C1.7 Differentiation

AS-Level Maths:
Core 1
for Edexcel
C1.7 Differentiation
This icon indicates the slide contains activities created in Flash. These activities are not editable.
For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation.
1 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Rates of change
Rates of change
The gradient of the tangent at a point
Contents
The gradient of the tangent as a limit

Differentiation of polynomials
Second order derivatives
Tangents and normals
Examination-style questions

Rates of change
This graph shows the distance that a car travels over a period
of 5 seconds.
The gradient of the graph tells us the
rate at which the distance changes
distance (m)
40
with respect to time.
In other words, the gradient tells us
0 time (s) 5 the speed of the car.
change in distance 40
gradient = = = 8 m/s
change in time 5
The car in this example is travelling at a constant speed since
the gradient is the same at every point on the graph.

Rates of change
In most situations, however, the speed will not be constant

and the distance–time graph will be curved.
For example, this graph shows the
distance–time graph as the car
distance (m)
moves off from rest.
The speed of the car, and therefore
the gradient, changes as you move
0 time (s)
along the curve.
To find the rate of change in speed we need to find the
gradient of the curve.
The process of finding the rate at which one variable changes
with respect to another is called differentiation.
In most situations this involves finding the gradient of a curve.

Rates of change
Contents


The gradient of a curve
The gradient of a curve at a point is given by

the gradient of the tangent at that point.
Look at how the gradient changes as we move along a curve:

Finding the gradient of a curve at a point
Suppose we want to find the gradient of the curve y = x2 at the

point (3, 9).
Use graph paper to carefully plot the curve y = x2 for
–5 ≤ x ≤ 5. Use a ruler to draw the tangent at the point
(3, 9) and find the gradient of the tangent.
Find the gradients of the tangents at four other points
and write down what you notice.
As you can see, it is quite difficult to do this accurately because
we only know a single point that the line passes through.
To find the gradient of a line we need to know two points on
the line (x1, y1) and (x2, y2). We can then find its gradient:
change in y y2  y1
=
change in x x2  x1
Rates of change
Contents


Differentiation from first principles
Suppose we want to find the gradient of a curve at a point A.

We can add another point B on the line close to point A.
δx represents a small
change in x and δy
represents a small
change in y.
As point B moves
closer to point A, the
gradient of the chord
AB gets closer to the
gradient of the
tangent at A.

We can write the gradient of the chord AB as:

change in y y
=
change in x x
y
As B gets closer to A, δx gets closer to 0 and gets closer
x
to the value of the gradient of the tangent at A.
δx can’t actually be equal to 0 because we would then have
division by 0 and the gradient would then be undefined.
Instead we must consider the limit as δx tends to 0.

This means that δx becomes infinitesimal without actually
becoming 0.

Let’s see how this works for the gradient of the tangent to the
curve y = x2 at the point A(3, 9).

If A is the point (3, 9) on the curve y = x2 and B is another point

close to (3, 9) on the curve, we can write the coordinates of B
as (3 + δx, (3 + δx)2).
The gradient of chord AB is:
y (3   x )2  9
=
B(3 + δx, (3 + δx) )
2
x (3   x )  3
9  6 x  ( x )2  9
=
x
δy 6 x  ( x )2
=
x
A(3, 9)  x(6   x )
δx =
x
= 6 + x

At the limit where δx → 0, 6 + δx → 6.

We write this as:
y
lim = lim 6 +  x = 6
 x 0  x  x 0
So the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x2 at the point

(3, 9) is 6.
Let’s apply this method to a general point on the curve y = x2.
If we let the x-coordinate of a general point A on the curve
y = x2 be x, then the y-coordinate will be x2.
So, A is the point (x, x2).
If B is another point close to A(x, x2) on the curve, we can
write the coordinates of B as (x + δx, (x + δx)2).

The gradient of chord AB is:

 y ( x   x )2  x 2
B(x + δx, (x + δx)2)
=
x ( x   x)  x
x 2  2 x x  ( x )2  x 2
=
δy
x
2 x x  ( x )2
=
A(x, x2) x
δx  x(2 x   x )
=
x
= 2x +  x
2 y
So for y = x , lim = 2x
 x 0  x

The gradient of y = x2

The gradient function
So the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x2 at the general

point (x, y) is 2x.
2x is often called the gradient function or the derived
function of y = x2.
If the curve is written using function notation as y = f(x), then
the derived function can be written as f ′(x).
So, if: f(x) = x2
Then: f ′(x) = 2x
This notation is useful if we want to find the gradient of f(x) at a
particular point.
For example, the gradient of f(x) = x2 at the point (5, 25) is:
f ′(5) = 2 × 5 = 10
The gradient function of y = x2

