Differentiation

Study Development Factsheet

Differentiation is the process of finding the rate of change of a function. For example, if we
differentiate a function that describes the speed of a car over an hour, we get an expression for
the acceleration of the car.

Notation
There are a few different ways to denote that a function has been differentiated. When studying
differentiation for a course, there will most likely be one form of notation that the course leaders
will prefer, but otherwise the choice is left up to the individual to make. Some notations are more
appropriate in certain circumstances than others.
Leibniz’s notation
This notation is very commonly used, and is the most appropriate when using the chain rule.

f ( x ) .)
dy d f (x) d f d
First derivative: (may also be written as , (x),
dx dx dx dx
dy
means the derivative of the function y with respect to x .
dx
2
d y
Second derivative: 2
dx
n
d y
nth derivative: n
dx
n
d y dy
nth derivative when x=a : n |x=a (may also be written as ( a ) .)
dx dx

Lagrange’s notation
This notation is also very commonly used. It is slightly less clear than Leibniz’s notation, as it does
not state which variable we are differentiating with respect to, but is more commonly used for
things like Taylor and Maclaurin’s theorem, or in situations where it is obvious that we are
differentiating with respect to a certain variable.
First derivative of f ( x ) : f ' ( x )
Second derivative of f ( x ) : f '' ( x )
nth derivative of f ( x ) : f Roman numeral of n ( x )

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 First derivative of f ( x ) , evaluated at x=a : f ' ( a )

Differentiation
Study Development Factsheet

Euler notation
This notation is less common. It is used by some mathematicians as it is regarded as a clear
notation, but as it is not used in many textbooks and papers, its popularity has remained low.
First derivative of f ( x ) : D f ( x )
Second derivative of f ( x ) : D2 f ( x )
nth derivative of f ( x ) : Dn f ( x )
nth derivative of f ( x ) when x=a : Dn f ( a )
Newton’s notation
Newton’s notation is occasionally used by physicists and engineers, but is not commonly favoured
by most mathematicians as it is easily confused with the notation for a recurring decimal or a
mean value.
First derivative of y : ẏ
Second derivative of y : ÿ
The nth derivative is denoted by placing n dots above y.

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 Differentiation
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Simple differentiation
If the function you wish to differentiate is of the form f ( x )=a x n where a and n are constants, then
we differentiate it as follows:
' n−1
f ( x )=( a × n ) x
For example, when f ( x )=3 x 2, f ' ( x )=( 3 ×2 ) x 1=6 x .
For a function of the form f ( x )=a x n+ b x m + … we simply differentiate each term from left to right to
get:
' n−1 m−1
f ( x )=( a × n ) x + ( b × m ) x +…
For example, when f ( x )=4 x 3 +12 x 2 +3 x−1,
' 2 1 −2 2 −2
f ( x )=( 4 ×3 ) x + ( 12× 2 ) x + ( 3 ×−1 ) x =12 x +24 x−3 x .
This will get easier with practice! There is a worksheet with practice questions available on the
Study Success page.
Some differentials to look out for:
- The differential of a constant (e.g 2, 7, 0.003, etc) is 0.
- When differentiating a term of the form f ( x )=ax with respect to x , we follow the usual
process: f ' ( x )=( a × 1 ) x 1−1=a x 0. Using power rules, we know that x 0=1 , therefore f ' ( x )=a .
m
- When differentiating a term of the form f ( x )=a x n with respect to x , we follow the usual

m ( n −1) am
m

( ) ( )
m−n
'
process: f ( x )= a × x = x n
.
n n

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 Differentiation
Study Development Factsheet

Common differentiation rules

d sin ( x )
= cos ( x )
dx
d cos ( x )
= −sin ( x )
dx
d (−sin ( x ) ¿ ¿ = −cos ( x )
dx
d(−cos ( x¿ )
= sin ( x )
dx
d tan ( x )
= sec 2 ( x )
dx
d log ( f ( x ) ) f ' ( x )
Differential of natural log: =
dx f (x)
f ( x)
de ' f ( x)
=f ( x ) e
dx

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 Differentiation
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The chain rule

The chain rule is as follows:
d y d y ( u) d u
= ×
d x du dx
For example, for a function such as f ( x )= ( 3 x +2 )2, we write f ( u )=u2 with u=3 x +2. We find:
d f ( u ) d ( u2 )
= = 2u
du du
d u d (3 x +2 )
= =3
dx dx
d f (x)
Now, we use the chain rule to find :
dx
d f ( x ) d f ( u) d u
= × = 2 u ×3 = 6 u
dx du dx
Finally, we substitute u=3 x +2:
d f (x)
= 6 u=6 ( 3 x+2 ).
dx
As a second example, consider f ( x )=sin ( 2 x ).
We write f ( u ) = sin ( u ) with u=2 x .
We then find:
d f ( u ) d sin (u )
= = cos (u )
du du
d u d (2 x )
= =2
dx dx
d f (x)
Now, use the chain rule to find :
dx
d f ( x ) d f ( u) d u
= × = cos (u ) × 2 = 2 cos ( u ) .
dx du dx
Finally, we substitute u=2 x :
d f (x)
= 2 cos ( u ) = 2 cos ( 2 x ) .
dx

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The product rule

d f (x)g(x) d g(x) d f (x)
= f (x) + g(x)
dx dx dx
For example, for a function such as h ( x )=x sin ( x ) , we find
f ( x )=x , g ( x )=sin ( x ) ,
d f (x) d g(x)
= 1, = cos ( x ) .
dx dx
We then use the product rule:
d h (x ) d f ( x ) g ( x ) d g(x) d f (x)
= = f (x) + g(x) = x × cos ( x ) +sin ( x ) × 1=x cos ( x )+ sin ( x )
dx dx dx dx

The quotient rule

Until now, the rules have been written in Leibniz notation. Here, we swap to Lagrange notation to
make the formula look less scary.

