2.

3 Basic Differentiation
Formulas

If the derivative of a function is its slope, then for a

constant function, the derivative must be zero.

d example: y 3 y  0
c  0
dx

The derivative of a constant is zero.

 Power Rule:

 
If n is any real number, then d n n 1
x  nx
dx
Examples: f  x   x 4 f   x   4 x3
y  x8 y  8 x 7

Constant Multiple Rule:

If c is a constant and f is differentiable function, then d du
d n
 cu   c
Examples: dx dx
cx  cnx n 1
dx
d
7 x5  7  5 x 4  35 x 4
dx
The Sum Rule:
d du dv
u  v   
dx dx dx

Example: y  x  12 x
4
y  4 x  12
3

The Difference Rule:

d du dv
u  v   
dx dx dx

y  x  2x  2 dy
 4x  4x
4 2 3
Example:
dx
Example:
Find the horizontal tangents of: y  x4  2x2  2
dy
 4 x3  4 x
dx
Horizontal tangents occur when slope = zero.
4 x3  4 x  0 Plugging the x values into the
original equation, we get:
x3  x  0
y  2, y  1, y  1
x  x  1  0
2

x  x  1 x 1  0
x  0, 1, 1
 4
y  x4  2x2  2
3

2 y2

1 y 1

-2 -1 0 1 2

-1

-2
Consider the function y  sin  
We could make a graph of the slope:  slope
 1

 0
2
0 1

0
Now we connect the dots! 2
The resulting curve is a cosine curve.  1

d
sin  x   cos x
dx
We can do the same thing for y  cos  
 slope
 0

 1
2
0 0

1
2
The resulting curve is a sine curve that has
been reflected about the x-axis.  0

d
cos  x    sin x
dx
2.4 The Product and
Quotient Rules
The Product Rule:
d dv du
 uv   u  v Notice that this is not just the
product of two derivatives.
dx dx dx

This is sometimes memorized as: d uv   u dv  v du

dx 

d  2
x  3 2 
x 3
 5 x    
  x 2  3  6 x 2  5   2 x3  5 x   2x 

6 x 4  5 x 2  18 x 2  15  4 x 4  10 x 2

10 x 4  33x 2  15
The Quotient Rule:

du dv
v u  u  v du  u dv
d u dx dx d 
   or
 
2
dx  v  v2 v v

Example:

d 2 x  5x
3

 x 2
   
 3 6 x 2  5  2 x3  5 x  2 x 
dx x 2  3  x  3
2
2
 We can find the derivative of the tangent function by
using the quotient rule.

d cos 2 x  sin 2 x
tan x
dx cos 2 x

d sin x 1
dx cos x cos 2 x

cos x  cos x  sin x    sin x 

sec 2 x
cos 2 x

d
tan  x   sec2 x
dx
Derivatives of the remaining trigonometric functions
can be determined the same way.

d d
sin x  cos x cot x   csc 2 x
dx dx

d d
cos x   sin x sec x  sec x  tan x
dx dx

d d
tan x  sec 2 x csc x   csc x  cot x
dx dx