= a+b

by definition of absolute value. so the right-hand inequality in (B) gives

a+b ≤ a + b

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In the second case

a+b =−( a + b)

But this is the same as

a + b =− a + b

So the left-hand inequality in (B) can be written as

−( a + b ) ≤ − a + b

Multiplying both sides of this inequality by - 1 give

a+b ≤ a + b

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Lecture 3

In this lecture we will discuss

• Graphs in the coordinate plane.

• Intercepts.
• Symmetry Plane.

We begin with the Coordinate plane. Just as points on a line can be placed in one-to-one correspondence
with the real numbers, so points in the PLANE can be placed in one-to-one correspondence with pairs of
real numbers. What is a plane?

A PLANE is just the intersection of two COORDINATE lines at 90 degrees. It is technically called the
COORDINATE PLANE, but we will call it the plane also whenever it is convenient. Each line is a line with
numbers on it, so to define a point in the PLANE, we just read of the corresponding points on each line. For
example I pick a point in the plane

By an ordered pair of real numbers we mean two real numbers in an assigned order. Every point P in a
coordinate plane can be associated with a unique ordered pair of real numbers by drawing two lines through
P, one perpendicular to the x-axis and the other to the y-axis.

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For example if we take (a,b)=(4,3), then on coordinate plane

To plot a point P(a, b) means to locate the point with coordinates (a, b) in a coordinate plane. For example, In
the figure below we have plotted the points P(2,5), Q(-4,3), R(-5,-2), and S(4,-3).Now this idea will enable us
to visualise algebraic equations as geometric curves and, conversely, to represent geometric curves by
algebraic equations.

Labelling the axes with letters x and y is a common convention, but any letters may be used. If the letters x
and y are used to label the coordinate axes, then the resulting plane is also called an xy-plane. In applications it
is common to use letters other than x and y to label coordinate axes. Figure below shows a uv-plane and a ts-
plane. The first letter in the name of the plane refers to the horizontal axis and the second to the vertical axis.

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Here is another terminology. The COORDINATE PLANE and the ordered pairs we just discussed is
together known as the RECTANGULAR COORDINATE SYSTEM. In a rectangular coordinate system the
coordinate axes divide the plane into four regions called quadrants. These are numbered counter clockwise
with Roman numerals as shown in the Figure below.

Consider the equations

5 xy = 2
x2 + 2 y 2 =
7
=
y x3 − 7

We define a solution of such an equation to be an ordered pair of real numbers(a,b) so that the equation is
satisfactory when we substitute x=a and y=b.

Example 1

The pair (3,2) is a solution of

6 x − 4 y = 10

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since this equation is satisfied when we substitute x = 3 and y = 2. That is

6(3) − 4(2) =
10
which is true!!

However, the pair (2,0) is not a solution, since

6(2) − 4(0) =
18 ≠ 10
We make the following definition in order to start seeing algebraic objects geometrically.

Definition. The GRAPH of an equation in two variables x and y is the set of all points in the xy-plane whose
coordinates are members of the solution set of the equation.

Example 2

Sketch the graph of y = x 2

When we plot these on the xy-plane and connect them, we get this picture of the graph

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IMPORTANT REMARK.

It should be kept in mind that the curve in above is only an approximation to the graph of y = x 2 .

When a graph is obtained by plotting points, whether by hand, calculator, or computer, there is no guarantee
that the resulting curve has the correct shape. For example, the curve in the Figure here pass through the
points tabulated in above table.

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INTERCEPTS

Points where a graph intersects the coordinate axes are of special interest in many problems. As illustrated
before, intersections of a graph with the x-axis have the form (a, 0) and intersections with the y-axis have the
form (0, b). The number a is called an x-intercept of the graph and the number b a y-intercept.

Example: Find all intercepts of

Solution

is the required x-intercept

is the required y-intercept

Similarly you can solve part (b), the part (c) is solved here

In the following figure, the points (x,y),(-x,y),(x,-y) and (-x,-y) form the corners of a rectangle.

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SYMMETRY

Symmetry is at the heart of many mathematical arguments concerning the structure of the universe, and
certainly symmetry plays an important role in applied mathematics and engineering fields. Here is what it is.

As illustrated in Figure the points

(x, y ) , ( − x, y ), ( x, − y ) and ( − x, − y ) form the corners of a rectangle.

For obvious reasons, the points (x,y) and (x,-y) are said to be symmetric about the x-axis and the points

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( x, y) and ( -x, y) are symmetric about the y-axis and the points (x, y) and ( -x, -y) symmetric about the origin.

SYMMETRY AS A TOOL FOR GRAPHING

By taking advantage of symmetries when they exist, the work required to obtain a graph can be reduced
considerably.

Example 9

Sketch the graph of the equation

1 4
=y x − x2
8

1
Solution. The graph is symmetric about the y-axis since substituting − x for x yields y= (− x) 4 − (− x) 2
8
which simplifies to the original equation.

As a consequence of this symmetry, we need only calculate points on the graph that lies in the right half of
the xy-plane ( x >= 0).

The corresponding points in the left half of the xy-plane ( x <= 0).

can be obtained with no additional computation by using the symmetry. So put only positive x-values in
given equation and evaluate corresponding y-values.

Since graph is symmetric about y-axis, we will just put negative signs with the x-values taken before and take
the same y-values as evaluated before for positive x-values.

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Example 10 Sketch the graph of x = y 2

Solution. If we solve x = y 2 for y in terms of x, we obtain two solutions,

y = x and y = − x

The graph of y = x is the portion of the curve x = y 2 that lies above or touches the x-axis (since
y = x ≥ 0 ), and the graph of y = − x is the portion that lies below or touches the x-axis (since

y = − x ≤ 0 ). However, the curve x = y 2 is symmetric about the x-axis because substituting

− y for y yields x = (− y ) 2 which is equivalent to the original equation. Thus, we need only graph

y = x and then reflect it about the x-axis to complete the graph x = y 2 .

is the graph of the function. y = x

is the required graph of the function.

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Lecture 4

Lines

In this section we shall discuss ways to measure the "steepness" or "slope" of a line in the plane. The ideas we
develop here will be important when we discuss equations and graphs of straight lines. We will assume that
you have sufficient understanding of trigonometry.

Slope

In surveying, slope of a hill is defined to be the ratio of its rise to its run. We shall now show how the
surveyor’s notion of slope can be adapted to measure the steepness of a line in the xy-plane.

Consider a particle moving left to right along a non vertical line segment from a point P1(x1,y1) to a point
P2(x2,y2). As shown in the figure below,

the particle moves y2-y1 units in the y-direction as it travels x2-x1 units in the positive x-direction. The
vertical change y2-y1 is called the rise, and the horizontal change x2-x1 the run. By analogy with the
surveyor's notion of slope we make the following definition.

Definition 1.4.1

If P1(x1,y1) and P2(x2,y2) are points on a non-vertical line, then the slope m of the line is defined by

rise y 2 − y1
=
m =
run x 2 − x1
So the slope is the ratio of the vertical distance and the horizontal distance between two points on a line. We
make several observations about Definition 1.4.1.

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Definition 1.4.1 does not apply to vertical lines. For such lines we would have

x 2 = x1

so (1) would involve a division by zero. The slope of a vertical line is UNDEFINED. Speaking informally,
some people say that a vertical line has infinite slope . When using formula in the definition to calculate the
slope of a line through two points, it does not matter which point is called P1 and which one is called P2,
since reversing the points reverses the sign of both the numerator and denominator of (1), and hence has no
effect on the ratio. Any two distinct points on a non-vertical line can be used to calculate the slope of the line
that is, the slope m computed from any other pair of distinct points P1 and P2 on the line will be the same as
the slope m’ computed from any other pair of distinct points P’1 and P’2 on the line. All this is shown in
figure below

y 2 − y1 y′2 − y1′
=m = = m′
x 2 − x1 x ′2 − x1′

Example

In each part find the slope of the line through

(a) the points (6,2) and (9,8) (b) the points (2,9) and (4,3)

(c) the points (-2,7) and (5,7)

Solution:

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8−2 6
a) m= = = 2
9−6 3
3 − 9 −6
b) m= = = −3
4−2 2
7−7 0
c) m= = = 0
5 − (−2) 7

Interpretation of slope

Since the slope m of a line is the rise divided by the run, it follows that

rise = m . run

so that as a point travels left to right along the line, there are m units of rise for each unit of run. But the
rise is the change in y value of the point and the run is the change in the x value, so that the slope m is
sometimes called the rate of change of y with respect to x along the line.

As illustrated in the last example, the slope of a line can be positive, negative or zero.

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A positive slope means that the line is inclined upward to the right, a negative slope means that it is inclined
downward to the right, and a zero slope means that the line is horizontal.

Angle of Inclination

If equal scales are used on the coordinate axis, then the slope of a line is related to the angle the line makes
with the positive x-axis.

Definition 1.4.2

For a line L not parallel to the x-axis, the angle of inclination is the smallest angle measured
counterclockwise from the direction of the positive x-axis to L (shown in figure below). For a line parallel to
the x-axis, we take ∅ = 0.

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In degree measure the angle of inclination satisfies 00 ≤ φ ≤ 1800 and in radian measure it satisfies
0 ≤φ ≤π .

The following theorem, suggested

by the figure at right, relates the

Slope of a line to its angle of Inclination.

Theorem 1.4.3

For a nonvertical line, the slope m and angle of inclination ∅ are related by

=
m tan ∅ (2)

1
If the line L is parallel to the y-axis, then ∅= π
2
so tan ∅ is undefined. This agrees with the fact that the slope m is undefined for vertical lines.

Example

Find the angle of inclination for a line of slope m = 1 and also for a line of slope m = -1.

Solution : If m = 1, then from (2)

tan ∅ =1

1
∅= π
4

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If m = -1, then from (2)

tan ∅ = −1 , from this equality and the fact that 0 ≤ ∅ ≤ π we obtain

3π
∅= .
4

Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

Theorem 1.4.4

Let L1 and L2 be non-vertical lines with slopes m1 and m2, respectively

(a) The lines are parallel if and only if

m1 = m 2 ……. (3)

(b) The lines are perpendicular if and only if

m 1 m 2 = -1 …….. (4)

Basically, if two lines are parallel, then they have the same slope, and if they are perpendicular, then the
product of there slopes is -1.

Formula (4) can be rewritten in the form

1
m2 = -
m1

In words, this tells us that two non-vertical lines are perpendicular if and only if their slopes are NEGATIVE
RECIPROCALS OF ONE ANOTHER

Example

Use slopes to show that the points A(I, 3), B(3, 7), and C(7, 5) are vertices of a right triangle.

Solution:

Slope through A and B = m1 = (7-3)/(3-1) = 2

Slope through B and C = m2 = (5-7)/(7-3) = - 1/2

Since m1m2 = (2)(-1/2)=-1

The line through A and B is perpendicular to the line through B and C; thus, ABC is a right
triangle.

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Equations of Lines

Lines Parallel to the Coordinate axes

We now turn to the problem of finding equations of lines that satisfy specified conditions.

The simplest cases are lines PARALLEL TO THE COORDINATE AXES: A line parallel to the y-axis
intersects the x-axis at some point (a, 0).

This line consists precisely of those points whose x-coordinate is equal to a. Similarly, a line parallel to the x-
axis intersects the y-axis at some point (0, b ). This line consists precisely of those points whose y-coordinate
is equal to b.

Theorem 1.4.5

The vertical line through (a,0) and the horizontal line through (0,b) are represented, respectively, by the
equations

x=a and y=b

Example

The graph of x = -5 is the vertical line through (-5,0) and the graph of y = 7 is the horizontal line through
(0,7).

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LINES DETERMINED BY POINT AND SLOPE

There are infinitely many lines that pass through any given point in the plane. However, if we specify the

slope of the line in addition to a point on it, then the point and the slope together determine a unique line.

Let us see how we can find the equation of a non-vertical line L that passes through a point P1(x1,y1) and has
slope m. If P(x,y) is any point on L, different from P1, then the slope m can be obtained from the points
P(x,y) and P1(x1,y1); this gives

y - y1
m=
x - x1

which gives

y - y1 = m(x - x1 )

In summary, we have the following theorem.

Theorem 1.4.6

The line passing through P1(x1,y1) and having slope m is given by the equation

y - y1 = m(x - x1 )

This is called the point-slope form of line.

Example

Write an equation for the line through the point (2,3) with slope

-3/2.

Solution:

We substitute x1=2, y1=3 and m=-3/2 into the point-slope equation and obtain

y-3 = -3/2 (x-2) on simplification y = -3/2 x + 6

Example

Write an equation for the line through the point (-2,-1) and (3,4).

Solution: The line’s slope is

m = (-1-4) / (-2-3) = -5 / -5 = 1

We can use this slope with either of the two given points in the point-slope equation

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With (x1,y1) = (-2,-1) With (x1,y1) = (3,4)

y = -1 + 1(x-(-2)) y = 4 + 1(x-3)

y = -1+x+2 y = 4 + x -3

y = x+1 y = x+1

Lines Determined by Slope and y-Intercept

A nonvertical line crosses the y-axis at some point (0,b). If we use this point in the point slope form of its
equation, we obtain

y-b = m(x-0)

Which we can rewrite as y = mx+b

Theorem 1.4.7

The line with y-intercept b and slope m is given by the equation

y = mx+b

This is called the slope-intercept form of the line.

Example

The line y =2x-5 has slope 2 and y-intercept -5.

