0% found this document useful (0 votes)
22 views21 pages

3_01 Diff calc 1 blank

The document outlines key concepts in differential calculus, including the difference quotient, derivatives at points, and the geometric meaning of derivatives. It discusses the conditions for a function to be derivable, the existence of left and right derivatives, and provides examples for calculating derivatives and tangent lines. Additionally, it introduces the derivative function and its notation, along with exercises to reinforce understanding.

Uploaded by

Valerio Costa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
22 views21 pages

3_01 Diff calc 1 blank

The document outlines key concepts in differential calculus, including the difference quotient, derivatives at points, and the geometric meaning of derivatives. It discusses the conditions for a function to be derivable, the existence of left and right derivatives, and provides examples for calculating derivatives and tangent lines. Additionally, it introduces the derivative function and its notation, along with exercises to reinforce understanding.

Uploaded by

Valerio Costa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 21

3_01 Diff calc 1

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 13:40

Syllabus components
• Difference quotient, derivative at a point, derivability, geometric
meaning, equation of the tangent line
• Left and right derivative at a point
○ Corners
• The derivative function
• Derivatives of elementary functions

Marginal analysis

Suppose we are at a particular production level (quantity: q).

Will an increase of one unit ( ) be more or less profitable per unit?


e.g. Produce 4 units instead of 3?
See .xls file for further details.

Differential calculus Page 1


Motivation

Consider a function

1. Given a function and a particular point what is the rate of


change at ? Is it increasing or decreasing?

2. Given a function and a particular point can we approximate


the function near ?

Geometric meaning

Consider a function . Let .

Differential calculus Page 2


Consider a function . Let .

For the moment, we will consider a ‘smooth’ function. (For now, use your
intuition for defining smooth.)

Smooth Not smooth

Take another point an arbitrary non-zero distance to the right (or left)
of .

The line passing through the curve at both and is a secant of the
curve.

The slope of this secant line is equal to the average rate of change of the
function in question, over the interval .

Differential calculus Page 3


Now we move the point closer to

Differential calculus Page 4


As we approach , the secant line approximates the rate of change at
with higher degrees of accuracy.

In fact, the limiting position of the secant is the tangent.

Differential calculus Page 5


Difference quotient

The slope of the secant line is defined as the difference quotient

increment of
increment of

Example

Calculate the difference quotient of the function


at with increment

Differential calculus Page 6


But what about functions such as:

Here we see that , but is clearly not increasing on the domain


shown.

In order to refine this measure, we need to take the limit as .

Derivative at a point

Definition
A function is derivable at a point if the limit

Differential calculus Page 7


exists and is finite.

is called the derivative of at .

Some common notations for the derivative:

(The last two are Leibniz’ notations.)

Tangent line

Given a function and

The value of the derivative at can be


used to write the equation of the tangent line to
the graph of at

Differential calculus Page 8


Using the point-slope formula we have

which becomes

Or,
tangent line

Example

Consider

Find the equation of the tangent line to at

Differential calculus Page 9


Existence conditions

Recall the two statements included in the definition of the derivative:

1. The limit of the difference quotient is finite.


2. This limit exists.

Example

Consider .

Find, if it exists, .

Differential calculus Page 10


As (a vertical tangent line). Note, that as the
function changes concavity, is called a vertical inflection point.

Example

Consider .

Find, if it exists, .

Differential calculus Page 11


As (a horizontal tangent line).
Note, that as the function changes concavity, is called a
horizontal inflection point.

Recall that in order for a limit to exist, the value obtained from the LHS
and the RHS must be finite and equal. Thus, a one-sided derivatives will be
defined as follows.

Right/left derivative at a point

Definition
Given a function , and such that a right neighborhood

Then the right derivative is

if this limit exists and is finite.

Then we can say that is derivable from the right at


Differential calculus Page 12
Then we can say that is derivable from the right at

Theorem
Given , , exists if and only if:

1. exists.

2. exists.

3. They are equal.

Example

Consider .

Find , if it exists.

Differential calculus Page 13


Both the left-derivative and right-derivative at exist (they are finite),
but they are not equal.

Thus, is a corner.
Differential calculus Page 14
Thus, is a corner.

Example

Consider .
Find , if it exists.

Differential calculus Page 15


Both the left-derivative and right-derivative at are infinite, but
with different signs.

Thus, is a cuspoidal point (cusp).

Earlier we mentioned ‘smooth’ functions when introducing the concept of


derivative.

We can refine this notion a bit now: a function will be ‘smooth’ on a


domain A if there are no corners or cusps.

We can state (but will not prove) that a function will have a derivative at
any point in a domain if:

1. is smooth and
2. does not have any discontinuities
3. does not have any points with vertical tangents

Differential calculus Page 16


Exercise (Bclicker)

Consider the piecewise defined function

Compute the left and right derivatives at . Determine if exists.

Derivative function

We have used the notation


to signify that the slope
of the tangent depends on .

If we allow to vary in the


domain , we obtain the
Differential calculus Page 17
If we allow to vary in the
domain , we obtain the
derivative function, as long as
the derivative is well defined

Definition
Consider a function , with derivable

The function is called the derivative function of

We use the notation to denote the derivative function of

Example
Consider first the elementary function . Find

Differential calculus Page 18


Example

Consider next the elementary function


Find

Differential calculus Page 19


Example

Given

Find the derivative function

Differential calculus Page 20


Example

Given , find

Differential calculus Page 21

You might also like