AMA1140 Mathematics for Construction and

Environment
1 Differentiation

Dr Bob He

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Outline

1 Limit and Continuity

2 Derivative
3 Rules of Differentiation
4 Logarithmic and Exponential Functions
5 Differentiation of Inverse function
6 L’Hospital’s Rule
7 Monotonicity and Relative Extremum
8 Higher Derivatives

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§1 Limit and Continuity
Definition 1
Let c ∈ R and let f (x) be a function defined on an open interval
containing the point c, except possibly at c. If f (x) is arbitrarily
close to L for all x sufficiently close to c, f is said to approach the
limit L as x approaches c, denoted by

lim f (x) = L, or f (x) → L as x → c.

x→c

Note: The function f may not be defined at x = c.

Definition 2
A function f is continuous at c ∈ Dom(f ) if and only if

lim f (x) = f (c).

x→c

A function is said to be continuous if it is continuous at every

point in its domain.
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 y y

L
L

c x c x

y y

L
L

c x c x

About lim f (x): Upper Left: the limit exists; Upper Right, Lower
x→c
Left, and Lower Right: the limits do not exist.
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 y y y

L′

L L L

c x c x c x

Examples of the limit and continuity.

Left: the graph of y = f1 (x), where f1 (c) = lim f1 (x) = L;
x→c
Middle: the graph of y = f2 (x), where lim f2 (x) = L but f2 (c) does
x→c
not exist!
Right: the graph of y = f3 (x), where f3 (c) = L′ ̸= L.
In all the three cases,

lim f1 (x) = lim f2 (x) = lim f3 (x) = L,

x→c x→c x→c

but only y = f1 (x) is continuous.

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Theorem 3
If f and g are continuous at c, then
f ± g is continuous at c
fg is continuous at c
f /g is continuous at c, provided that g (c) ̸= 0
f ◦ g is continuous at c, provided that f is continuous at g (c).

Theorem 4
Constant functions are continuous.
Polynomials are continuous everywhere.
P(x)
Rational functions f (x) = Q(x) are continuous where
Q(x) ̸= 0.
sin x and cos x are continuous everywhere.
e x is continuous everywhere.
ln x is continuous on (0, ∞).

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Theorem 5 (Limit Laws)
Let f and g be two functions so that

lim f (x) = A, lim g (x) = B,

x→c x→c

then
1. lim f (x) ± g (x) = A ± B;
x→c
2. lim kf (x) = kA, where k ∈ R is a constant;
x→c
3. lim [f (x)g (x)] = AB;
x→c
f (x) A
4. lim = , provided B ̸= 0;
g (x)
x→c B
5. lim f n (x) = An , n > 0;
x→c
6. if f is continuous at c, lim f (x) = f (c).
x→c

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Limit of Polynomials
Example 6
Let
x 2 + 2, x ̸= 2,

f (x) =
8, x = 2.

Find lim f (x).

x→2

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Limit of Rational Functions
Example 7
x 2 − 3x + 5
Find lim .
x→−1 x −4

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Eliminating Zero Denominators
Example 8
x2 − 4
Find lim .
x→2 x − 2

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Example 9
x 3 + x 2 − 3x + 1
Find lim .
x→1 x −1

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Example 10
 
1 4
Evaluate lim − .
x→2 x − 2 x2 − 4

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Example 11
Given that the function

 x 2 + 3x − 10
f (x) = , if x ̸= 2
 p, x − 2
if x = 2

is continuous at x = 2, what is the value of p?

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One-Sided Limits

Definition 12
lim f (x) = L: the left hand limit, meaning that when x
x→c −
approaches c from left, f (x) → L.
lim f (x) = L: the right hand limit, meaning that when x
x→c +
approaches c from right, f (x) → L.

Theorem 13

lim f (x) = L ⇐⇒ lim+ f (x) = L = lim f (x),

x→c x→c x→c −

That is, the limit of f at c exists if and only if both the left and
the right limit of f at c exsit and they are both equal to L.