Example

Find the slope-intercept form of the equation of line with slope -9 and that crosses the y-axis at (0,-4)

Solution : We are given with m=-9 and b=-4, so slope-intercept form of line is

y = -9x-4

Example

Find slope-intercept form of the equation of line that passes through (3,4) and (-2,-1).

Solution :

The line’s slope is

m = (-1-4) / (-2-3) = -5 / -5 = 1

We can use this slope with either of the two given points in the point-slope equation

With (x1,y1) = (-2,-1)

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y - (-1) = 1 ( x- (-2))

y + 1 = x+2

y = x+1

Which is required slope-intercept form.

The General Equation of a Line

An equation that is expressible in the form

Ax + By + C =0

Where A, B and C are constants and A and B are not both zero, is called a first-degree equation in x and y.
For example

4x + 6y -5 = 0

is a first-degree equation in x and y.

Theorem 1.4.8

Every first degree equation in x and y has a straight line as its graph and, conversely, every straight line can be
represented by a first-degree equation in x and y.

Example

Find the slope and y-intercept of the line 8x + 5y = 20

Solution :

Solve the equation for y to put it in the slope-intercept form, then read the slope and y-intercept from
equation

5y = -8x + 20

y = - 8/5 x + 4

The slope is m = - 8/5 and the y-intercept is b = 4

Applications

The Importance of Lines and Slopes

Light travel along with lines, as do bodies falling from rest in a planet’s gravitational field or coasting under
their own momentum (like hockey puck gliding across the ice). We often use the equations of lines (called
Linear equations) to study such motions

Many important quantities are related by linear equations. One we know that a relationship between two
variables is linear, we can find it from the any two pairs of corresponding values just as we find the equation
of a line from the coordinates of two points.

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Slope is important because it gives us way to say how steep something is (roadbeds, roofs, stairs). The notion
of slope also enables us to describe how rapidly things are changing. For this reason it will play an important
role in calculus.

Example

Fahrenheit temperature (F) and Celsius temperature ( F) are related by a linear equation of the form

F = mC + b

The freezing point of water is F = 32 or C = 0 ,

while the boiling point is

F = 212 or C = 100 .

Thus

32 = 0m + b and 212 = 100m + b

Solving these two equation we get

b = 32 and m = 9/5 , therefore

F = 9/5 C + 32

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Lecture 5

Distance; Circles; Equations of the form y = ax 2 + bx + c

In this lecture we shall derive a formula for the distance between two points in a coordinate plane, and we
shall use that formula to study equations and graphs of circles. We shall also study equations of the form
y = ax 2 + bx + c and their graphs.

Distance between two points in the plane

As we know that if A and B are points on a coordinate line with coordinates a and b, respectively, then the
distance between A and B is |b-a|. We shall use this result to find the distance d between two arbitrary
points P1 ( x1 , y1 ) and P2 ( x2 , y2 ) in the plane.

If, as shown in figure, we form a right triangle With P1 and P2 as vertices, then length of the horizontal

side is |x2 -x1 | and the length of the vertical side is |y 2 -y 1 |, so it follows from the Pythagoras Theorem that

d= x2 − x1 + y2 − y1
2 2

But for every real number a we have |a|2 =|a2|, thus

|x 2 -x1|2 = (x 2 -x1 ) 2 and |y 2 -y1|2 =(y 2 -y1 ) 2

Theorem 1.5.1

The distance d between two points (x 1 ,y 1 ) and (x2 ,y 2 ) in a coordinate plane is given by

d= ( x2 − x1 ) 2 + ( y2 − y1 ) 2

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Example

Find the distance between the points (-2,3) and (1,7).

Solution: If we let (x1,y1) be (-2,3) and let (x2,y2) be (1,7) then by distance formula we get

d= (1 − (−2)) 2 + (7 − 3) 2= 32 + 42= 25= 5

When using distance formula, it does not matter which point is labeled (x1,y1) and which is labeled as (x2,y2).
Thus in the above example, if we had let (x1,y1) be the point (1,7) and (x2,y2) the point (-2,3) we would have
obtained

d= (−2 − 1) 2 + (3 − 7) 2 = (−3) 2 + (−4) 2 = 25 = 5

which is the same result we obtained with the opposite labeling.

The distance between two points P1 and P2 in a coordinate plane is commonly denoted by d (P1,P2) or d
(P2,P1).

Example

Show that the points A(4,6), B(1,-3),C(7,5) are vertices of a right triangle.

Solution: The lengths of the sides of the triangles are

d ( A, B)= (1 − 4) 2 + (−3 − 6) 2= 9 + 81= 90

d ( A, C ) = (7 − 4) 2 + (5 − 6) 2 = 9 + 1= 10
d ( B, C=
) (7 − 1) 2 + (5 − (−3))=
2
36 + 64
= = 10
100

Since

[ d ( B, C ) ]
[ d ( A, B)] + [ d ( A, C )] =
2 2 2

It follows that ABC is a right triangle with hypotenuse BC

The Midpoint Formula

It is often necessary to find the coordinates of the midpoint of a line segment joining two points in the plane.
To derive the midpoint formula, we shall start with two points on a coordinate line. If we assume that the
points have coordinates a and b and that a b, then, as shown in the following figure, the distance between a
and b is b-a, and the coordinate of the midpoint between a and b is

1 1 1 1
a + ( b − a ) = a + b = ( a + b)
2 2 2 2

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Which is the arithmetic average of a and b. Had the points been labelled with b ≤ a, the same formula
would have resulted. Therefore, the midpoint of two points on a coordinate line is the arithmetic average of
their coordinates, regardless of their relative positions. If we now let P1(x1,y1) and (x2,y2) be any two points
in the plane and M(x,y) the midpoint of the line segment joining them (as shown in figure) then it can be
shown using similar triangles that x is the midpoint of x1 and x2 on the x-axis and y is the midpoint of y1 and
y2 on the y-axis, so

1 1
x= ( x1 + x2 ) and y= ( y1 + y2 )
2 2

Thus, we have the following result.

Theorem1.5.2

(The Midpoint Formula)

The midpoint of the line segment joining two points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) in a coordinate plane is

1 1
mid po int ( x, y ) =
( ( x1 + x2 ), ( y1 + y2 ))
2 2
Example

Find the midpoint of the line segment joining (3,-4) and (7,2).

Solution: The midpoint is

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1 1 
 (3 + 7), (−4 + 2)  = (5, −1)
2 2 

Circles

If (x0,y0) is a fixed point in the plane, then the circle of radius r centered at (x0,y0) is the set of all points in
the plane whose distance from (x0,y0) is r (as shown in figure). Thus, a point (x,y) will lie on this circle if and
only if

( x − x0 ) 2 + ( y − y0 ) 2 =
r

or equivalently

( x − x0 ) 2 + ( y − y0 ) 2 =
r2

This is called the standard form of the equation of circle.

Example

Find an equation for the circle of radius 4 centered at (-5,3).

Solution: Here x0=-5, y0=3 and r=4

Substituting these values in standard equation of circle we get

( x − (−5)) 2 + ( y − 3) 2 =42
( x + 5) 2 + ( y − 3) 2 =
16

If desired, it can be written in expanded form as

( x 2 + 10 x + 25) + ( y 2 − 6 y + 9) − 16 =
0
x 2 + y 2 + 10 x − 6 y + 18 =
0

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Example

Find an equation for circle with center (1,-2) that passes through (4,2)

Solution: The radius r of the circle is the distance between (4,2) and (1,-2), so

r= (1 − 4) 2 + (−2 − 2) 2 = (−3) 2 + (−4) 2 = 9 + 16 = 5

We now know the center and radius, so we can write

( x − 1) 2 + ( y=
+ 2) 2 25 or x 2 + y 2 − 2 x + 4=
y − 20 0

Finding the center and radius of a circle

When you encounter an equation of the form

( x − x0 ) 2 + ( y − y0 ) 2 =
r2

You will know immediately that its graph is a circle; its center and radius can then be found from the
constants that appear in the above equation as:

( x − x0 ) 2 + ( y − y0 ) 2 = r2

X-coordinate y-coordinate of radius squared

of the center is y0
the center is x0

Equation of a circle center radius

(x-2)2+(y-5)2=9 (2,5) 3

(x+7)2+(y+1)2=16 (-7,-1) 4

x2+y2=25 (0,0) 5

(x-4)2+y2=5 (4,0) 5

The circle x2+y2=1, which is centered at the origin and has radius 1, is of special importance; it is called the
unit circle.

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Other forms for the equation of a circle

By squaring and simplifying the standard form of equation of circle, we get an equation of the form

x 2 + y 2 + dx + ey + f =
0

where d , e , and f are constants.

Another version of the equation of circle can be obtained by multiplying both sides of above equation by a
nonzero constant A . This yields an equation of the form

Ax 2 + Ay 2 + Dx + Ey + F =
0

Where A, D, E and F are constants and A ≠ 0

If the equation of a circle is given in any one of the above forms, then the center and radius can be found by
first rewriting the equation in standard form, then reading off the center and radius from that equation.

Example

Find the center and radius of the circle with equation

(a) x2+y2-8x+2y+8=0 (b) 2x2+2y2+24x-81=0

Solution: (a) First, group x-terms, group y-terms, and take the constant to the right side:

(x2-8x) + (y2+2y) = -8

we use completing square method to solve it as

(x2-8x+16) + (y2+2y+1) = -8+16+1

or

(x-4)2 + (y+1)2 = 9

This is standard form of equation of circle with center (4,-1) and radius 3

Solution: (b) Dividing equation through by 2 we get

x2+y2+12x-81/2 = 0

(x2+12x)+y2 = 81/2

(x2+12x+36)+y2 = 81/2+36

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(x+6)2 + y2 = 153/2

This is standard form of equation of circle, the circle has center (-6,0) and radius 153/2

Degenerate Cases of a Circle

There is no guarantee that an equation of the form represents a circle. For example, suppose that we divide
both sides of this equation by A, then complete the squares to obtain

(x-x0 )2 + (y-y 0 )2 = k

Depending on the value of k, the following situations occur:

• (k>0) The graph is a circle with center (x 0 ,y 0 ) and

• radius k

• (k=0) The only solution of the equation is x=x0 , y=y 0 ,

• so the graph is the single point (x 0 ,y 0 ).

• (k<0) The equation has no real solutions and

consequently no graph

Example

Describe the graphs of

(a) (x-1)2 + (y+4)2 = -9 (b) (x-1)2 + (y+4)2 = 0

Solution: (a)

There are no real values of x and y that will make the left side of the equation negative. Thus, the solution
set of the equation is empty, and the equation has no graph.

Solution: (b)

The only values of x and y that will make the left side of the equation 0 are x=1, y=-4. Thus, the graph of
the equation is the single point (1,-4).

Theorem

An equation of the form

Ax 2 + Ay 2 + Dx + Ey + F =
0

where A = 0 , represents a circle, or a point, or else has no graph.

The last two cases in this theorem are called degenerate cases. In spite of the fact these degenerate cases can
occur, above equation is often called the general equation of circle.

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The graph of y = ax 2 + bx + c

An equation of the form

y = ax 2 + bx + c ( a ≠ 0)
Is called a quadratic equation in x. Depending on whether a is positive or negative, the graph, which is called
a parabola, has one of the two forms shown below

In both cases the parabola is symmetric about a vertical line parallel to the y-axis. This line of symmetry cuts
the parabola at a point called the vertex. The vertex is the low point on the curve if a>0 and the high point if
a<0.

Here is an important fact. The x-coordinate of the vertex of the parabola can be found by the following
formula x = - b/2a

Once you have the x-coordinate of the vertex, you can find the y-coordinate easily by substituting the value
of x into the equation corresponding to the graph.

With the aid of this formula, a reasonably accurate graph of a quadratic equation in x can be obtained by
plotting the vertex and two points on each side of it.

Example

Sketch the graph of

a) y = x2 − 2 x − 2

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b) y =− x2 + 4x − 5
Solution:

(a) This is quadratic equation with a=1, b=-2 and c=-2.

So x-coordinate of vertex is

x = - b/2a =1

Using this value and two additional values on each side as shown here

Solution: (b) This is also a quadratic equation with a=-1, b=4, and c=-5. So x-coordinate of vertex is

x = - b/2a = 2

Using this value and two additional values on each side, we obtain the table and following graph

Often, the intercepts of parabola y=ax2+bx+c are important to

know. You can find y-intercept by setting x=0 and x-intercepts by
setting y=0 .

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When we put y=0, then we have to solve quadratic equation ax2+bx+c=0

Example

Solve the inequality x2-2x-2 > 0

Solution: Because the left side of the inequality does not have discernible factors, the test point method is
not convenient to use.

Instead we shall give a graphical solution. The given inequality is satisfied for those values of x where the
graph of y = x2-2x-2 is above the x-axis.

From the figure those are the values of x to the left of the smaller x-intercept or to the right of larger
intercept.

To find these intercepts we set y=0 to obtain

x2-2x-2=0

Solving by the quadratic formula

Gives
−b ± b 2 − 4ac
x=
2a

2 ± 12
=
2
= 1± 3

Thus, the x-intercepts are

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x = 1 + 3 and x = 1 − 3
and the solution set of the inequality is
(−∞,1 − 3) ∪ (1 + 3, +∞)

Example
A ball is thrown straight up from the surface of the earth at time t = 0 sec with an initial velocity of 24.5
m/sec. If air resistance is ignored, it can be shown that the distance s (in meters) of the ball above the ground
after t sec is given by

=s 24.5t − 4.9t 2

(a) Graph s versus t, making the t-axis horizontal and the s-axis vertical
(b) How high does the ball rise above the ground?

