To find the equation of a tangent to a curve: dy 1) find the derivative, dx 2) find the gradient, m, of the tangent by substituting in the

x-ccordinate of the point; 3) use one of the following formulae to get the equation of the tangent: EITHER y = mx + c ( y y1 ) = m( x x1 ) OR
Example: Find the equation of the tangent to the curve y = (2 x 1)( x + 2) at the point where the curve crosses the y-axis. Solution: Expanding the brackets: y = 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 Differentiate:

To find the equation of a normal to a curve: dy 1) find the derivative ; dx 2) Substitute in the x-coordinate of the point to find the value of the gradient there. m = 1 dy 3) the gradient of the normal is . dx 4) Use one of the following formulae to get the equation of the normal: EITHER y = mx + c ( y y1 ) = m( x x1 ) OR

To find the coordinates of maximum/ minimum points on a curve: dy 1) differentiate to get dx dy =0 2) solve the equation dx 3) find the y-coordinates of the points 4) determine whether the points are a maximum or minimum EITHER using the second derivative OR by considering the gradient either side of the point.
Recall: A turning point is a maximum if A turning point is a minimum if
d2y >0 . dx 2 d2y <0 dx 2

Applications of Differentiation
Example: Find the equation of the normal to the curve y = 3 x x at the point where x = 4. Solution: The curve can be written as y = 3x1/ 2 x

dy = 4x + 3 dx

Example: Find the coordinates of the stationary points on the 3 2 curve y = 2 x 9 x 24 x + 15 . dy = 6 x 2 18 x 24 dx dy =0. At a stationary point, dx Therefore, 6 x 2 18 x 24 = 0 or x 2 3 x 4 = 0 . Factorising gives (x + 1)(x 4) = 0. Therefore x = -1 or x = 4. Solution: When x = -1, y = 28. When x = 4, y = -97. d2y The 2nd derivative is = 12 x 18 . dx 2 d2y When x = -1, = 30 < 0 so (-1, 28) is a MAX. dx 2

The curve crosses the y-axis at the point (0, -2). The gradient of the tangent at x = 0 is:

m = 4 0 + 3 = 3

To find the equation of the tangent: EITHER: y = mx + c y = 3x + c Substitute x = 0, y = -2: -2 = 3(0) + c i.e. c = -2. So equation is y = 3x - 2

dy 3 1/ 2 = x 1 dx 2 When x = 4, y = 3 4 4 = 2 dy 3 1/ 2 1 = 4 1 = 3 2 1 = 1 and 2 4 dx 2 So the gradient of the normal is m = 1 1 = 4 .

Therefore,
4

( y y1 ) = m( x x1 ) where m = 3 Substitute x = 0, y = -2: ( y ( 2)) = 3( x 0)

OR: i.e. y = 3x - 2

To find the equation of the tangent: y = mx + c y = 4x + c Substitute x = 4, y = 2: 2 = 4(4) + c i.e. c = -14. So equation is y = 4x 14.

When x = 4,

d2y = 30 > 0 so (4, -97) is a MIN. dx 2