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Example 14

x < π2 ,

sin x,
f (x) =
sin x + 1, x > π2 .
y

− π2
π x
2

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Example 15
Let
x 2,

x < 0,
f (x) =
x + 1, x > 0.

Find lim f (x).

x→0

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Example 16
For 
 x 2 + 2x − 1
f (x) = , if x > 1,
 3x +x +2
4 , if x < 1,
find lim+ f (x) and lim f (x).
x→1 x→1−

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Example 17
Let
 3x 2 − 1,

if x < 0
f (x) = cx + d, if 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 1
 √
x + 8, if x > 1
Determine the constants c and d such that f is continuous
everywhere.

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Infinity Limit

Example 18
1 1
Find lim 2 and lim .
x→0 x x→0 x

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Limit with Square Root
Example 19
√
x2 + 9 − 3
Find lim .
x→0 x2

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Example 20
√ √
x +3− 3
Evaluate lim .
x→0 x

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Sandwich Principle

y
Theorem 21
Suppose f (x) ≤ g (x) ≤ h(x)
and

lim f (x) = lim h(x) = L

x→c x→c

then

lim g (x) = L.
x→c x

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Example 22
1
Find lim x sin .
x→0 x

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Limits at Infinity
Theorem 23
1
For n > 0, lim x n = ∞ and lim = 0.
x→∞ x→∞ xn

Example 24
2x + 3 2x 2 + 3 2x 3 + 3
Find lim , lim , lim .
x→∞ x 2 + x + 2 x→∞ x 2 + x + 2 x→∞ x 2 + x + 2

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Example 25
Find
p
lim ( x 2 + 1 − x).
x→∞

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Example 26
Find
p
lim ( x 2 + x − x).
x→∞

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§2 Derivative
Definition 27 (First Principle)
Let f be a function defined on (a, b). We say that f is
differentiable at x0 ∈ (a, b) if the limit

f (x0 + ∆x) − f (x0 )

lim
∆x→0 ∆x
exists. The limit, when exists, is called the derivative of f at x0 ,
df (x0 )
and is denoted by f ′ (x0 ), or .
dx
Intuitively, f (x0 +∆x)−f
∆x
(x0 )
is the average rate of change of f
from x0 to x0 + ∆x.
The limit, if exists, is the instantaneous rate of change of f at
x0 .
Theorem 28
If f is differentiable at x0 , then f is continuous at x0 .
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Geometric Meaning
y

e
lin
t
an
sec
f (x0 + ∆x)

nt line
f (x0 ) tange
x
x0
x0 + ∆x
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 y

s
ne
t li
an
sec
nt line
tange
x
x0
Geometrically, f ′ (x0 ) is the slope of the tangent line to the graph
of f at (x0 , f (x0 )) if the tangent line exists and is not vertical.

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Derivative Function

Definition 29
Let f be a function defined on (a, b). The derivative of f is the
function f ′ (or equivalently, dx
df
), such that
Dom(f ′ ) = {x : x ∈ (a, b), and f is differentiable at x},

f (x + ∆x) − f (x)
f ′ (x) = lim .
∆x→0 ∆x

Physical Interpretation
For t > 0, let f (t) denote the distance a car has traveled at time t.
During a time span [t, t + ∆t], the distance the car travels is
f (t + ∆t) − f (t).
f (t+∆t)−f (t)
average velocity of the car during [t, t + ∆t]: ∆t
the instantaneous velocity of the car at the instant t: f ′ (t).

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Computing the Derivatives
1. Compute ∆y = f (x + ∆x) − f (x)
∆y
2. Form difference quotient
∆x
′ ∆y
3. Take limit f (x) = lim
∆x→0 ∆x

Example 30
Compute f ′ (x) for f (x) = ax + b.

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Example 31
Compute f ′ (x) for f (x) = x 2 .

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Example 32
Compute f ′ (x) for f (x) = 1/x.