Solution (a):

The given equation is a quadratic equation with a=-4.9, b=24.5 and c=0, so t-coordinate of vertex is

t = - b/2a = - 24.5/2(-4.9) = 2.5 sec

And consequently the s-coordinate of the vertex is

s = 24.5(2.5)-4.9(2.5)2 = 30.626 m

The given equation can factorize as

s = 4.9t(5-t)

so the graph has t-intercepts t=0 and t=5. From the vertex and the intercepts we obtain the graph as shown
here

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Solution (b) : remember that the height of the graph of a quadratic is maximum or minimum, depending on
whether the graph opens UP or DOWN. From the s-coordinate of the vertex we deduce the ball rises
30.625m above the ground

Graph of x = ay2+by+c

If x and y are interchanged in general quadratic equation, we get

x = ay2+by+c

is called a quadratic in y. The graph of such an equation is a parabola with its line of symmetry parallel to the
x-axis and its vertex at the point with y-coordinate y = -b

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6-Functions VU

Lecture 6

Functions

In this lecture we will discuss

- What a function is

- Notation for functions

- Domain of a function

- Range of a function

Term function was used first by the French mathematician Leibiniz. He used it to denote the
DEPENDENCE of one quantity on another.

EXAMPLE

The area A of a circle depends on its radius r by the formula

A = π r2

so we say “ Area is a FUNCTION of radius ”

The velocity v of a ball falling freely in the earth’s gravitational field increases as time t passes by. So

“velocity is a FUNCTION of time ”

Function

If a quantity y depends on another quantity x in such a way that each value of x determines exactly one value
of y, we say that y is a function of x.

Example

y = 4x+1 is a function. Here is a table

Above table shows that each value assigned to x determines a unique value of y.

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• We saw many function in the first chapter.

• All equations of lines determine a functional relationship between x and y

NOT A FUNCTION

y= ± x

If x = 4 then y = ± 4

thus y = +2 and y = -2

So a single value of x does not lead to exactly one value of y here. So this equation does not describe a
function.

NOTATIONS FOR FUNCTIONS

In the 1700’s, Swiss mathematician Euler introduced the notation which we mean y = f(x).

This is read as “ y equals f of x “ and it indicate that y is a function of x.

This tells right away which variable is independent and dependent.

• The one alongside the f is INDEPENDENT (usually x)

• The other one is DEPENDENT (usually y)
• f (x) is read as “y function of x” NOT AS “f multiplied by x”
• f does not represent a number in anyway. It is just for expressing functional relationship

Functions are used to describe physical phenomenon and theoretical ideas concretely.

• The idea of A = π r 2 gives us a way to express and do calculations concerning circles.

• Nice thing about this notation is that it shows which values of x is assigned to which y value.

Example
y = f(x) = x2
Then f(3) = (3)2 = 9
f(-2) = (-2)2 = 4

Any letter can be used instead of f

y = f(x), y = g(x), y = h(x)
• Also, any other combination of letters can be used for Independent and dependant variables
instead of x and y
For example s = f ( t ) states that the dependent variable s is a function of the independent variable t .

Example:

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1
If φ ( x) =
x −1
3

Then
1 1 1
φ=
(51/ 6 ) = =
(5 ) − 1 5 − 1
1/ 6 3
3/ 6
5 −1
1 1
φ (1)= = = undefined
1−1 0

So far we have used numerical values for the x variable to get an output for the y as a number. We can also
replace x with another variable representing number. Here is example

If F(x) = 2x2-1

Then F(d) = 2d2-1

and F(t-1) = 2(t-1)2-1 = 2t2-4t+2-1 = 2t2-4t+1

• If two functions look alike in all aspects other than a difference in g variables, then they are the
SAME

g (c) = c2 -4c and g (x) = x2 -4x

These two are the SAME function

You can substitute a few values for c and x in the two functions and notice that the results are the same.

Formula structure matters, not the variables used.

DOMAIN OF A FUNCTION

• The independent variable is not always allowed to take on any value in functions
• It may be restricted to take on values from some set.
• This set is called the DOMAIN of the function.
• It is the set consisting of all allowable values for the independent variable.
• DOMAIN is determined usually by physical constraints on the phenomenon being represented by
functions.

EXAMPLE

Suppose that a square with a side of length x cm is cut from four corners of a piece of cardboard that is 10
cm square, and let y be the area of the cardboard that remain. By subtracting the areas of four corners
squares from the original area, it follows that

=
y 100 − 4 x 2 x

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Here x can not be negative, because it denote length and its value can not exceed 5.
Thus x must satisfy the restriction 0 ≤ x ≤ 5 . Therefore, even though it is not stated explicitly, the
underlying physical meaning of x dictates that the domain of function is the set {0 ≤ x ≤ 5} = [ 0,5 ]

We have two types of domain

1 NATURAL DOMAIN

2 RESTRICTED DOMAIN

NATURAL DOMAIN

Natural domain comes out as a result of the formula of the function. Many functions have no
physical or geometric restrictions on the independent variable. However, restrictions may arise from
formulas used to define such functions.

Example

1
h( x ) =
( x − 1)( x − 3)

• If x = 1, bottom becomes 0
• If x = 3, bottom becomes 0

So 1 and 3 is not part of the domain Thus the domain is

(−∞,1)U (1,3)U (3, +∞)

If a function is defined by a formula and there is no domain explicitly stated, then it is understood that the
domain consists of all real numbers for which the formula makes sense, and the function has a real value.
This is called the natural domain of the function.

RESTRICTED DOMAINS

Sometimes domains can be altered by restricting them for various reasons. It is common procedure
in algebra to simplify functions by canceling common factors in the numerator and denominator. However,
the following example shows that this operation can alter the domain of a function.

x2 − 4
Example h( x ) =
x−2
This function has a real value everywhere except at x=2, where we we have a division by zero. Thus the
domain of h consists of all x except x=2. However if we rewrite it as

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( x − 2)( x + 2)
h( x ) =
x−2
h( x=
) ( x + 2)

Now h(x) is defined at x=2, since h(2)=2+2=4

Thus our algebraic simplification has altered the domain of the function. In order to cancel the factor and not
alter the domain of h(x), we must restrict the domain and wrlte

h(x) = x+2 , x=2

Range of a Function

• For every values given to the independent variable from the domain of a function, we get a
corresponding y value .
• The set of all such y values is called the RANGE of the Function
• In other words, Range of a function is the set of all possible values for f(x) as x varies over the
domain.

Techniques For Finding Range

• By Inspection

Example

Find the range of f(x) = x2

Solution: Rewrite it as y = x2

Then as x varies over the reals, y is all positive reals.

Example

Find the range of g ( x) =2 + x − 1

Solution: Since no domain is stated explicitly, the domain of g is the natural domain [1, +∞) . To determine
the range of the function g, let y =2 + x − 1

As x varies over the interval [1, +∞) , the value of x − 1 varies over the interval [0, +∞) , so the value of
y =2 + x − 1 varies over the interval [2, +∞) . This is the range of g.

• By some algebra

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Example:

x +1
Find the range of the function y =
x −1

Solution: The natural domain of x is all real numbers except 1. The set of all possible y values is not at all
evident from this equation. However solving this equation for x in terms of y yields

y +1
x=
y −1

It is now evident that y=1 is not in the range. So that range of the function is
{ y : y ≠ 1} = (−∞,1)U (1, +∞) .

Functions Defined Piecewise

Sometime the functions need to be defined by formulas that have been “pieced together”.

Example

The cost of a taxicab ride in a certain metropolitan area is 1.75 rupees for any ride up to and including one
mile. After one mile the rider pays an additional amount at the rate of 50 paisa per mile. If f(x) is the total cost
in dollars for a ride of x miles, then the value of f(x) is

1.75 0 < x ≤1
f ( x) = 
1.75 + 0.50( x − 1) 1< x

pieces have different domains

Reversing the Roles of x and y

• Usually x is independent and y dependent

• But can always reverse roles for convenience sake or other reasons whatever they maybe. For
example

x = 4 y5 − 2 y3 + 7 y − 5

is of the form x = g(y): that is , x is expressed as a function of y. Since it is complicated to solve it for y in
terms of x, it may be desirable to leave it in this form, treating y as the independent variable and x as the
dependent variable. Sometimes an equation can be solved for y as a function of x or for x as a function of y
with equal simplicity. For example, the equation

3x + 2y = 6

can be written as y = -3/2 x + 3 or x = -2/3 y +2

The choice of forms depends on how the equation will be used.

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 7- Operations on Functions VU

Lecture 7

Operations on Functions

• Like numbers, functions can be OPERATED upon

• Functions can be added

• Functions can be subtracted

• Functions can be multiplied

• Functions can be divided

• Functions can be COMPOSED with each other

Arithmetic Operations on Functions

Just like numbers can be added etc, so can be functions

Example

=f ( x) x=
2
and g ( x) x

then

f ( x) + g ( x) =x2 + x

This process defines a new function called the SUM of f and g functions We denote this SUM as follows So
formally we say

( f + g )( x) = f ( x) + g ( x)

Definitions for Operations on Functions

Given functions f and g, then we define their sum, difference, product, and quotient as follows

( f + g )( x) = f ( x) + g ( x)
( f − g )( x) = f ( x) − g ( x)
( f .g )( x) = f ( x).g ( x)
f f ( x)
( )( x) =
g g ( x)

• For the function f+g, f – g, f . g, the domains are defined as the intersection of the domains of f and g

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• For f / g, the domain is the intersection of the domains of f and g except for the points where g(x)=0

Example

f ( x) =+
1 x−2 g ( x) =−
x 1

( f + g )( x) = f ( x) + g ( x)

= (1 + x − 2) + ( x − 1)

=x + x − 2

• Domain of f is [2, +∞)

• Domain of g is (−∞, +∞)

• Domain of f +g is [2, +∞) ∩ ( −∞, +∞=

) [2, +∞)

Example

=f ( x) 3=
x and g ( x) x

Find ( f .g )(x)

=
( f .g )( x) f=
( x).g ( x) (3 x )( x )
= 3x

• The natural domain of 3x is (-inf, +inf).

• But this would be wrong in light of the definition of ( f .g )

• By definition, the domain should be the intersection of f and g, which is [0, +inf).

• So we need to clarify that this 3x is got from a product and is different b y virtue of its domain from
the standard 3x

• We do this by writing

( f .g=
)( x) 3 x x≥0

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NOTATION

f multiplied by itself twice

f 2=
( x) f ( x) ⋅ f ( x)
f multiplied by itself n times
f n ( x ) =f ( x) ⋅ f ( x)... ⋅ f ( x)

e.g. (sin x) 2 = sin 2 ( x)

Composition of Functions

• A new operation called COMPOSITION

• Has no analog with the arithmetic operations we saw

• Remember that the independent variable usually x can be given a numerical values from the domain
of the function

• When two functions are composed, ONE is assigned as a VALUE to the independent variable of
the other.

f ( x)= x3 and g ( x)= x + 4

Compose f with g is written and defined as

( fog )( x) = f ( g ( x))
So
( fog )( x) = f ( g ( x))
= ( g ( x))3
= ( x + 4)3

Domain of the new function ( f o g ) consists of all x in the domain of g for which g(x) is in the domain of f.

In order to compute f ( g ( x)) one needs to FIRST compute g(x) for an x from the domain of g, then

one needs g(x) in the domain of f to compute f ( g ( x))

Put the Sock on first, then the show

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f ( x) =x 2 + 3 g ( x) = x
( f o g )( x) =f ( g ( x))
= ( g ( x)) 2 + 3
= ( x )2 + 3 = x + 3

• Domain of g is [0, +∞)

• Domain of f is (−∞, +∞)

• Domain of ( f o g ) consists of all x in [0, +∞) such that g (x) lies in (−∞, +∞)

• So its domain is [0, +∞)

( fog ) ≠ ( gof )

Generally. Try on the last example

Put Sock on then Shoe ≠ Put Shoe on first then Sock.

• Expressing functions as a decomposition

• Sometimes want to break up functions into simpler ones

• This is like DECOMPOSING them into composition of simpler ones

h( x=
) ( x + 1) 2

• First we add 1 to x

• Then we square x + 1

• So we can break up the function as

f ( x)= x + 1
g ( x) = x 2
h( x) = g ( f ( x))

There are more than one way to decompose a function

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Example

(x + 1)
2
( x 2 + 1)=
10
[( x 2 + 1) 2=
]5 f ( g ( x)) g (=
x) 2
f (=
x) x5
AND
10 10

(x + 1)
5
( x + 1)= [( x + 1) ]=
2 10 2 3 3
f ( g ( x)) g (=
x) 2
f (=
x) x 3

x
=
T ( x) =
( )3 f ( g (h( x)))
3
f ( x) = x
g ( x) = x3
x
h( x ) =
3

Here is a tables of some functions decomposed as compositions of other functions.

