Lec 24: Some differentiation rules
MATH 147 Section 2, Fall Term 2022
I Power Rule
I Sum and Multiple Rules
I Product and Quotient Rules
I Examples
I Chain Rule
Key references: Text book sec 3.3
Power Rule
Proposition 1 (The Power Rule)
d n
For any integer n, we have dx
x = nx n−1 provided that x n and x n−1 are defined.
Proof.
We can break this down into different cases depending on n and apply the definition of a derivative.
1. Consider n = 0. (What happens at x = 0?)
2. Consider positive integers n and use the Binomial Theorem.
3. Consider negative integers n and use the result for positive m = −n.
Sum and Multiple Rules
Proposition 2 (The Constant Multiple Rule)
Suppose that the function f is differentiable at a. Then for any real number c, the function cf is differentiable
at a and (cf )0 (a) = cf 0 (a).
Proposition 3 (The Sum Rule)
Suppose that the functions f and g are both differentiable at a. Then the function f + g is differentiable at a
and (f + g )0 (a) = f 0 (a) + g 0 (a).
Proof.
These two results follow from the corresponding rules for limits of functions.
Theorem 1 (Linearity of Differentiation)
Suppose that the functions f and g are both differentiable at a. Then for any real numbers c1 and c2 , the
function c1 f + c2 g is differentiable at a and (c1 f + c2 g )0 (a) = c1 f 0 (a) + c2 g 0 (a).
Product and Reciprocal Rules
Theorem 2 (The Product Rule)
Suppose that the functions f and g are both differentiable at a. Then the function fg is differentiable at a and
(fg )0 (a) = f 0 (a)g (a) + f (a)g 0 (a).
Proof.
Geometrically, the product of two numbers can be thought of as the area of a rectangle. Use this to manipulate
the limit definition of (fg )0 (a) and derive the result.
Proposition 4 (The Reciprocal Rule)
Suppose that the function g is differentiable at a and g 0 (a) 6= 0. Then the function 1/g is differentiable at a
g 0 (a)
and (1/g )0 (a) = − [g (a)]2 .
Proof.
See proof of the Power Rule for negative n.
g 0 (a)
Remark: The formula can also be written as (1/g )0 (a) = − g 2 (a) (as in the text book) but this could be
misinterpreted as the composition g (g (a)).
Quotient Rule
Theorem 3 (The Quotient Rule)
Suppose that the functions f and g are both differentiable at a and g 0 (a) 6= 0. Then the function f /g is
differentiable at a and
f 0 (a)g (a) − f (a)g 0 (a)
(f /g )0 (a) = .
[g (a)]2
Proof.
First apply the Quotient Rule to get (1/g )0 (a), then apply the Product Rule to get (f · (1/g ))0 (a).
The preceding rules of differentiation lead to the result that all polynomials are differentiable on R and all
rational functions are differentiable wherever the denominator is nonzero.
Examples
Exercise
Find the derivative functions of the following.
1. f (x) = 2x sin(x) + cos(x)
2x+6
2. f (x) = x 2 −9
x 2 −9
(
x 6= −3
2x+6
,
3. f (x) =
−3, x = −3
2
x −9
2x+6 , x > −3
4. f (x) = −3, x = −3
x2
− 12 , x < −3
Derivatives of composite functions
We begin with a motivating example from physics.
Consider an object of mass m falling from rest, neglecting air resistance. What is the rate of change of its
gravitational potential energy (with respect to time)?
Gravitational potential energy is usually defined by the formula U = mgh. Here, h is the vertical distance
(height) measured with respect to an arbitrary zero level, e.g, ground level at the surface of the Earth.
Assume that the mass m and gravitational acceleration g are constant so U can be considered a function of h:
U(h) = mgh.
The derivative U 0 (h) = mg , unfortunately, is not the rate of change of potential energy with time.
We need some information about how quickly h is varying with time. More precisely, if h(t) describes the height
as a function of time, then the composition U(h(t)) = (U ◦ h)(t) is the potential energy as a function of
time.
d
The Chain Rule is a way of finding the derivative of compositions, e.g., dt
(U(h(t))).
Chain Rule
Theorem (Chain Rule)
Suppose that the function f is differentiable at a and the function g is differentiable at f (a). Then, g ◦ f is
differentiable at a and
(g ◦ f )0 (a) = g 0 (f (a)) · f 0 (a).
The proof is somewhat complicated. We begin with an outline and add more details on the next slides.
1. We need to show that
g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) g (f (a) + h) − g (f (a)) f (a + h) − f (a)
lim = lim · lim .
h→0 h h→0 h h→0 h
g (y ) − g (f (a)) ,
if y 6= f (a),
2. Define D(y ) = y − f (a) and show that
0
g (f (a)), if y = f (a),
g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) f (a + h) − f (a)
= D(f (a + h)) · for all h 6= 0.
h h
3. Take the limit as h → 0, applying the Product Rule for limits on the RHS.
Proof of Chain Rule - Part 1
1. We first state that our goal is to show that
g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) g (f (a) + h) − g (f (a)) f (a + h) − f (a)
lim = lim · lim .
h→0 h h→0 h h→0 h
2. Consider two cases: (i) f (a + h) 6= f (a) and (ii) f (a + h) = f (a).
In these cases, the Newton quotient on the LHS is
(i)
g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) f (a + h) − f (a)
= · .
h f (a + h) − f (a) h
(ii)
g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) 0 0 f (a + h) − f (a)
= 0 = g (f (a)) · 0 = g (f (a)) · .
h h
g (y ) − g (f (a)) ,
if y 6= f (a),
Hence, defining D(y ) = y − f (a) we have
0
g (f (a)), if y = f (a),
g (f (a + h)) − g (f (a)) f (a + h) − f (a)
= D(f (a + h)) · for all h 6= 0.
h h
Proof of Chain Rule - Part 2
3. Take the limit as h → 0, applying the Product Rule for limits on the RHS.
The second term is straightforward:
f (a + h) − f (a)
lim = f 0 (a).
h→0 h
We want to say that the first term gives
lim D(f (a + h)) = g 0 (f (a)).
h→0
Note that by the definition of g 0 (f (a)),
g (y ) − g (f (a))
lim D(y ) = lim = g 0 (f (a)) = D(f (a)).
y →f (a) y →f (a) y − f (a)
So, D is continuous at f (a). We also know that f is continuous at a (because it is differentiable at a).
Hence, D ◦ f is continuous at a.
Therefore,
lim D(f (a + h)) = D f lim [a + h] = D(f (a)) = g 0 (f (a)),
h→0 h→0
as required.
Examples of applying the Chain Rule will be presented in the slides for the next lecture.