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Trigonometric Identities

(1) sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1

(2) 1 + tan2 θ = sec2 θ
(3) 1 + cot2 θ = csc2 θ
(4) sin(θ ± ϕ) = sin θ cos ϕ ± cos θ sin ϕ
(5) cos(θ ± ϕ) = cos θ cos ϕ ∓ sin θ sin ϕ
tan θ ± tan ϕ
(6) tan(θ ± ϕ) =
1 ∓ tan θ tan ϕ
(7) cos 2θ = cos2 θ − sin2 θ = 1 − 2 sin2 θ = 2 cos2 θ − 1
(8) sin 2θ = 2 sin θ cos θ
2 tan θ
(9) tan 2θ =
1 − tan2 θ
θ±ϕ θ∓ϕ
(10) sin θ ± sin ϕ = 2 sin cos
2 2
θ+ϕ θ−ϕ
(11) cos θ + cos ϕ = 2 cos cos
2 2
θ+ϕ θ−ϕ
(12) cos θ − cos ϕ = −2 sin sin
2 2
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Example 33
Compute f ′ (x) for f (x) = sin x.

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Example 34
Compute f ′ (x) for f (x) = sin x ◦ .

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One-Sided Derivative

Denote the right-side derivative of f at x0 :

f (x0 + ∆x) − f (x0 )

f+′ (x0 ) = lim + .
∆x→0 ∆x
Denote the left-side derivative of f at x0 :
f (x0 + ∆x) − f (x0 )
f−′ (x0 ) = lim .
∆x→0− ∆x

Fact
f ′ (x0 ) exists if and only if f+′ (x0 ) and f−′ (x0 ) both exist and are
equal, in which case f ′ (x0 ) = f+′ (x0 ) = f−′ (x0 ).

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Example 35
For f (x) = |x|, find f ′ (0).

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Example 36
Let
4x 2 + 1,

if x ≤ 0,
f (x) =
ax + b, if x > 0.

If f is differentiable at x = 0, find the values of a and b.

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Example 37
A function f is defined as follows:

2 sin x + 5, if x ⩽ 0
f (x) =
ax + b, if x > 0

Given that f ′ (0) exists, find the constants a and b .

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§3 Rules of Differentiation

Theorem 38
let f and g be functions differentiable at a point x. Then the same is
f
true for the functions f ± g , fg , and (with g (x) ̸= 0). In particular, we
g
have:
[sum/difference]. (f ± g )′ (x) = f ′ (x) ± g ′ (x).
[product]. (fg )′ (x) = f (x)g ′ (x) + f ′ (x)g (x), in particular,
(cf )′ = cf ′ for any constant c.
 ′
f g (x)f ′ (x) − f (x)g ′ (x)
[quotient]. (x) = .
g (g (x))2

The proof of this theorem is not required, and is available on our

textbook or any calculus book.

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As an example, we prove (fg )′ (x) = f (x)g ′ (x) + f ′ (x)g (x) below.

Proof of (fg )′ (x) = f (x)g ′ (x) + f ′ (x)g (x):

∆y = (fg )(x + ∆x) − (fg )(x),

∆y f (x + ∆x)g (x + ∆x) − f (x)g (x)
=
∆x ∆x
f (x + ∆x)g (x + ∆x) − f (x + ∆x)g (x) + f (x + ∆x)g (x) − f (x)g (x)
=
∆x
g (x + ∆x) − g (x) f (x + ∆x) − f (x)
= f (x + ∆x) + g (x)
∆x ∆x
→ f (x)g ′ (x) + g (x)f ′ (x), as ∆x → 0.

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Example 39
Find the derivatives of
f (x) = 4x 4 + 5x 2 − x + 1
6 2
g (x) = 3 −
x x
3x − 2
h(x) = 3
x +6

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Some notations: if y = f (x) is a differentiable function of x, then
dy
f ′ (a) = = f ′ (x)|x=a .
dx x=a

Example 40
Suppose g is differentiable at x = 3, F (x) = (x 2 + 5)g (x). If
g (3) = 4 and g ′ (3) = −2, find F ′ (3).