Classification of Functions

• Constant Functions

These assign the same NUMBER to every x in the domain

f(x) = 2 SO f(1) = 2 f(-7) = 2 etc

• Monomial in x

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Anything that looks like cx n with c a constant and n any NONEGATIVE INTEGER
e.g

2 x 5 , 3 x55

3
−4
4 x ,5 x Not MONOMIAL as powers are not NONEGATIVE INTEGERS.
2

Polynomial in x Things like

4 2
4 x 4 + 3 x 2 + 1, 17 − x
3
In general anything like

f ( x) = a0 + a1 x + a2 x 2 + ... + an x n

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8- Graphs of Functions VU

Lecture 8

Graphs of Functions

• Represent Functions by graphs

• Visualize behavior of Functions through graphs

• How to use graphs of simple functions to create graphs of complicated functions

Definition of Graph of a function

• We saw earlier the relationship between graph and its equation

• A graph of an equation is just the points on the xy- plane that satisfy the equation

• Similarly, the graph of a Function f in the xy-plane is the GRAPH of the equation y = f (x)

Example

Sketch the graph of f ( x)= x+2

By definition, the graph of f is the graph of y= x + 2 . This is just a line with y-intercept 2 and slope 1. We
saw how to plot lines in a previous lecture

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Example

Sketch the graph of f ( x) = x

The graph will be that of y = x

Remember that absolute value is defined as

 x if x ≥ 0
=
y x= 
− x if x < 0

Remember that absolute value function is PIECEWISE defined. The top part is the function y = f(x) = x,
the bottom is the function y = f(x) = -x

y = x is just a straight line through the origin with slope 1, but is only defined for x > = 0.
y = -x is a straight line through the origin with slope –1 but defined only for x < 0.
Here is the GRAPH

EXAMPLE

x2 − 4
t ( x) =
x−2

This is the same as t ( x) =

x+2 x≠2

Graph will be of y =
x + 2, x ≠ 2

Remember from Lecture 6??

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t(x) is the same as in example 1, except that 2 is not part of the domain, which means there is no y value
corresponding to x = 2. So there is a HOLE in the graph.

Picture

EXAMPLE

1 if x ≤ 2
g ( x) = 
 x + 2 if x > 2

Graph will be of

1 if x ≤ 2
y=
 x + 2 if x > 2

For x is less than or equal to 2, the graph is just at y = 1. This is a straight line with slope 0. For x is greater
than 2, the graph is the line x+2

Graphing functions by Translations

Suppose the graph of f(x) is known.

Then we can find the graphs of y = f ( x) + c, y = f ( x) − c, y = f ( x + c), y = f ( x − c) .

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c is any POSITIVE constant.

• If a positive constant c is added to f (x) ,the geometric effect is the translation of the graph of y=f (x)
UP by c units.
• If a positive constant c is subtracted from f (x) the geometric effect is the translation of the graph of
y=f (x) DOWN by c units.
• If a positive constant c is added to the independent variable x of f (x) ,the geometric effect is the
translation of the graph of y=f (x) LEFT by c units.
• If a positive constant c is subtracted from the independent variable x of f (x), the geometric effect is
the translation of the graph of y=f (x) RIGHT by c units.

Here is a table summarizing what we just talked about in terms of translations of function

Example
Sketch the graph of y = f ( x) = x − 3 + 2
This graph can be obtained by two translations
Translate the graph of y= x 3 units to the RIGHT to get the graph of y= x −3 .
Translate the graph of y= x − 3 2 units UP to get the graph of y = f ( x) = x − 3 + 2 .

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Example
Sketch graph of y = x 2 − 4 x + 5
Complete the square
Divide the co-efficient of x by 2
Square this result and add to the both sides of your equation
y + 4= ( x 2 − 4 x + 5) + 4
y= ( x 2 − 4 x + 4) + 5 − 4
y =( x − 2) 2 + 1
This equation is the same as the original
Graph
y = x2

Shift it RIGHT by 2 units to get graph of y= ( x − 2) 2

Shift this UP by 1 Unit to get y =( x − 2) 2 + 1
Reflections
From Lecture 3
• ( -x, y) is the reflection of (x, y) about the y-axis
• (x, -y) is the reflection of (x, y) about the x-axis
Graphs of y = f(x) and y = f(-x) are reflections of one another about the y-axis.
Graphs of y = f(x) and y = -f(x) are reflections of one another about the x-axis.

Example
Sketch the graph of =y 3 2− x
We can always plot points by choosing x-values and getting the corresponding y-values. Better if we get the
graph by REFELCTION and TRANSLATION
Here is HOW

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• First graph y = 3
x
• Reflect it about the y-axis to get graph of y= 3 − x
Remember that negative numbers HAVE cube roots
• Translate this graph RIGHT by 2 units to get graph of
y = 3 2 − x = 3 − x + 2 = 3 −( x − 2) scaling.
If f (x) is MULTIPLIED by a POSITIVE constant c, then the following geometric effects take place
• The graph of f (x) is COMPRESSED vertically if 0 < c < 1
• The graph of f (x) is STRETCHED vertically if c > 1
• This is called VERTICAL Scaling by a factor of c.
•

Example
y = 2sin( x)
y = sin( x)
1
y = sin( x)
2
c = 2 and c=1/2 is used and here are the corresponding graphs with appropriate VERTICAL SCALINGS

Vertical Line Test

• So far we have started with a function equation, and drawn its graph
• What if we have a graph given. Must it be the graph of a function??
• Not every curve or graph in the xy-plane is that of a function

Example
Here is a graph which is not the graph of a function. Figure 2.3.12
Its not a graph because if you draw a VERTICAL line through the point x = a, then the line crosses the
graph in two points with y values y = b, y = c.
This gives you two points on the graph namely
(a,b) and (a,c)
But this cannot be a function by the definition of a function.

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VERTICAL LINE TEST

A graph in the plane is the graph of a function if and only if NO VERTICAL line intersects the graph more
than once.
Example
x2 + y 2 =
25
The graph of this equation is a CIRLCE. Various vertical lines cross the graph in more than 2 places. So the
graph is not that of a function which means that equations of Circles are not functions x as a function of y.
A given graph can be a function with y independent and x dependent. That is why, it could be the graph of an
equation like x = g(y).
This would happen if the graph passes the HORIZONTAL LINE test.
This is so because for each y, there can be only one x by definition of FUNCTION.
Also,
y = x2 Gives
g ( y) = x = ± y
SO for each x, two y’s and its not a function in y as
clear from the graph of the function

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9-Limit VU

LECTURE 9

LIMITS

Calculus was motivated by the problem of finding areas of plane regions and finding tangent lines to curves.
In this section we will see both these ideas
We will see how these give rise to the idea of LIMIT. We will look at it intuitively, without any mathematical
proofs. These will come later.

AREA PROBLEM
Given a function f , find the area between the graph of f and the interval [a, b] on the x-axis

• Traditionally, the Calculus that comes out of the tangent problem is called DIFFERENTIAL
CALCULUS .
• Calculus that comes out of the area problem is called INTEGRAL CALCULUS.

Both are closely related

The PRECISE definition of “tangent” and “Area” depend on a more fundamental notion of LIMIT.

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Tangent Lines and LIMITS

In geometry, a line is called tangent to a circle if it meets the circle at exactly one point. Figure 2.4.3a. We
would like something like this to be our definition of a tangent line.
But this is not the case if you look at another curve like in figure 2.4.3b. This is a sideways parabola with a
line meeting it at exactly one point. But this is not what we want as a tangent.

In figure 2.4.3c, we have the picture of a line that is tangent as we would like it to be, but it meets the curve
more than once, and we want it to meet the curve only once.

We need to make a definition for tangent that works for all curves besides circles

Consider a point P on a curve in the xy-plane. Let Q be another point other than P on the curve. Draw a line
through P and Q to get what is called the SECANT line for the curve. Now move the Point Q toward P. The
Secant line will rotate to a “limiting” position as Q gets closer and closer to P. The line that will occupy this
limiting position will be called the TANGENT line at P

This definition works on circles too as you can see here

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So we see how Tangents or Tangent Lines are defined using the idea of a LIMIT.

Area as a LIMIT

For most geometric shapes, the area enclosed by them can be get by subdividing the shape into finitely many
rectangles and triangles. These FILL UP the shape

Some time this is not possible. Here is a regions defined in the xy-plane.

Can’t be broken into rectangles and triangles that will FILL UP the area btw the curve and the interval [a,b]
on the x-axis. Instead we use rectangles to APPROXIMANTE the area. Same width rects and we add their
areas. If we let our rectangles increase in number, then the approx will be better and the result will be get as a

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LIMITING value on the number of rects. If we let our rectangles increase in number, then the approx will
be better and the result will be getting as a LIMITING value on the number of rects.

LIMITS

Let's discuss LIMIT in detail. Limits are basically a way to study the behavior of the y-values of a function in
response to the x-values as they approach some number or go to infinity.

EXAMPLE

Consider

sin( x)
f ( x) = where x is in radians.
x

Remember that PI radians = 180 degrees.

f (x) is not defined at x = 0.

What happens if you get very close to x = 0??
We can get close to 0 from the left of 0, and from the right of 0.
x can approach 0 along the negative x-axis means from the left.
x can approach 0 along the positive x-axis means from the right.
From both sides we get REALLY close to 0, but not equal to it.
This getting really close is called the LIMITING process.
We write
sin( x)
lim
x → 0+ x
To mean
“The limit of f (x) as x approaches 0 from the right” , the plus on the 0 stands for “from the right”
This is called the RIGHT HAND LIMIT.
sin( x)
lim
x → 0− x
To mean
“The limit of f (x) as x approaches 0 from the left” , the minus on the 0 stands for “from the left”
This is called the LEFT HAND LIMIT.
Let us see what happens to f (x) as x gets close to 0 from both right and left

The tables show that as x approaches 0 from both sides f(x) approaches 1, We write this as

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sin( x) sin( x)
lim =1 lim =1
x → 0+ x x → 0− x
When both the left hand and right hand limits match, we say that the LIMIT exists
We write this as
sin( x)
lim =1
x →0 x
0 was a special point. In general its limit as x approaches x0 , Write this as x → x0

TABLE of Limit Notations and situations

Sometimes Numerical evidence for calculating limits can mislead.

EXAMPLE
Find
π π π
=
lim =
sin( ) lim sin( ) lim− sin( )
x →0 x x →0 + x x →0 x
Table Showing values of f (x) for various x

Table suggests Limit is 0

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Graph has NO LIMITING value as it OSCILLATES btw 1 and -1

Existence of Limits
Functions don’t always have a limit as the x values approach some number.
If this is the case, we say, LIMIT DOES NOT EXIST OR DNE!
Limits fail for many reason, but usual culprits are

• Oscillations
• unbounded Increase or decrease

Example
The graph of a function f(x) is given here

Note that the values of f(x) = y increase without bound as from both the left and the right. We say that
lim f ( x) = lim− f ( x) = lim f ( x) = +∞
x → x0+ x → x0 x → x0

This is a case where the LIMIT FAILS to EXIST because of unbounded-ness.

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The +infinity is there to classify the DNE as caused by unbounded-ness towards +infinity. It is not a
NUMBER!!
Example
The graph of a function f (x) is given here

Note that the values of f (x) = y DECREASE without bound as x → x0 from both the left and the right .
We say
lim f ( x) = lim− f ( x) = lim f ( x) = −∞
x → x0+ x → x0 x → x0

This is a case where the LIMIT FAILS to EXIST because of unbounded-ness .

The - infinity is there to classify the DNE as caused by unbounded-ness towards – infinity. It is not a
NUMBER!!
Example
Let f be a function whose graph is shown in the picture and let x approach x0, then from the
picture

lim f ( x) = +∞
x → x0+

lim f ( x) = −∞
x → x0−

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Here the two sided limits don’t match up! Thus, the limit does not exist.
So far we saw limits as x approached some point x0 Now we see some limits as x goes to +inf or –inf.
Example
The graph of y = f (x) is given here We can see from it that

lim f ( x) = 4
x → x0+

lim f ( x) = −1
x → x0−

Note that when we find limits at infinity, we only do it from one side. The reason is that you can approach
infinity from only one side!! x goes to infinity means that x gets bigger and bigger, and x an do that only
from one side depending on whether it goes to +inf or –inf.
EXAMPLE
For this function we have this graph

Although the graph oscillates as x goes to +inf, the oscillations decreases and settle down on y = -2

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Lecture 10

LIMITS AND COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES

Previous lecture was about graphical view of Limits. This lecture will focus on algebraic techniques for
finding Limits. Results will be intuitive again. Proofs will come later after we define LIMIT Mathematically.
We will see how to use limits of basic functions to compute limits of complicated functions.
In this section, if I write down Lim x->a f(x), I will assume that f(x) will have a limit that matches from both
sides and so the LIMIT EXISTS for f (x). So I won’t distinguish between left and right hand limits.
We begin with a table of LIMITS of two basic functions
The functions are
f ( x) = k
g ( x) = x

Here is the table of the limits and the same information from the graph

f ( x) = k g ( x) = x

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Here we have a theorem that will help with computing limits. Won’t prove this theorem, but some of the
parts of this theorem are proved in Appendix C of your text book.

THEOREM 2.5.1

Let Lim stand for one of the limits

lim, lim , lim , lim , lim

x→a x→a− x→a+ x →+∞ x →−∞

if L1 =
lim f ( x) and L2 =
lim g ( x) both exists, then

a ) lim[ f ( x) + g ( x)] = lim f ( x) + lim g ( x)

= L1 + L2
b) lim[ f ( x) − g ( x)] = lim f ( x) − lim g ( x)
= L1 − L2
c) lim[ f ( x) . g ( x)] =
lim f ( x) . lim g ( x)
= L1 .L2
f ( x) lim f ( x)
d ) lim[ ]=
g ( x) lim g ( x)
L
= 1 ( L2 ≠ 0)
L2

For the Last theorem, say things like “Limit of the SUM is the SUM of the LIMITS etc.
Parts a) and c) of the theorem apply to as many functions as you want
Part a) gives

lim[ f1 ( x) + f 2 ( x) + ... + f ( xn )]
= lim f1 ( x) + lim f 2 ( x) + ...lim f ( xn )

Part c) gives

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lim[ f1 ( x) ⋅ f 2 ( x) ⋅ ... ⋅ f n ( x)]

= lim f1 ( x) ⋅ lim f 2 ( x) ⋅ ... ⋅ lim f n ( x)

Also if

f1= f 2= ...= f n then lim[ f ( x)]n = [lim f ( x)]n

From this last result we can say that

=
lim( =
x n ) [lim xn ] an
x→a x→a

This is a useful result and we can use it later.

