Another application of the derivative is the Mean Value Theorem (MVT). This theorem is very important. One of its most important uses is in proving the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC), which comes a little later in the year. See last Fridays post Foreshadowing the MVT for an a series of problems that will get…
Often a relation (an expression in x and y), that has a graph but is not a function, needs to be analyzed. But the relation is not or cannot be solved for y. What to do? The answer is to use the technique of implicit differentiation. Assume there is a way to solve for y and differentiate using…
Most of the function students are faced with in beginning calculus are compositions of the Elementary Functions. The Chain Rule allows you to differentiate composite functions easily. The posts listed below are ways to introduce and use the Chain Rule. Experimenting with a CAS – Chain Rule Using a CAS to discover the Chain Rule…
So, no one wants to do complicated limits to find derivatives. There are easier ways of course. There are a number of quick ways (rules, formulas) for finding derivatives of the Elementary Functions and their compositions. Here are some ways to introduce these rules; these are the subject of this week’s review of past posts. Why…
Difference quotients are the path to the definition of the derivative. Here are three posts exploring difference quotients. Difference Quotients I The forward and backward difference quotients Difference Quotients II The symmetric difference quotient and seeing the three difference quotients in action. Showing that the three difference quotients converge to the same value. Seeing Difference…
If you use your calculator or graphing program and zoom-in of the graph of a function (with equal zoom factors in both directions), the graph eventually looks like a line: the graph appears to be straight. This property is called Local Linearity. The slope of this line is the number called the derivative. (There are exceptions:…
I had a question from a reader recently asking about how to determine the units for derivatives and integrals. Derivatives: The units of the derivative are the units of dy divided by the units of dx, or the units of the dependent variable (f(x) or y) divided by the units of the independent variable (x).…