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Example 41
1
Let f (x) = . Find f ′ (1).
3x 2 + 2x − 1
Recall that
′
u ′ (x)v (x) − v ′ (x)u(x)

u(x)
=
v (x) v 2 (x)

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Theorem 42
We have
d d d
sin x = cos x, cos x = − sin x, tan x = sec2 x,
dx dx dx
d d d
cot x = − csc2 x, csc x = − cot x csc x, sec x = sec x tan x.
dx dx dx
d
Recall we already proved dx sin x = cos x. The derivative
d
dx cos x = − sin x can be obtained in the similar way. Then we have
′
cos2 x + sin2 x

d tan x sin x
= = = sec2 x,
dx cos x cos2 x
d cot x  cos x ′ − sin2 x − cos2 x
= = = − csc2 x,
dx sin x sin2 x
 ′
d csc x 1 − cos x
= = = − cot x csc x,
dx sin x sin2 x
 ′
d sec x 1 sin x
= = = tan x sec x
dx cos x cos2 x

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Example 43
d
Find [cos x sin x] .
dx x= π2

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The Chain Rule

Theorem 44 (Chain Rule)

Let f and g be functions such that f is differentiable at x0 and g is
differentiable at f (x0 ). Then the composite function g ◦ f is
differentiable at x0 and

(g ◦ f )′ (x0 ) = (g (f (x)))′ x=x0

= g ′ (f (x0 ))f ′ (x0 ).

Note: if we write y = g (u) and u = f (x), then the above theorem

can be expressed by
dy dy du
= · .
dx du dx

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Example 45
Find (sin(x 3 + 3x − 10))′ .

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Example 46
Find ((x 3 + 1)1000 )′ .

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Example 47
Find the derivative of g (x) = tan(4 − sin(2x)).

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Example 48
Given f (4) = 2, f ′ (4) = 3, g (1) = 4, g ′ (1) = 5, and h(x) = f (g (x))
find h(1) and h′ (1).

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§4 Logarithmic and Exponential Functions
Theorem 49
Let e = 2.71828 . . . be the base of the natural logarithm. Let
ln x = loge x. One has

d 1 d x
ln(x) = , and e = ex .
dx x dx
y
n( x)
y=l y
1 y = ex
y = (ln x)′ = 1
x

1 e x
(x)
y = ln

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Example 50
Find the derivative of f (x) = ln(x 3 + 1).

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Example 51
Find the derivative of f (x) = sin(ln x).

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Example 52
dy
Let y = f (x)g (x) , find .
dx

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Example 53
d 3x d e d x
Find the derivatives: (a) dx e , (b) dx x , (c) dx x (x > 0).

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Example 54
Suppose x > 1, find the derivative of y = (ln x)ln x .

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Example 55
Find the derivatives of (a) ax ; (b) loga x.

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§5 Differentiation of Inverse function

Definition 56 (one-to-one function)

A function f is called a one-to-one (“1-1”) function if it never
takes on the same value twice. That is,

f (x1 ) ̸= f (x2 ) whenever x1 ̸= x2

Definition 57 (inverse function)

Let f be a one-to-one function with Dom(f ) and Range(f ). Then
its inverse function f −1 : Range(f ) → Dom(f ) is defined by

f −1 (y ) = x if and only if y = f (x),

for every y ∈ Range(f ).

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions
y
π
2
y = f (x) = sin(x) is 1-1 on 1
− π2 ≤ x ≤ π2 .
− π2 −1 x
Therefore there exists an
π
inverse function 1 2

y = f −1 (x) : −1
h π πi
[−1, 1] → − , − π2
2 2
We denote this function by Figure: Graph of y = sin(x) (in red),
y = arcsin(x) = sin−1 (x). and y = arcsin(x) (in blue). We see
that the graph of arcsin(x) is obtained
by reflecting the graph of sin(x) on
[− π2 , π2 ] about the line y = x.

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 y
π

y = f (x) = cos(x) is 1-1 on π

[0, π]. 2

Therefore there exists an 1

π
inverse function 2 π
−1 1 x
y = f −1 (x) :
[−1, 1] → [0, π] −1

We denote this function by Figure: Graph of y = cos(x) (in red),

y = arccos(x) = cos−1 (x). and y = arccos(x) (in blue). We see
that the graph of arccos(x) is obtained
by reflecting the graph of cos(x) on
[0, π] about the line y = x.