Another useful result follows from part c) of the theorem. Let f(x) = k in part c), where k is a constant
(number).
lim[kg ( x)] =
lim(k ) ⋅ lim g ( x) =
k ⋅ lim g ( x)
So a constant factor can be moved through a limit sign

LIMITS OF POLYNOMIAL
Polynomials are functions of the form

f ( x)= bn x n + bn −1 x n −1 + .... + b1 x + b0

Where the a’s are all real numbers Let's find the Limits of polynomials and x approaches a numbers a

Example
lim( x 2 − 4 x + 3)
x →5

= lim x 2 − lim 4 x + lim 3

x →5 x →5 x →5

= lim x − 4 lim x + lim 3

2
x →5 x →5 x →5

= (5) − 4(5) + 3= 8
2

Theorem 2.5.2

Proof
lim p (=
x) lim(c0 + c1 x + ... + cn x n )
x→a x→a

= lim c0 + lim c1 x + ... + lim cn x n

x→a x→a x→a

= lim c0 + c1 lim x + ... + cn lim x n

x→a x→a x→a

= c0 + c1a + ... + cn a = p (a ) n

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1
Limits Involving
x

1
Let's look at the graph of f ( x) =
x

Then by looking at the graph AND by looking at the TABLE of values we get the following Results

1
lim+ = +∞
x →0 x

1
lim− = −∞
x →0 x

1
lim = 0
x →+∞ x

1
lim = 0
x →−∞ x

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For every real number a, the function

1 1
g ( x) = is a translation of f ( x) = .
x−a x

So we an say the following about this function

LIMITS OF POLYNOMIALS AS X GOES TO +INF AND –INF

From the graphs given here we can say the following about polynomials of the form

lim x n = +∞ n = 1, 2,3,...
x →+∞

+∞ n = 2, 4, 6,...
lim x n = 
x →−∞
−∞ n = 1,3,5,...

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EXAMPLE

lim 2 x 5 = +∞
x →+∞

lim − 7 x 6 = −∞
x →+∞

n
1  1 
=
lim =lim  0
x →+∞ x n
 x →+∞ x n

n
1  1 
=
lim n = lim n  0
x →−∞ x
 x →−∞ x 

HERE are the graphs of the functions

y = f ( x) =1/ x n ( n is positive integer)

Limit as x goes to +inf or –inf of a polynomial is like the Limits of the highest power of x

lim (c0 + c1 x + ... + cn x n ) =lim cn x n

x →+∞ x →+∞

Motivation

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c0 c
(c0 + c1 x + ... + cn x=
n
+ n1−1 + ... + cn )
) xn (
n
x x
n
Factor out x , and then from what we just saw about
1
the limit of , everything goes to 0 as x → +∞
xn
or x → −∞ except cn

Limits of Rational Functions as x goes to a

A rational function is a function defined by the ratio of two polynomials

Example

5 x3 + 4
Find lim
x→2 x − 3

Solution:

lim 5 x3 + 4
= x→2

lim x − 3
x→2

5(2)3 + 4
= = −44
2−3

We used d) of theorem 2.5.1 to evaluate this limit. We would not be able to use it if the denominator turned
out to be 0 as that is not allowed in Mathematics. If both top and bottom approach 0 as x approaches a,
then the top and bottom will have a common factor of x – a. In this case the factors can be cancelled and
the limit works out.

Example

x2 − 4
lim
x→2 x − 2

( x + 2)( x − 2)
= lim
x→2 ( x − 2)
= lim( x + 2)= 4
x→2

Note that x is not equal to two after Simplification for the two functions to be the same. Nonetheless, we
calculated the limit as if we were substituting x = 2 using rule for polynomials That’s ok since REALLY
LIMIT means you are getting close to 2, but not equaling it!!

What happens if in a rational functions, the bottom limit is 0, but top is not?? It’s like the limit as x goes to 0
of f(x) = 1/x.

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• The limit may be + inf

• The limits may be –inf
• +inf from one side and –inf from another

Example

2− x
Find lim+
x→4 ( x − 4)( x + 2)

The top is –2 as x goes to 4 from right side. The bottom goes to 0, so the limit will be inf of some type. To
get the sign on inf, Let's analyze the sign of the bottom for various values of real numbers

Break the number line into 4 intervals as in

The important numbers are the ones that make the top and bottom zero. As x approaches 4 from the right,
the ratio stays negative and the result is –inf. You can say something about what happens from the left.
Check yourselves by looking at the pic.

2− x
So lim+ = −∞
x→4 ( x − 4)( x + 2)

LIMITS of Rational Functions as x goes to +inf and -inf

Algebraic manipulations simplify finding limits in rational functions involving +inf and –inf.

Example

4x2 − x
lim
x →−∞ 2 x 3 − 5

Divide the top and the bottom by the highest power of x

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4x2 x 4 1 4 1
− − 2 lim ( − 2 )
=
lim x3 x3 lim x x
=
x →−∞ x x
x →−∞ 2 x 3 5 x →−∞ 5 5
− 3 2− 3 lim (2 − 3 )
3
x x →−∞ x
x x
1 1
4 lim − lim 2
x →−∞ x x →−∞ x
=
1
2 − 5 lim 3
x →−∞ x

4(0) − 0
= = 0
2 − 5(0)

Quick Rule for finding Limits of Rational Functions as x goes to +inf or –inf

c0 + c1 x + ... + cn x n cn x n
lim = lim
x →+∞ d + d x + ... + d x n x →+∞ d x n
0 1 n n

c0 + c1 x + ... + cn x n cn x n
lim = lim
x →−∞ d + d x + ... + d x n x →−∞ d x n
0 1 n n

Not true if x goes to a finite number a.

Example

4x2 − x 4x2 2
lim = lim = = 0
lim
x →−∞ 2 x − 5
3 x →−∞ 2 x 3 x →−∞ x

Same answer as the one we got earlier from algebraic manipulations

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Lecture 11

Limits: A Rigorous Approach

In this section we will talk about

-Formal Definition of Limit

- Left-hand and Right-hand Limits

So far we have been talking about limits informally. We haven't given FORMAL mathematical definitions of
limit yet. We will give a formal definition of a limit. It will include the idea of left hand and right hand limits.
We intuitively said that

lim f ( x) = L
x→a

means that as x approaches a, f (x) approaches L. The concept of “approaches” is intuitive.

The concept of “approaches” is intuitive so far, and does not use any of the concepts and theory of Real
numbers we have been using so far.
So let’s formalize LIMIT

Note that when we talked about “f (x) approaches L” as “x approaches a” from left and right, we are saying
that we want f( x) to get as close to L as we want provided we can get x as close to a as we want as well, but
maybe not equal to a since f (a) maybe undefined and f (a) may not equal L. So naturally we see the idea of
INTERVALS involved here.

I will rephrase the statement above in intervals as

For any number ε > 0 if we can find an open interval ( x0 , x1 )
on the x − axis containing a po int a such that
L − ε < f ( x) < L + ε
for each x in ( x0 , x1 ) except possibly x = a. Then
we say
lim f ( x) = L
x→a

So, f ( x) is in the interval ( L − ε , L + ε )

Now you may ask, what is this ε all about??

Well, it is the number that signifies the idea of “f (x) being as close to L as we want to be” could be a very
small positive number, and that why it Let's us get as close to f (x) as we want. Imagine it to be something
like the number at the bottom is called a GOOGOLPLEX!!
1
100
1010

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So ε > 0 but very close to it, and for ANY such ε we can find an interval on the x-axis that can confine a.
Let's pin down some details. Notice that
When we said
L − ε < f ( x) < L + ε
holds for every x in the interval (x0, x1) ( except possibly at x= a), it is the same as saying that the same
inequality hold of all x in the interval set ( x0 , a ) ∪ ( a, x1 ) .
But then the inequality L − ε < f ( x) < L + ε holds in any subset of this interval, namely ( x0 , a ) ∪ ( a, x1 )
ε is any positive real number smaller than a – x 0 and x 1 - a.
Look at figure below

L − ε < f ( x) < L + ε
can be written as
| f ( x) − L | < ε and ( a − δ , a ) ∪ ( a, a + δ ) as 0 < | x − a | < δ .
Are same sets by picking numbers close to a and a-delta. Have them look at definition again and talk.
Let's use this definition to justify some GUESSES we made about limits in the previous lecture.

Example
Find
lim(3 x − 5) =
1
x→2

Given any positive number ε we can find an δ such that

(3 x − 5) − 1 < ε if x satisfies 0 < x − 2 < δ
In this example we have

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f ( x) =−
3x 5 L= 1 a= 2
So our task is to find out the ε for which will work for any δ we can say the following
(3 x − 5) − 1 < ε if 0 < x − 2 < δ
⇒ 3x − 6 < ε if 0< x−2 <δ
⇒3 x−2 <ε if 0< x−2 <δ
ε
⇒ x−2 < if 0< x−2 <δ
3
Now we find our δ that makes our statement true. Note that the first part of the statement depends on the
second part for being true. So our CHOICE of δ will determine the trueness of the first part.
ε
I let in the second part which makes the first part true. So we have
3
ε ε
x−2 < if 0< x−2 <
3 3
Hence we have proved that
lim(3 x − 5) =
1
x→2

Example

1 if x > 0
f ( x) = 
−1 if x < 0
Show that lim f ( x) does not exit.
x →0

Suppose that the Limit exists and its L. So lim f ( x) = L . Then for any ε > 0 we can find δ > 0
x →0

such that
f ( x) − L < ε if 0 < x − 0 < δ
In particular, if we take ε = 1 there is a ε > 0 such that
f ( x) − L < 1 if 0 < x − 0 < δ
δ δ
But x = and x = − both satisfy requirement above, so
2 2

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δ δ
f ( ) − L < 1 and f (− ) − L < 1
2 2
δ δ
But is positive and − is negative, so
2 2
δ δ
f( )= 1 and f (− ) =
−1
2 2
So we get
1 − L < 1 and −1 − L < 1
⇒0<L<2 and −2< L <0
But this is a contradiction since L cannot be between these two bounds at the same time.

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LECTURE 12

Continuity

• Develop the concept of CONTINUITY by examples

• Give a mathematical definition of continuity of functions

• Properties of continuous functions

• Continuity of polynomials and rational functions

• Continuity of compositions of functions

• The Intermediate values theorem

CONTINUITY of a function becomes obvious from its graph at certain points in the plane .We will say
CONTINUITY of a function or graph of a function interchangeably.

DISCONTINUITY

The above given curve is discontinuous at point c since f(x) is not defined there.
when the following things happens then there is a break or discontinuity in the graph of a function f(x) at x
=c

• f is undefined at c
• The lim f ( x ) does not exist.
x →c

• The function is defined at c and the lim f ( x ) exists, but the values of f(x) and the values of the
x →c

limit differ at the point c

• So we get the following definition for continuity

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Definition2.7.1

(a) f( c) is defined

(b) lim f ( x ) exists

x →c

(c ) lim f ( x ) = f (c )
x →c

If any of these conditions in this definition fail to hold for a function f(x) at a point c, then f is called
discontinuous at c

• c is called the point of discontinuity

• If f(x) is continuous at all points in an interval (a, b), then we say that f is continuous on (a,b)
• A function continuous on the interval ( −∞, +∞ ) is called a continuous function

Example

x2 − 4
f ( x) =
x−2
 x2 − 4
 if x ≠ 2
g ( x) =  x − 2
3 if x = 2


f is discontinuous at x = 2 because f(2) is undefined.

g is discontinuous because g(2)=3 and

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x2 − 4
lim g ( x=
) lim = lim( x + 2)
= 4
x→2 x→2 x − 2 x→2

So
lim g ( x) ≠ g (2)
x→2

The last equation does not satisfy the condition of continuity. Condition (3) of the definition is enough to
determine whether a function is continuous or not. This is so because if (3) is true, then (1) and (2) have to
be true

Example

Show that f ( x) = x 2 − 2 x + 1 is a continuous function.

CONTINUOUS means continuous at all real numbers. Show that part (3) of definition is met for all real
number c. By what we know about polynomials so far, we have

lim f ( x) = f (c)
x →c

So
lim( x 2 − 2 x + 1) = c 2 − 2c + 1
x →c

Part (3) is met and f(x) is continuous

Theorem 2.7.2

Polynomials are continuous functions.

Proof:

If P is polynomial and c is any real number then by theorem 2.5.2

lim p ( x) = p (c)
x →c

Where p is a polynomial, and c is any real number. Since c is any real number, it follows that p(x) is
continuous.
Example

Show that f ( x) = x is continuous

Rewrite f(x) as
x if x ≥ 0
f ( x=
) x= 
− x if x < 0

Show lim f ( x) = f (c) for any real number c.

x →c

Let c ≥ 0 . Then f (c) = c by definition of f (x).

Also lim f= =
( x) lim =
x lim x c Since c ≥ 0
x →c x →c x →c

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x may be negative to begin with, but since it approaches c which is positive or 0, we use the first part of the
definition of f(x) to evaluate the limit
That is just f(x) = x which is a polynomial and hence we get the desired result.