Differentiating y = x3 from first principles
For the curve y = x3, we can consider the general point A (x, x3)
and the point B (x + δx, (x + δx)3) a small distance away from A.
The gradient of chord AB is then:
 y ( x   x )3  x3
=
x ( x   x)  x
x 3  3 x 2 x  3 x( x )2  ( x )3  x3
=
x
3 x 2 x  3 x( x )2  ( x )3
=
x
 x(3 x 2  3 x x  ( x )2 )
=
x
= 3 x  3 x x  ( x )2
2
3 y
So for y = x , lim = 3 x2
 x 0  x

So, the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x3 at the

general point (x, y) is 3x2.
So if, f(x) = x3
Then: f ′(x) = 3x2
What is the gradient of the tangent to the

curve f(x) = x3 at the point (–2, –8)?
f ′(x) = 3x2
f ′(–2) = 3(–2)2 = 12
Explain why the gradient of f(x) = x3

will always be positive.

The gradient function of y = x3

dy
Using the notation dx
We have shown that for y = x3

y
lim = 3 x2
 x 0  x
y dy
lim is usually written as .
 x 0  x dx
dy 2
So if y = x3
then: = 3 x
dx
dy
represents the derivative of y with respect to x.
dx
y dy
Remember, is the gradient of a chord, while is the gradient
x dx
of the tangent.

dy
Using the notation dx
This notation can be adapted for other variables so, for

example:
ds
represents the derivative of s with respect to t.
dt
If s is distance and t is time then we can interpret this as the
rate of change in distance with respect to time. In other words,
the speed.
Also, if we want to differentiate 2x4 with respect to x, for
example, we can write:
d
(2 x 4 )
dx
We could work this out by differentiating from first principles,
but in practice this is unusual.

Rates of change
Contents


Differentiation
If we continued the process of differentiating from first

principles we would obtain the following results:
y x x2 x3 x4 x5 x6
dy
1 2x 3x2 4x3 5x4 6x5
dx
What pattern do you notice?

In general:
dy
If y  x then
n
 nx n 1
dx
and when xn is preceded by a constant multiplier a we have:
dy
n
If y = ax then = anx n 1
dx
Differentiation
For example, if y = 2x4

dy
= 2× 4 x 41 = 8x 3
dx
Suppose we have a function of the form y = c, where c is a
constant number.
This corresponds to a horizontal line through the point (0, c).
y The gradient of this line is always
equal to 0.
c
 If y=c
0 x dy
=0
dx

Differentiation
Find the gradient of the curve

y = 3x4 at the point (–2, 48).
dy
Differentiating: = 12 x 3
dx
At the point (–2, 48) x = –2 so:
dy
= 12( 2)3
dx
= 12 × 8
= 96
The gradient of the curve y = 3x4 at the point (–2, 48) is –96.

Differentiating polynomials
Suppose we want to differentiate a polynomial function.

For example:
Differentiate y = x4 + 3x2 – 5x + 2 with respect to x.
dy
We can differentiate each term in the function to give .
dx
dy
So: = 4x3 + 6x – 5
dx
In general, if y is made up of the sum or difference of any given
number of functions, its derivative will be made up of the
derivative of each of the functions.
dy
If y = f ( x ) ± g ( x ) then = f '( x) ± g '( x)
dx

Find the point on y = 4x2 – x – 5 where the gradient is 15.

dy
= 8x  1
dx
dy
= 15 when 8x – 1 = 15
dx
8x = 16
x=2
We now substitute this value into the equation y = 4x2 – x – 5
to find the value of y when x = 2
y = 4(2)2 – 2 – 5
=9
The gradient of y = 4x2 – x – 5 is 15 at the point (2, 9).
In some cases, a function will have to be written as separate

terms containing powers of x before differentiating.
For example:
Given that f(x) = (2x – 3)(x2 – 5) find f ′(x).
Expanding: f(x) = 2x3 – 3x2 – 10x + 15

f ′(x) = 6x2 – 6x –10
Find the gradient of f(x) at the point (–3, –36).
When x = –3 we have f ′(–3) = 6(–3)2 – 6(–3) –10

= 54 + 18 – 10
= 62
3 x5 + 4 x2  8 x
Differentiate y = with respect to x.
2x
3 x5 4 x 2 8 x
y= + 
2x 2x 2x
y = 32 x 4 + 2 x  4
We can now differentiate:

dy 12 3
= 2 x +2
dx
= 6x3 + 2
= 2(3x3 + 1)

Differentiating axn for all rational n
dy
If y = ax n then = anx n 1
dx
This is true for all negative or fractional values of n.
For example:
2
Differentiate y = with respect to x.
x
Start by writing this as y = 2x–1

dy
So: = 1 × 2 x 11
dx
= 2x 2
2
=
x2
Differentiate y = 4 x with respect to x.