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 y

y = f (x)

= tan(x) is 1-1 on
π
2
π π
−2, 2 .
Therefore there exists an − π2 π
2
x

inverse function
- π2

−1
y =f
(x) :
 π π
(−∞, ∞) → − ,
2 2
We denote this function by Figure: Graph of y = tan(x) (in red),
y = arctan(x) = tan−1 (x). and y = arctan(x) (in blue). We see
that the graph of arctan(x) is obtained
by reflecting the graph of tan(x) on
− π2 , π2 about the line y = x.

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Theorem 58
Suppose f is a function differentiable on (a, b), and f ′ (x0 ) ̸= 0 for
some x0 ∈ (a, b) with y0 = f (x0 ). If f −1 exists, then

1
(f −1 )′ (y0 ) = .
f ′ (x 0)

One may remember the above theorem as

dx 1
= dy .
dy
dx

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Example 59
Find (arcsin x)′ .

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Example 60
Find (arccos x)′ .

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Example 61
Find (arctan x)′ .

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Example 62
Let f (x) = 2x + cos x. Given the fact that f (x) is one-to-one, find
(f −1 )′ (1).

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§6 L’Hospital’s Rule
Theorem 63 (L’Hospital’s Rule)
Suppose f and g are differentiable and g ′ (x) ̸= 0 on an open interval I
that contains a (except possibly at a). Suppose that

lim f (x) = 0 and lim g (x) = 0,

x→a x→a

or that

lim f (x) = ±∞ and lim g (x) = ±∞,

x→a x→a

0 ∞
(in other words, we have an indeterminate form of type 0 or ∞ ). Then

f (x) f ′ (x)
lim = lim ′ ,
x→a g (x) x→a g (x)

if the limit on the right side exists (or is ∞ or −∞).

Note: “x → a” can be changed to x → a+ , x → a− , x → ∞, or

x → −∞.
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Guillaume François Antoine de L’Hôpital (French [lopital],
sometimes spelled L’Hospital)(1661 - 1704), was a French
mathematician. His name is firmly associated with L’Hospital’s
rule for calculating limits involving indeterminate forms. Although
the rule did not originate with L’Hospital, it appeared in print for
the first time in his 1696 treatise. ∼ from Wikipedia
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Proof of The Special Case
Suppose that f and g are differentiable at a real number a, that
f (a) = g (a) = 0, and that g ′ (a) ̸= 0.
It is not a proof of the general L’Hospital’s rule because it is
stricter in its definition. Since many common functions have
continuous derivatives (e.g. polynomials, sine and cosine,
exponential functions), it is a special case worthy of attention.

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Example 64
Find
ln x ln x
(a) lim , (b) lim .
x→1 x − 1 x→2 x − 1

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Example 65
Find
ex
lim .
x→∞ x 2

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Example 66
Calculate
ln x
lim √ .
x→∞ 3 x

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Example 67
Find the following limits
sin x sin x sin x
lim ; lim ; lim .
x→0 x x→0+ 1 − cos x x→π − 1 − cos x

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Indeterminate Products
Example 68
Find the following limits.

lim x ln x
x→0+

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Example 69
Find the limit

lim xe x
x→−∞

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Indeterminate Differences
Example 70
Compute
 
1
lim − tan x .
x→(π/2)− cos x

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Example 71
p 
3
lim x 3 − 3x 2 − x
x→∞

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Indeterminate Powers

Several indeterminate forms arise from the limit

lim [f (x)]g (x) .

x→a

lim f (x) = 0 and lim g (x) = 0, type 00 ;

x→a x→a
lim f (x) = ∞ and lim g (x) = 0, type ∞0 ;
x→a x→a
lim f (x) = 1 and lim g (x) = ±∞, type 1∞ .
x→a x→a
To find the limit, a possible way is to take the natural logarithm:

[f (x)]g (x) = e g (x) ln f (x) ,

and then study the limit lim [g (x) ln f (x)].