Now let c < 0. Then again f (c) = −c by definition of f (x) and

lim f ( x) = lim x = lim x = −c

x →c x →c x →c

x may be Positive or 0 to begin with, but since it approaches c which is negative, we use the Second part of
the definition of f(x) to evaluate the limit. That is just f(x) = -x which is a polynomial and hence we get the
desired result.

Properties of Continuous Functions

Theorem 2.7.3

If the function f and g are continuous at c, then

a) f + g is continuous at c;

b) f – g is continuous at c;

c) f . g is continuous at c;

d) f/g is continuous at c if g (c) ≠ 0 and is discontinuous at c if g(c )=0

PROOF

Let f and g be continuous function at the number c

Then
lim f ( x) = f (c)
x →c

lim g ( x) = g (c)
x →c

So
lim f ( x).g ( x) = lim f ( x).lim g ( x) by Limit Rules
x →c x →c x →c

= f (c).g (c) by continuity of f and g

Continuity of Rational Functions

Example

x2 − 9
Where is h( x) = continuous?
x2 − 5x + 6

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Since the top and the bottom functions in h are polynomials, they are continuous everywhere Hence, by
property (d) of theorem 2.7.3, h will be continuous at all points c as long as g (c) ≠ 0 .

x2 − 5x + 6 =0

=
Will give us all the x values where h will be discontinuous. These are x 2=x 3 which you get after
solving the above equation for x .

Continuity of Composition of functions

Theorem 2.7.5

Let limit stand for one of the limits lim , lim+ , lim− , lim , or lim . If lim g ( x) = L and if the
x →c x →c x →c x→+∞ x→−∞

function f is continuous at L, Then lim f ( g ( x)) = f ( L). that is lim f ( g ( x)) = f (lim g ( x)) .

Example

f ( x)= 5 − x 2

Here, f ( x)= x , g ( x)= 5 − x 2

SO by theorem 2.7.5

lim 5 − x 2 =lim 5 − x 2 =−4 =

4
x →3 x →3

Theorem 2.7.6

If the function g is continuous at the point c and the function f is continuous at the point g (c ), then the
composition f o g is continuous at c.

Continuity from the left and right

Definition we use does not incorporate end points as at end points only left hand or right hand limits make
sense

(a) (b)

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(c )

• Graph of function in a) shows that f is discontinuous at a

• Graph of function in b) shows that f is discontinuous at b

• Graph of function in c) shows that f is continuous at a and b

Definition 2.7.7

A function f is called continuous from the left at point c if the conditions in the left column below are
satisfied, and is called continuous from the right at the point c if the conditions in the right column are
satisfied.

1. f(c ) is defined. 1`. f(c ) is defined

2. lim f ( x) exists. 2`. lim+ f ( x) exists.

x →c − x →c

3. lim f ( x) = f (c). 3`. lim+ f ( x) = f (c).

x →c − x →c

Definition 2.7.8

A function f is said to be continuous on a closed interval [a, b] if the following conditions are satisfied:

1. f is continuous on (a, b).

2. f is continuous from the right at a.
3. f is continuous from the left at b.

EXAMPLE

Show that f ( x=
) 9 − x 2 is continuous on the interval [3,-3].By definition 2.7.8 and theorem 2.5.1(e), for c
in (3,-3)

lim f ( x) = lim 9 − x 2 = lim(9 − x 2 ) = 9 − c 2 = f (c )

x →c x →c x →c

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So f is continuous on (3,-3) Also

lim 9 − x 2 = lim (9 − x 2 )= f (3)= 0

x →3− x →3−

lim 9 − x2 = lim (9 − x 2 )= f (3)= 0

x →−3+ x →−3+

Why approach 3 from the left and –3 from the right? Well, draw the graph of this function and you will see
WHY!?? So f is continuous on [-3, 3].

Intermediate Value Theorem(Theorem 2.7.9)

If f is continuous on a closed interval [a, b] and C is any number between f(a) and f(b), inclusive, then there is
at least one number x in the interval [a, b] such that f(x) = C.

Theorem 2.7.10

If f is continuous on [a, b], and if f(a) and f(b) have opposite signs, then there is at least one solution of the
equation f(x) = 0 in the interval (a, b).

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Example

x 3 − x − 1 =0

Cannot be solved easily by factoring. However, by the MVT, f(1) = -1 and f(2) = 5 implies that the equation
has one solution in the interval (1,2).

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LECTURE 13

Limits and continuity of Trigonometric functions

• Continuity of Sine and Cosine functions

• Continuity of other trigonometric functions

• Squeeze Theorem

• Limits of Sine and Cosine as x goes to +- infinity

You will have to recall some trigonometry. Refer to Appendix B of your textbook.

Continuity of Sine and Cosine

Sin and Cos are ratios defined in terms of the acute angle of a right angle triangle and the sides of the
triangle. Namely,

adjacent side Opposite side

cosθ = sin θ =
Hypoteneous Hypoteneous

We look at these ratios now as functions. We consider our angles in radians

• Instead of θ we will use x

Here is a picture that shows the graph of f(x) = sin (x). Put the circle picture here, and then unravel it and
get the standard picture.

From the graph of Sin and cosine, its obvious that

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lim sin( x) = 0 lim cos( x) = 1

x →0 x →0

This is the intuitive approach. Prove this using the Delta Epsilon definitions!!
Note that sin(0) = 0 and cos(0) = 1
Well, the values of the functions match with those of the limits as x goes to 0!! So we have this theorem
THEOREM 2.8.1

The functions sin(x) and cos(x) are continuous. As clear from figure

Here is the definition of continuity we saw earlier.

A function f is said to be continuous at c if the following are satisfied
(a) f( c) is defined
(b) lim f ( x) exists
x →c

(c) lim f ( x) = f (c)

x →c

Let h = x - c. So x = h + c. Then x → c is equivalent to the requirement that h → 0 . So we have

Definition

A function is continuous at c if the following are met

(a) f( c) is defined
(b) lim f (h + c) exists
h →0

(c) lim f (h + c) =f (c )
h →0

We will use this new definition of Continuity to prove

Theorem 2.8.1
The functions sin(x) and cos(x) are continuous.

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Proof
We will assume that lim sin( x) = 0 and lim cos( x) = 1
x →0 x →0

From the above, we see that the first two conditions of our continuity definition are met. So just have to
show by part 3) that
lim sin(c + h) =
sin(c)
h →0

=
lim sin(c + h) lim [sin(c) cos(h) + cos(c) sin(h)]
h →0 h →0

= lim sin(c) cos(h) + lim cos(c) sin(h)

h →0 h →0

= sin(c) lim cos(h) + cos(c) lim sin(h)

h →0 h →0

= sin(c)(1) + cos(c)(0) = sin(c)

The continuity of cos(x) is also proved in a similar way, and I invite you to try do that!

Continuity of other trigonometric functions

f ( x)
Remember by theorem 2.7.3 that if f(x) and g(x) are continuous , then so is h( x) = . Except where g(x)
g ( x)
= 0. So tan(x) is continuous everywhere except at cos(x) = 0 which gives
sin( x)
tan( x) =
cos( x)
π 3π 5π
x=
± , ± , ± ,...
2 2 2
Likewise, since
cos( x) 1 1
=cot( x) = , sec( x) = cosec(x)
sin( x) cos( x) sin( x)
We can see that they are all continuous on appropriate intervals using the continuity of sin(x) and cos(x) and
theorem 2.7.3
Squeeze Theorem for finding Limits
We will show that .These is important results which will be used later. If you remember, the very first
example of limits we saw was
sin( x) 1 − cos( x)
=lim 1=
and lim 0
x →0 x x →0 x
Now we prove this
sin( x)
lim
x →0 x

Here are the graphs of the functions.

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They suggest that the limits are what we want them to be! We need to prove this PROBLEM. As x goes to
0, both the top and the bottom functions go to 0. Sin(x) goes to 0 means that the fraction as a whole goes
to 0.
x goes to zero means that the fraction as a whole goes to +inf! . There is a tug of war between the Dark
Side and the Good Side of the Force.
So there is a tug-of-war between top and bottom.
To find the limit we confine our function between two simpler functions, and then use their limits to get the
one we want.

SQUEZZING THEOREM
Let fm g and h be functions satisfying g ( x) ≤ f ( x) ≤ h( x) for all x in some open interval containing the
point a, with the possible exception that the inequality need not to hold at a.

We g and h have the same limits as x approaches to a, say

=
lim =
g ( x) lim h( x ) L
x→a x→a

Then f also has this limit as x approaches to a, that is

lim f ( x) = L .
x→a

Example
1
lim x 2 sin 2 ( )
x →0 x
Remember that the 0 ≤ sin( x) ≤ 1 .
So certainly 0 ≤ sin 2 ( x) ≤ 1 .
1
And so 0 ≤ sin 2 ( ) ≤ 1 .
x
Multiply throughout this last inequality by x 2 .
We get
1
0 ≤ x 2 sin 2 ( ) ≤ x 2 ,
x

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But = =
lim 0 lim x2 0
x →0 x →0

So by the Squeezing theorem

1
lim x 2 sin 2 ( ) = 0
x →0 x
Now Let's use this theorem to prove our original claims. The proof will use basic facts about circles and
areas of SECTORS with center angle of θ radians and radius r.

1 2
The area of a sector is given by A = rθ.
2
Theorem 2.8.3
sin( x)
lim =1
x →0 x
Proof
π
Let x be such that 0 < x < . Construct the angle x in the standard position starting from the center of a
2
unit circle.
We have the following scenario

From the figure we have

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0 < area of ∆ OBP < area of sector OBP < area of ∆OBQ
Now
1 1 1
area of ∆ OBP
= =
base.height =
(1).sin( x) sin( x)
2 2 2
1 2 1
area of sec tor=
OBP = (1) .x x
2 2
1 1 1
area of ∆ OBQ
= =
base.height =
(1) tan( x) tan( x)
2 2 2
So
1 1 1
0 < sin( x) < x < tan( x)
2 2 2
2
Multiplying through by gives
sin( x)
x 1
1< <
sin( x) cos( x)
Taking reciprocals gives
sin( x)
cos( x) < <1
x
π
We had made the assumption that 0 < x < .
2
π
Also works when − < x < 0 You can check when you do exercise 4.9 So our last equation holds for all
2
angles x except for x = 0.
Remember that= lim cos( x) 1=
and lim1 1
x →0 x →0
Taking limit now and using squeezing theorem gives

sin( x)
lim cos( x) < lim < lim1
x →0 x →0 x x →0

sin( x)
= 1 < lim <1
x →0 x

Since the middle thing is between 1 and 1, it must be 1!!

Prove yourself that

1 − cos( x)
lim =0
x →0 x
Limits of sin(x) and cos(x) as x goes to +inf or –inf
By looking at the graphs of these two functions its obvious that the y-values oscillate btw 1 and –1 as x goes to
+inf or –inf and so the limits DNE!!

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LECTURE 14

Tangent Lines and Rates of Change

In lecture 9, we saw that a Secant line between two points was turned into a tangent line. This was done by
moving one of the points towards the other one. The secant line rotated into a LIMITING position which
we regarded as a TANGENT line.

For now just consider Secant lines joining two points on a curve (graph) if a function of the form y = f (x).
If P( x0 , y0 ) and Q( x1 , y1 ) are distinct points on a curve y = f(x), then secant line connecting them has
slope

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 )
msec =
x1 − x0

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If we let x1 → x0 then Q will approach P along the graph of the function y = f(x), and the secant line will
approach the tangent line at P.

This will mean that the slope of the Secant line will approach that of the Tangent line at P as x1 → x0 , So we
have the following

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 )
mtan = lim
x1 → x0 x1 − x0

We just saw how to find the slope of a tangent line.

This was a geometric problem. In the 17th century, mathematicians wanted to define the idea of
Instantaneous velocity. This was a theoretical idea. But they realized that this could be defined using the
geometric idea of tangents.

Let's define Average velocity formally

distance travelled
Avergae Velocity =
Time Elapsed

This formula tells us that the average velocity is the velocity at which one travels on average during some
interval of time!!
More interesting than Average Velocity is the idea of Instantaneous velocity. This is the velocity that an
object is traveling at a given INSTANT in time. When a car hits a tree, the damage is determined by the
INSTANTANEOUS velocity at the moment of impact, not on the average speed during some time interval
before the impact.
To define the concept of instant velocity, we will first look at distance as a function of time,
d = f(t). After all, distance covered is a physical phenomenon which is always measured with respect to time.
Going from New York to San Francisco (km) takes about 6 hours, if your average speed is 800 km/h. This
will give us a way to plot the position versus time curve for motion.
Now we will give a geometric meaning to the concept of Average Velocity.
Average velocity is defined as the distance traveled over a given time of period. So if your curve for f(t) looks
like as given below

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then the average velocity over the time interval [t0 , t1 ] is defined as

distance traveled during the interval

Avergae Velocity =
Time Elapsed
d1 − d 0 f (t1 ) − f (t0 )
= v=
t1 − t0 t1 − t0
ave

d1 − d 0 is the distance traveled in the interval.

So average velocity is just the slope of the Secant line joining the points
(t0 , d 0 ) and (t1 , d1 ) .

t
Say we want to know the instantaneous velocity at the point 0 . We can find this by letting t1 approach 0 .
t
When this happens, the interval over which the average velocity is measured shrinks and we can approximate
instant velocity.

t t
As 1 gets very close to 0 , our approximate instantaneous velocity will get better and better. As this
continues, we can see that the average velocity over the interval gets closer to instantaneous velocity

at
t0 . So we can say

f (t1 ) − f (t0 )
= =
vinst lim vave lim
t1 →t0 t1 →t0 t1 − t0

But this is just the slope of the tangent line at the point
(t0 , d 0 ) Remember that the limit here means that the
two sided limits exist.