1
Start by writing this as y = 4x 2
dy 1 1 1
So: = 2 × 4x 2
dx
 21
= 2x
2
=
x
Remember, in some cases, a function will have to be written as

separate terms containing powers of x before differentiating.

Given that f (x ) = (1+ x )2 find f '( x).
f ( x ) = (1+ x )(1+ x )
= 1+ 2 x + x
1
= 1+ 2 x + x2
 21
f '( x ) = x +1
1
= +1
x

Rates of change
Contents


Differentiating a function y = f(x) gives us the derivative

dy
or f ′(x)
dx
Differentiating the function a second time gives us the second
order derivative. This can be written as
d2y
or f ′′(x)
dx 2
The second order derivative gives us the rate of change of the
gradient of a function.
We can think of it as the gradient of the gradient.

Using second order derivatives

Rates of change
Contents


Remember, the tangent to a curve at a point is a straight line
that just touches the curve at that point.
The normal to a curve at a point is a straight line that is

perpendicular to the tangent at that point.
We can use differentiation to find the equation of the tangent
or the normal to a curve at a given point. For example:
Find the equation of the tangent and the normal
to the curve y = x2 – 5x + 8 at the point P(3, 2).
y = x2 – 5x + 8
dy
= 2x  5
dx
At the point P(3, 2) x = 3 so:
dy
= 2(3)  5 = 1
dx
The gradient of the tangent at P is therefore 1.
Using y – y1 = m(x – x1), give the equation of the tangent at the
point P(3, 2):
y–2=x–3
y=x–1

The normal to the curve at the point P(3, 2) is perpendicular to

the tangent at that point.
The gradient of the tangent at P is 1 and so the gradient of the

normal is –1.
Using y – y1 = m(x – x1) give the equation of the tangent at the

point P(3, 2):
y  2 = ( x  3)
y+ x 5 =0

Rates of change
Contents


Examination-style question
The curve f(x) = x2 + 2x – 8 cuts the x-axes at the points A(–a,

0) and B(b, 0) where a and b are positive integers.
a) Find the coordinates of points A and B.
b) Find the gradient function of the curve.
c) Find the equations of the normals to the curve at points A
and B.
d) Given that these normals intersect at the point C, find the
coordinates of C.
a) The equation of the curve can be written in factorized form

as y = (x + 4)(x – 2) so the coordinates of A are (–4, 0) and
the coordinates of B are (2, 0).

b) f(x) = x2 + 2x – 8  f’(x) = 2x + 2
c) At (–4, 0) the gradient of the curve is –8 + 2 = –6
1
 The gradient of the normal at (–4, 0) is 6 .
Using y – y1 = m(x – x1), the equation of the normal at (–4, 0) is:
1
y–0= 6 (x + 4)
6y = x + 4 1
At (2, 0) the gradient of the curve is 4 + 2 = 6

1
 The gradient of the normal at (2, 0) is – 6 .
Using y – y1 = m(x – x1), the equation of the normal at (2, 0) is:
y–0=– 1 (x – 2)
6
6y = 2 – x 2
d) Equating 1 and 2 :
x+4=2–x
2x = –2
x=1
When x = –1, y = 1
2 . So the coordinates of C are (–1, 21 ).

C1.7 Differentiation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

C1.7 Differentiation

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

C1.7 Differentiation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is differentiation and how is it used?

What is differentiation and how is it used?

What is the gradient of a curve at a point?

What is the gradient of a curve at a point?

AS-Level Maths:

1 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

The gradient of the tangent as a limit

2 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

3 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

In most situations, however, the speed will not be constant

4 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

The gradient of the tangent as a limit

5 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

The gradient of a curve at a point is given by

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

6 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Suppose we want to find the gradient of the curve y = x2 at the

The gradient of the tangent as a limit

8 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Suppose we want to find the gradient of a curve at a point A.

9 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

We can write the gradient of the chord AB as:

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

10 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

11 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

If A is the point (3, 9) on the curve y = x2 and B is another point

12 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

At the limit where δx → 0, 6 + δx → 6.

So the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x2 at the point

13 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

The gradient of chord AB is:

14 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

15 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

So the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x2 at the general

17 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

19 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

So, the gradient of the tangent to the curve y = x3 at the

What is the gradient of the tangent to the

Explain why the gradient of f(x) = x3

20 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

21 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

We have shown that for y = x3

22 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

This notation can be adapted for other variables so, for

23 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

The gradient of the tangent as a limit

24 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

If we continued the process of differentiating from first

What pattern do you notice?

For example, if y = 2x4

26 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Find the gradient of the curve

27 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Suppose we want to differentiate a polynomial function.

28 of 45 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Find the point on y = 4x2 – x – 5 where the gradient is 15.

In some cases, a function will have to be written as separate

Given that f(x) = (2x – 3)(x2 – 5) find f ′(x).

Expanding: f(x) = 2x3 – 3x2 – 10x + 15