( )
' '
f (x)
'
g ( x ) f ( x )−f ( x ) g ( x )
= 2
g ( x) ( g ( x ))
2x
For example, for a function such as h ( x ) = , we find:
x+3
f ( x )=2 x , g ( x )=x +3 ,
' '
f ( x )=2 , g ( x )=1
Now, we use the quotient rule to solve for h' ( x ):

( )
' '
' f (x)
'
g ( x ) f ( x )−f ( x ) g ( x )
h ( x )= = 2 =
g(x) ( g ( x ))
( ( x +3 ) ×2)−(2 x ×1) 2 ( x +3 ) −2 x 2 x +6−2 x 6
= = 2 = .
( x +3 ) 2
( x +3 ) 2
( x +3 ) ( x+3 )2

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Equation of a tangent
One use of differentiation is to find the gradient of a function. A ‘tangent’ is a straight line that
touches a curve at one point (though it may intersect again at some other points on the curve) and
has the same gradient as the curve at the point it touches.
To find the equation of a tangent at a point on a function:
1. Differentiate the function. This gives you an expression for the gradient of the function.
2. Calculate the gradient using the expression from step 1 at the point you want the tangent
at. Do this by plugging in the x value given.
3. Write a new expression of the form: y= ( gradient at the point ) x +c .
4. Use the x and y values of the point given to calculate c .

For example, find the tangent to the function f ( x )=x 3 +2 x 2+1 at the point ( 1 , 4 ):
1. f ' ( x )=3 x 2+ 4 x
2. f ' ( 1 )=3 ( 1 )2 +4 ( 1 )=3+ 4=7.
3. y=7 x +c .
4. 4=7 (1 )+ c
Which implies that −3=c
Therefore, the equation of the tangent at (1,4) is y=7 x – 3 .

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Increasing or decreasing functions

What does the gradient actually mean?
- A positive gradient means the function is increasing. This means that y (or f ( x ) ) increases
as x increases.
- A negative gradient means the function is decreasing. So as x increases, y decreases.
- A larger positive gradient means that the function is increasing faster (ie y is increasing a lot
each time x increases).
- A smaller positive gradient means that the function is increasing slower (ie y only increases
a little bit each time x increases).
- A larger negative gradient means that the function is decreasing faster (ie y decreases a lot
each time x increases).
- A smaller negative gradient means that the function is decreasing slower (ie y only
decreases a little bit each time x increases).
- A gradient that is equal to 0 means that function is neither increasing or decreasing. y
remains the same as x increases.

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Turning points
A ‘turning point’ or ‘stationary point’ on a function is a point where the gradient of the function is
equal to 0. These can be one of three types: a maxima, a minima, or a point of inflection. To find a
turning point:
1. Differentiate the function.
2. Equate the differential to 0 and solve for x .
3. Substitute these x values into your original function to find the corresponding y values.

2
3x
For example, find the turning points of the function f ( x )=x 3− −36 x +2 .
2
1. f ' ( x )=3 x 2−3 x−36
2. 3 x 2−3 x−36=0
We factorise this to get: ( 3 x+ 9 ) ( x−4 )=0
Then we solve for x : x 1=−3 , x 2=4 .
2
3 ( 3)
3. f ( x 1 ) =(−3 )3− −36 ( 3 ) +2=−146.5= y 1
2
2
3 3 (4 )
f ( x 2 ) =( 4 ) − −36 ( 4 ) +2=−102= y 2
2
Therefore, the two turning points are at (-3,-146.5) and (4,-102).

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Defining turning points

There are two ways to determine what kind of turning point you have. A ‘maxima’ is a point at
which the function stops increasing and starts to decrease (as x increases). A ‘minima’ is a point
at which a function stops decreasing and starts to increase (as x increases). A ‘point of inflection’
is one where the function has gradient 0, but is either increasing before and after or decreasing
before and after.
Method 1: checking either side
1. Find a turning point.
2. Check the value of the gradient before the turning point and after (note: choose values
to check that are close to the turning point. If you choose one that is so far away that
there is another turning point between that point and the turning point you are checking
then the test will not work).
3. If the value before is negative, and the value after is positive, you have a minima. If the
value before is positive, and the value after is negative, you have a maxima. If the signs
before and after are the same, it is a point of inflection.

Method 2: second differentiation

1. Find the turning points.
2. Differentiate the gradient function (ie find f '' ( x )).
'' '' ''
3. For turning points x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , …, find f ( x 1) , f ( x 2) , f ( x 3 ) ,…
4. If you get a positive value, you have a minima. A negative value is a maxima, and 0 is a
point of inflection.

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