Average and Instantaneous rates of change

Let's make the idea of average and instantaneous velocity more general. Velocity is the rate of change of
position with respect to time. Algebraically we could say:
Rate of change of d with respect to t .Where d = f(t).
Rate of change of bacteria w.r.t time.
Rate of change a length of a metal rod w.r.t to temperature
Rate of change of production cost w.r.t quantity produced.
All of these have the idea of the rate of change of one quantity w.r.t another quantity.

We will look at quantities related by a functional relationship y = f(x)

So we consider the rate of change of y w.r.t x or in other words, the rate of change of the dependant
variable (quantity) w.r.t the Independent variable (quantity) .
Average rate of change will be represented by the slope of a certain Secant Line.
Instantaneous rate of change will be represented by the slope of a certain tangent Line.

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Definition 3.1.1

If y = f(x) , then the average rate of change of y with respect to x over the interval [x 0 , x 1 ] is the slope m sec of
the secant line joining the points ( x 0 , f(x 0 )) and ( x 1 , f(x 1 )) on the graph of f

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 )
msec =
x1 − x0

If y= f(x), then the Average rate of Change of y with respect to x over the interval [ x0 , x1 ] is the slope
of the secant line joining the points [ x0 , f ( x0 )] and [ x1 , f ( x1 )] . That is

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 )
msec =
x1 − x0

And on the graph of f .

Definition 3.1.1

If y= f(x) , then the instantaneous rate of Change of y with respect to x at the point x 0 is the slope m tan
of the tangent line to graph of f at the point x 0 , that is

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 )
mtan = lim
x1 → x0 x1 − x0

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Example

Let =
y f ( x=
) x2 + 1

a) Find the average rate of y w..r.t to x over the interval [3,5]

b) Find the instantaneous rate of change of y w.r.t x at the x = x0 point x0 = -4

c) Find the instantaneous rate of change of y w.r.t x at a general point

Solution:

We use the formula in definition of Average rate with

y=f ( x) =x 2 + 1, x0 =
3 and x1 =
5

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 ) f (5) − f (3) 26 − 10
=
msec = = = 8
x1 − x0 5−3 5−3

So y increase 8 units for each unit increases in x over the interval [3,5]

b) Applying the formula with =

y ) x 2 + 1 and x0 = −4 gives
f ( x=

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 ) ( x 2 + 1) − 17
= =
mtan lim lim 1
x1 → x0 x1 − x0 x1 →−4 x1 + 4
x12 − 16
=lim = lim ( x1 − 4) =−8
x1 →−4 x + 4 x1 →−4
1

Negative inst rate of change means its DECREASING

c) Here we have

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 ) ( x 2 + 1) − ( x0 2 + 1)
= =
mtan lim lim 1
x1 → x0 x1 − x0 x1 → x0 x1 − x0
x12 − x0 2
= lim = lim ( x1 + x=
0) 2 x0
x1 → x0 x1 − x0 x1 → x0

The result of part b) can be obtained from this general result by letting.

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Lecture 15

The Derivative

In the previous lecture we saw that the slope of a tangent line to the graph of y = f (x) is given by

f ( x1 ) − f ( x0 )
mtan = lim
x1 → x0 x1 − x0

Let's do some algebraic manipulations. Let

h=
x1 − x0 so that x1 =
x0 + h and h → 0 as x1 → x0 .
So we can rewrite the above tangent formula as

f ( x0 + h) − f ( x0 )
mtan = lim
h →0 h

Definition 3.2.1

If P(x 0 , y 0 ) is a point on the graph of a function f then the tangent line to the graph of f at P is defined to be
the line through P with slope

f ( x0 + h) − f ( x0 )
mtan = lim
h →0 h

Tangent line at P ( x0 , y0 ) is just called the tangent line at x0 for brevity. Also a point P ( x0 , y0 ) make here
that the Equation. We make this definition provided that the LIMIT in the definition exists! Equation of the
tangent line at the point P ( x0 , y0 ) is

y − y=
0 mtan ( x − x0 )

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Example

Find the slope and an equation of the tangent line to the graph of f ( x) = x 2 at the point P(3,9).
Here is the

We use the formula given in the above definition=

with x0 3=
and y0 9 .

First we find the slope of the tangent line at x0 = 3

f (3 + h) − f (3) (3 + h) 2 − 9
= = lim
mtan lim
h →0 h h →0 h
(9 + 6h + h ) − 9
2
6h + h 2
= lim = lim
h →0 h h →0 h
h(6 + h)
= lim = lim(6 + h= ) 6
h →0 h h →0

Now we find the equation of the tangent line

y − 9= 6( x − 3)
⇒ y = 6x − 9

Now notice that mtan is a function of x0 because since it depends on where along the curve is being
computed. Also, from the formula for it, it should be clear that h eventually shrinks to 0 and whatever is left
will be in terms of x0 . This can be further modified by saying that we will call x0 is x . Then we have mtan as
a function of x and this is nice.

Since now we can say that we have associated a new function mtan to any given function. We can rewrite the
formula for mtan as

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f ( x + h) − f ( x )
mtan = lim
h →0 h
This is a function of x and its very important. Its called the Derivative function with respect to x for the
function y = f (x)

Definition 3.2.2

The function f defined by the formula

f ( x + h) − f ( x )
f ′ = lim
h →0 h
is called the derivative with respect to x of the function f. The domain of f’ consists of all x for which limit
exists.

We can interpret this derivative in 2 ways Geometric interpretation of the Derivative f’ is the function
whose value at x is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function f at x Rate of Change is an
interpretation of Derivative. If y = f(x), then f’ is the function whose value at x is the instantaneous rate of
change of y with respect to x at the point x.

Example

Let f ( x=
) x2 + 1

Find f’ (x).

Use the result from part a) to find the slope of the tangent line to

=
y f ( x=
) x2 + 1

f ( x + h) − f ( x ) [( x + h) 2 + 1] − [ x 2 + 1]
= = lim
f ( x) lim
h →0 h h →0 h
x + 2 xh + h + 1 − x − 1
2 2 2
2 xh + h 2
= lim
lim
h →0 h h →0 h
= lim(2 x += h) 2 x
h →0

we show that the slope of the tangent line at ANY point x is f '( x) = 2 x , So at point x = 2 we have slope
f= = 4 at point x = 0 we have slope f =
'(2) 2(2) = 0 at point x = -2 we have slope
'(0) 2(0)
f '(−2) =2(−2) =−4

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Example 3

It should be clear that at each point on a straight line =

y mx + b the tangent line coincides with the
line itself. So the slope of the tangent line must be the same as that of the original line, namely m. We can
prove this here

f ( x + h) − f ( x ) [m( x + h) + b] − (mx + b)
= = lim
f '( x) lim
h →0 h h → 0 h
mx + mh + b − mx − b mh
= lim = lim= lim = m m
h →0 h h → 0 h h →0

Find the derivative with respect to x of f ( x) = x

f ( x) = x
f ( x + h) − f ( x ) x+h − x
=f '( x) lim= lim
h →0 h h →0 h
x+h − x x+h + x
= lim ⋅
h →0 h x+h + x
( x + h) − x h
= lim = lim
h →0 h( x + h + x ) h →0 h( x + h + x )
1 1 1
= lim = =
h →0 x+h + x x+ x 2 x

Here are the graphs of f (x) and its derivative we just found. Note that

1
lim+ = +∞
x →0 2 x

the derivative of graph shows that as x goes to 0 from the right side, the slopes of the tangent lines to the
graph of y = f (x) approach +inf, meaning that the tangent lines start getting VERTICAL!! Can you see this??!

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Derivative Notation

The process of finding the derivative is called DIFFERENTIATION.

It is useful often to think of differentiation as an OPERATION that is applied to a given function to get a
new one f’. Much like an arithmetical operation +

In case where the independent variable is x the differentiation operation is written as

d
This is read as “the derivative of f with respect to x [ f ( x)]
dx
So we are just giving a new notation for the same idea but this will help us when we want to think of
d
Derivative or Differentiation from a different point of view [ f ( x)] = f '( x) .
dx
With this notation we can say about the previous example

d 1
[ x] =
dx 2 x
d 1 1
[=x] =
dx x = x0 2 x x = x0 2 x0

If we write y= f(x), then we can say

d
[ y ] = f '( x)
dx
dy
= f '( x)
dx

So we could say for the last example

dy 1
=
dx 2 x

dy
This looks like a RATIO, and later we will see how this is true in a certain sense. But for now should be
dx
regarded as a single SYMBOL for the derivative of a function y = f(x).

If the independent variable is not x but some other variable, then we can make appropriate adjustments. If it
is u, then

dy d
f=
'(u ) and [ f (u )] f '(u )
du du

One more notation can be used when one wants to know the value of the derivative a a certain point x = x0

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d
[ f ( x)] x = x0
= f '( x0 )
dx
For example

d 1 1
[=
x] =
dx x = x0 2 x x = x0 2 x0

Existence of Derivatives

From the definition of the derivative, it is clear that the derivative exists only at the points where the limit
exists.

If x0 is such a point, then we say that f is differentiable at x0 OR f had a derivative at x0 . This basically
defines the domain of f’ as those points x at which f is differentiable

f is differentiable on an open interval (a,b) if it is differentiable at EACH point in (a,b). f is differentiable

function if its differentiable on the interval. The points at which f is not differentiable, we will say the
derivative of f does not exist at those points.

Non differentiability usually occurs when the graph of f(x) has

• corners

• Vertical tangents

• Points of discontinuity

Let's look at each case and get a feel for why this happens

At corners, the two sided limits don’t match up when we take the limit of the secant lines to get the slope of
the tangents

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Relationship between Differentiability and Continuity

Theorem 3.2.3

If f is differentiable at a point x 0 then f is also continuous at x0 .

Proof

We will use this definition we saw earlier of continuity lim f (h + x0 ) =

f ( x0 ) Where
h →0

x 0 is any point. So we will show that

lim f ( x0 + h) =f ( x0 ) or equivalently,
h →0

lim[ f ( x0 + h) − f ( x0 )] =0
h →0

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 f ( x0 + h) − f ( x0 ) 
lim[=f ( x0 + h) − f ( x0 )] lim  ⋅ h
h →0 h →0
 h 
 f ( x0 + h) − f ( x0 ) 
= lim   ⋅ lim h
h →0
 h  h →0

= f=
'( x0 ).0 0

So this theorem says that a function cannot be differentiable at a point of discontinuity

Example

f ( x) = x

Find f’ (x).

Remember that x = x 2 .Can you use this to differentiate? Yes, but for this we need more theory and we
will see how to do this later

 x if x ≥ 0
x =
− x if x < 0

d 1 if x ≥ 0
f=
'( x) = x 
dx −1 if x < 0

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Lecture # 16

Techniques Of Differentiation

• In the lectures so far, we obtained some derivatives directly by definition.

• In this sections, we develop theorems which will give us short cuts for calculation derivatives
of special functions
• Derivatives of Constant Functions
• Derivatives of Power functions
• Derivative of a constant multiple of a function Etc!!

Derivatives of Constant Functions

Theorem 3.3.1
If “f” is a constant function f(x)=c for all x, then

Proof

This result is also obvious geometrically since the function y = c is a horizontal line with slope 0.
And we saw earlier that a line function has tangent line slope equal to its own slope which is 0.

Example
f(x)=5 so f ′( x) = 0

Theorem 3.3.2 (Power Rule)

If n is a positive integer, then
d n
[ x ] = n.x n −1
dx
Proof
Let f ( x) = x n , n is a positive integer. Then
d n f ( x + h) − f ( x )
=[ x ] f=
`( x) lim
dx h → 0 h
( x + h) − x n
n
= lim
h →0 h

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Distributing the limit over the sum give all the terms equal to zero except the first one.
So
f `( x) = nx n −1

Example
d 5 d
[ x ] = 5x4 , [ x] = 1x1−1 = 1x 0 = 1 ⋅ 1 = 1
dx dx
Theorem 3.3.3
Let c be a constant and f be a function differentiable at x, then so is the function c.f and
d d
[cf ( x)] = c [ f ( x)]
dx dx

Example
d
[3 x8 ]
dx

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Derivative of Sums and Differences of Functions

If f and g are differentiable functions at x, then so is f+g, and
d d d
[ f ( x) + g ( x=
)] [ f ( x)] + [ g ( x)]
dx dx dx
Proof
d [ f ( x + h) + g ( x + h)] − [ f ( x) + g ( x)]
[[ f ( x) + g ( x)] =lim
dx h →0 h
[ f ( x + h) − f ( x)] + [ g ( x + h) − g ( x)]
= lim
h →0 h
f ( x + h) − f ( x ) g ( x + h) − g ( x )
= lim + lim
h →0 h h → 0 h
d d
== [ f ( x)] + [ g ( x)]
dx dx
Similarly for Difference. Left as an exercise.

Example
d 4
[ x + x3 ]
dx
d 4 d
= [ x ] + [ x3 ]
dx dx
= 4 x + 3x
3 2

In general

Derivative of a Product
Theorem 3.3.5
If f and g are differentiable functions at x, then so is f.g and
d d d
= [ f ( x).g ( x)] f ( x) [ g ( x)] + g ( x) [ f ( x)]
dx dx dx

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Example

Derivative of Quotient
Theorem 3.3.6
If f and g are differentiable functions at x, and g ( x) ≠ 0 . Then f/g is differentiable at x and
d d
g ( x) [ f ( x)] − f ( x) [ g ( x)]
d f ( x) dx dx
[ ]=
dx g ( x) [ g ( x)]2

Prove Yourself!

 f  g . f '− f .g '
 g ' = g2
 

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Example

Derivative of a Reciprocal
Theorem 3.3.7
1
If g is differentiable at x, and g ( x) ≠ 0 ,the is differentiable at x and
g ( x)
d
[ g ( x)]
d 1 dx
[ ]= −
dx g ( x) [ g ( x)]2

Student can prove this using the quotient rule!!