x→a

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Example 72
Compute lim+ x x .
x→0

1
y = xx
x

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Example 73
1
Compute lim (1 − x) x .
x→0

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Example 74 (Avoid Unnecessary Derivatives)
Find the following limit

(1 − cos x)(cos3 x + tan x)

lim p √
x→0 x2 x2 + 4 x + 5

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§7 Monotonicity and Relative Extremum
Definition 75
Let I be an open interval.
A function y = f (x) is increasing (strictly increasing) on I
if y increases as x increases on I . That is, if x2 > x1 , then
f (x2 ) ⩾ f (x1 )(f (x2 ) > f (x1 )).
A function y = f (x) is decreasing (strictly decreasing) on I
if y decreases as x increases on I . That is, if x2 > x1 , then
f (x2 ) ⩽ f (x1 )(f (x2 ) < f (x1 )).

y y
y1
y2
y1 y2

O x1 x2 xO x1 x2 x
An increasing function. An decreasing function.

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Increasing and decreasing functions

Theorem 76
Let f be differentiable on an interval I .
If f ′ (x) ⩾ 0 (or ⩽ 0) for every x ∈ I , then f is increasing (or
decreasing) on I .
If f ′ (x) > 0 (or < 0) for every x ∈ I , then f is strictly
increasing (or strictly decreasing) on I .
If f ′ (x) = 0 for every x ∈ I , then f is identically equal to a
constant on I .

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Example 77
Prove that the following functions have inverses.
(a). f (x) = 2x + cos x;
(b). h(x) = x 5 + sin x on (− π2 , π2 ).

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Relative Extremum
Definition 78
Consider a function y = f (x) and a point a in the domain of f .
f (a) is called a relative (or local) maximum if f (a) ⩾ f (x)
for all x in an open interval containing a (in other words, for
all x close enough to a).
The definition for a relative (or local) minimum if
f (a) ⩽ f (x) for all x in an open interval containing a.
We say f (x) has a relative extremum at a if it has either a
relative maximum or a relative minimum at a.

x1 x2 x3 x4 x
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First Derivative Test
Definition 79 (Stationary Point)

If f ′ (a) = 0, then we say that x = a is a stationary point.

Theorem 80
Assume f (x) is differentiable in an interval I containing a point a
and f ′ (a) = 0, namely a is a stationary point of the function f .
If f ′ (x) changes sign from + to − as x increases through
x = a, then f (x) has a relative maximum at a.
If f ′ (x) changes sign from − to + as x increases through
x = a, then f (x) has a relative minimum at a.
D D
y y
.0/
.C/
✹

. /
.C/
. / ✺

.0/
a x a x
(a) Local maximum at a. (b) Local minimum at a.
Slope changes sign from C to . Slope changes sign from to C. 88 / 93
Example 81
Find the relative extrema of y = x 3 − 9x 2 + 24x + 5.

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§8 Higher Derivatives
Suppose y = f (x) is differentiable, then f ′ (x), the derivative, is
also a function. If f ′ (x) has a derivative of its own, we denote it by
f ′′ (x) and call it the second derivative of f (x).
Using the Leibniz notation, we have
d 2y
 
d dy
=
dx dx dx 2
Similarly, we write
d2 d 3y
 
′′′ ′′′ d
y = f (x) = y = .
dx dx 2 dx 3
The process can be continued. The fourth derivative f ′′′′ (x) is
usually denoted by f (4) (x). In general, the nth derivative of f (x) is
denoted by f (n) (x).
d ny
y (n) = f (n) (x) = .
dx n
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Second Derivative
For t > 0, let f (t) denote the distance a car has traveled at time t.
Then f ′ (t) is the velocity of the car at the instant t and f ′′ (t) is
the acceleration of the car at the instant t.

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Example 82
Let f (x) = x 3 − x. Find f ′ (x), f ′′ (x), f ′′′ (x), and f (4) (x).

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Example 83
Let f (x) = cos x. Find f ′ (x), f ′′ (x), f ′′′ (x), and f (4) (x).

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