Using the Reciprocal Theorem we can generalize Power Rule (Theorem3.3.1) for all integers
(negative or non-negative)
Theorem 3.3.8
d n
If n is any integer, then [ x ] = x n −1
dx

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17-Derivatives of Trigonometric functions VU

Lecture # 17

Derivative of f (x) =sin (x)

• We want to find the derivative of sin (x) or to differentiate sin (x).
• By definition of derivative we have the following calculations

In sin (x) and cos (x) don’t involve h, they are constant as h→0

So we have proved that

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Derivative of f (x) = cos (x)

In the same way we can find the derivative of the cos function
d cos( x + h) − cos( x)
cos( x) = lim
dx h → 0 h
This is what we get from the definition of the derivative. The student can work out the details of the
calculations here!

Derivative of f (x) =tan (x)

We can use the definition of derivative to get

d tan( x + h) − tan( x)
tan( x) = lim
dx h →0 h
I don’t recall the expansion for tan (x +h)!! However, we can use the identity
sin( x)
tan( x) =
cos( x)
And expand it
sin( x + h) sin( x) cos(h) + sin(h) cos( x)
tan(=
x + h) =
cos( x + h) cos( x) cos(h) − sin( x) sin(h)
So we get
d tan( x + h) − tan( x)
tan( x) = lim
dx h → 0 h
sin( x + h) sin( x)
−
cos( x + h) cos( x)
= lim
h →0 h
 sin( x) cos(h) + sin(h) cos( x)  sin( x)
 cos( x) cos(h) − sin( x) sin(h)  − cos( x)
= lim  
h →0 h

BIG Formula!!!
I will leave to the student to solve this and get the derivative. But here is what I will do. A simpler
way of finding the derivative of tan(x).
Remember the Quotient Rule from precious lectures?? Well, we can use it here instead of the
definition of Derivative for tan(x).
Here is how
d d
cos( x) sin( x) − sin( x) cos( x)
d d  sin( x)  dx dx
= tan( x) =
dx dx  cos( x)  cos 2 ( x)
cos( x) cos( x) − sin( x)[− sin( x)] cos 2 ( x) + sin 2 ( x)
=
cos 2 ( x) cos 2 ( x)
1
= = sec 2 ( x)
cos 2 ( x)
We used the quotient rule and the derivatives of sin (x) and cos(x)

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Derivative of f(x) =sec(x)

d d  1  cos( x)(0) − (1)[− sin( x)]
= sec( x) =  
dx dx  cos( x)  cos 2 ( x)
sin( x) 1
= ⋅ = sec( x) tan( x)
cos( x) cos( x)
Derivative of f(x) =cosec(x)
d d  1  sin( x)(0) − (1)[cos( x)]
= cosec( x) =  
dx dx  sin( x)  sin 2 ( x)
− cos( x) 1
= ⋅ =
− cosec( x) cot( x)
sin( x) sin( x)
Derivative of f(x) =cot(x)
d d  1  tan( x)(0) − (1)[sec 2 ( x)]
= cot( x) =  
dx dx  tan( x)  tan 2 ( x)
− sec 2 ( x)
= 2
= − cos ec 2 ( x)
tan ( x)
Example
Suppose that the rising sun passes directly over a building that is 100 feet high and let θ be the angle
of elevation of the sun. Find the rate at which the length x of the building’s shadow is changing
with respect to θ
When θ = 45 . Express the answer in units of feet/degree.
Solution
From the figure, we see that the variable θ and x are related by the equation
100
tan θ= ⇒ x= 100 cot
x
We want to find the Rate of Change of x wrt θ or in other words
dx
=?
dθ

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I would like to use the fact we got earlier that

d
cot(θ ) = − cos ec 2 (θ )
dx
This will work only if theta is defined in RADIANS. WHY, because we want cot to be a function
which is defined in terms of radians.
We can do that here and instead of degrees, use radians to measure theta. So 45 deg will become
radians. π
4
So we get
dx
= −100 cos ec 2θ
dθ
This is the rate of change of the length x of shadow wrt to the elevation angle theta in units of
feet/radian. When theta is π radians, then
4
dx π
=
−100 cos ec 2 ( ) =
−200 feet / radian
dθ θ=
π 4
4
Now we want to go back to degrees because we were asked to answer the question with the angle in
degrees. We have the relationship
180 degrees = π radians
π π
=
1 degree radian ⇒ There are radian/degree
180 180
This Gives
π 10
-200 feet/radian ⋅ − π feet/degree .
radians/degree =
180 9

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 18-The Chain Rule VU

Lecture # 18

The Chain Rule

• Derivative of Composition of Functions (Chain Rule)

• Generalized Derivative formula
• More Generalized Derivative formula
• An Alternative approach to using Chain Rule

Derivative of Composition of Functions (Chain Rule)

Suppose we have two functions f and g and we know their derivatives. Can we use this information
to find the derivative of the composition
( f  g )( x) = f ( g ( x))
It turns out that we can by a rule call the CHAIN RULE for differentiation . Look at
=y (=
f  g )( x) f ( g ( x))
Let us introduce the equation u = g(x). Then the first one becomes
=y ( f=
 g )( x) f=
( g ( x)) f (u )
We want to use the known things:
dy du
= f='(u ) and g '(u )
du dx
To find the derivative
dy d
= f ( g ( x))
dx dx
Here is the way to do it

Theorem 3.5.2 Chain Rule

If g is differentiable at the point x and f is differentiable at the point g(x), then the composition f (g
(x)) is differentiable at the point x. Moreover, if

=y f ( g ( x=
)) and u g=
( x), then y f (u )
and
dy dy du
= ⋅
dx du dx
So should we prove this? Well, Let's leave this as an exercise for the students. Its not too difficult,
but may be a bit lengthy. It is given in Section III of Appendix C of the textbook.

Example
Find
dy
if y = 4 cos( x3 )
dx
Let u = x 3 so that
y = 4 cos(u )
By the Chain Rule

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dy dy du d d
= = . [4 cos(u )]. [ x 3 ]
dx du dx du dx
= (−4sin(u ))(3 x ) =
2
(−4sin( x3 ))(3 x 2 )
= −12 x 2 sin( x3 )
This formula for finding the derivative of a composition of function is easy to remember if you think
of canceling the du on the top and the bottom resulting in dy / dx!! This is only a technique to
remember, this does not
actually happen.

Generalized Derivative formula

The formula we saw for finding the derivative of composition of functions is a little cumbersome.
Here is a simpler one.
dy dy du
The chain rule is = ⋅
dx du dx
Now y = f(u) gives upon differentiation w..r.t u
dy
= f '(u )
du
Using this in the equation of the chain rule gives
dy d du
= = [ f (u )] f '(u )
dx dx dx
Powerful formula: Simple and effective
Example
f ( x)= ( x 2 − x + 1) 23
Let u = x 2 − x + 1, so f ( x) becomes
f (u ) = u 23
Now we apply the new formual we just got to f (u ) to get
d d 23 du
[( x 2 − x + 1) 23
= ] [u =] 23u 22 ⋅
dx dx dx
d 2
= 23( x 2 − x + 1) 23 . ( x − x + 1)
dx
= 23( x 2 − x + 1) 23 .(2 x − 1)

Note that this formula involves derivative of functions which have a different independent variable
than the variable we are “differentiating with respect to!”

Note that we had in our last example

d 23 du
[u ] = 23u 22
dx dx
Let u = x. Then we get
d 23 d
= =
[ x ] 23 x 22 ( x) 23 x 22
dx dx
This matches up with what we have seen before. So this formula is a generalization of our
differentiation ideas from previous lectures

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Here is a table for your reference

Example
d
[sin(2 x)]
dx
Let u = 2 x. Then using formula A, we have
d d du
=
[sin(2 x)] = =
[sin(u )] cos(u) =
cos(2 x).2 2 cos(2 x)
dx dx dx
Example
d
[tan( x 2 + 1)]
dx
Let =
u x 2 + 1 in formula A, then we get
d d du
[tan( x 2 +
= 1)] =
tan(u ) sec 2 (u )= sec 2 ( x 2 + 1) ⋅ 2 x
dx dx dx
=
2 x ⋅ sec 2 ( x 2 + 1)

How do we know what to let u equal?

Well, you make your substitution so that the result comes out to be a function that you already know
how to differentiate. Like in the last one, we made it so that we got tan(u) which is easy to
differentiate.

Example

d
[ x 3 + cos ec( x)]
dx
Let u= x3 + cos ec( x). Then we get from A
d d 1 du
[ x 3 + cos ec( x)] = [ u ] =
dx dx 2 u dx

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1 d 3
= ⋅[ x + cos ec( x)]
2 x + cos ec( x) dx
3

1
= (3 x 2 − cos ec( x) cot( x)]
2 x + cos ec( x)
3

An alternative approach to using Chain Rule

Remember that we started with f(g(x)) and then labeled g(x) as u by u = g(x). If we don’t do this then
we get
d
[ f ( g ( x))] = f '( g ( x)).g '( x)
dx
With this notation, we can say informally that the chain rule says
“Derivative of the OUTER function f, then Derivative of the INNER function g, and multiply the
two together”

Example
d
[cos(3 x + 1)]
dx
Here, f ( x=
) cos( x), g ( x=
) 3 x + 1. So
d
[cos(3 x + 1)] =
[cos(3 x + 1)]'⋅ (3 x + 1) ' =
− sin(3 x + 1).3 =
−3sin(3 x + 1)
dx

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19-Implicit Differentiation VU

Lecture # 19
Implicit Differentiation
• The method of Implicit Differentiation
• Derivatives of Rational Powers of x
• Differentiability of Implicit functions

Implicit differentiation
Consider this equation. We want to find its derivative or in other words. But how will we find it if y
is not alone on one side of the equation?
Take x y = 1
One way is to solve this equation first to get y
y = 1/x
Differentiating on both sides
d d 1 d
( x)
−1
= ( y) =  
dx dx  x  dx
dy 1
= − 2
dx x
We know that this is the derivative because we used the POWER Rule to differentiate
In this example it was possible to solve the equation for y. What if we cant in some example? Let's
see if we can find the derivative in this example without solving for y.
d d
x ( y ) + y ( x) =
0
dx dx
dy
x + y (1) = 0
dx
dy
x = −y
dx
dy y
= −
dx x
Here i am treating y as an unknown function of x
dy y 1
=− Re meber that xy =⇒ 1 y=
dx x x
dy 1
So, = − 2 same as in the first case
dx x
So here was a different way of finding the derivative
In this example, we found dy/dx without solving for y first. This is called IMPLICIT
DIFFERENTIATION
This is used mostly when it is inconvenient or impossible to separate the y or the dependent variable
on one side.

Example
dy
Find if 5 y 2 + sin y =
x2
dx
Hard to separate the y variable on one side in this case in order to find the derivative of this
function.
Use Implicit differentiation

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d d 2
(5 y 2 + sin y ) = (x )
dx dx
5 ( y 2 ) + ( sin y ) =
d d
2x
dx dx
 dy  dy
5  2 y  + cos y . = 2x
 dx  dx
Chain rule here because y is to be treated as an unknown function of x.
dy
(10 y + cos y ) =
2x
dx
dy 2x
=
dx 10 y + cos y
The formula for the derivative involves both x and y and they cannot be separated by using algebraic
rules.
Since the original equation cannot be solved for y either, the derivative formula must be left like this

Example
Find the slope of the tangent line at the point (4,0) on the graph of
7 y 4 + x3 y + x =4
To find the slope, we must find dy/dx.
We will use implicit differentiation because the original equation is hard to solve for y.
d d
7 y 4 + x3 y + x  = (4)
dx dx
d d d
(7 y 4 ) + ( x 3 y ) + ( x) = 0
dx dx dx
dy  3 dy 
+ y ( x 3 )  + 1 =0
d
28 y 3 +x Using Product Rule and the Chain Rule
dx  dx dx 
dy dy
28 y 3 + x3 + 3 yx 2 + 1 =0
dx dx
dy 3 yx 2 + 1
= −
dx 28 y 3 + x 3
We want to find the slope of the tangent line at the point (4,0) So we have x = 4, We want to find
the slope of the tangent line at the point (4,0)
So we have x = 4, y = 0, so
dy 1
mtan = = −
dx x=4 64
y =0

Example
d2y
Find 2
if 4 x 2 − 2 y 2 =
9
dx
Differentiating both sides implicitly gives

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 19-Implicit Differentiation VU

dy
8x − 4 y =
0
dx
dy 2 x
⇒ =
dx y
d  dy  d  2 x 
 =  
dx  dx  dx  y 

dy 2 y − 2 x  2 x 
y (2) − (2 x)
2  y 
=
d y
= dx  
dx 2 y2 y2
2 y 2 − 4 x2
=
y3
From the original equation we get finally
d2y 9
2
= − 3
dx y

Derivatives of Rational Powers of x

We saw earlier that the power rule for differentiation holds for ALL Integers
d n
 x  = nx n −1
dx
Now we want to expand it to powers that involve Rational numbers
d r
 x  = rx r −1
dx
Where r is a rational number

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