T HE G RAPH OF THE D ERIVATIVE

Section 3.4 / 3.5

January 21, 2013

TANGENT L INES
Suppose we have the graph of a function f (x).
y = f (x)

Tangent line at x = a (a, f (a))

Y Axis

b (b, f (b)) NOT a tangent line at x = b

The tangent line of the graph of f at a is the line that: (1) touches the graph of f at the point (a, f (a)) and intersects it at no other point near a, (2) gives the direction of the curve.

X Axis

TANGENT L INES
Intuitively: Think of driving a car on the graph. The line that your head lights and tail lights make is the tangent line to the graph at that point.

y = f (x)

T HE E QUATION OF THE TANGENT L INE

First, we need to determine is the slope of the tangent line. Let f be a function whose graph is given below, and suppose we want to determine the slope of the tangent line of the graph of f at x = a.

(a, f (a))

(a+h, f (a+h))

a a+h

Consider the secant lines from (a, f (a)) to (a + h, f (a + h))

T HE E QUATION OF THE TANGENT L INE

We see that the slope of the secant lines approaches the slope of the tangent line as h 0. So...

Slope of the Tangent Line

Slope of the tangent line of f at x = a = lim
h0

f ( a + h) f ( a) = f 0 (a) h

Now that we know the slope of the tangent line, we can use the point-slope form of a line to determine its equation:

Equation of the Tangent Line

The equation of the line tangent to the graph of f at x = a is Provided f 0 (a) exists. y = f 0 (a)(x a) + f (a)

E XAMPLES
Determine the equation of the tangent line to the graph of the following functions at the points given. (a) f (x) = x2 + 2x at x = 3 (b) g(t) = 5/t at t = 2 (c) h(x) = 4 x at x = 9

(a) First we determine f 0 (3). f 0 (3) = lim = lim (3 + h)2 + 2(3 + h) (32 + 2(3)) h h0

9 + 6h + h2 + 6 + 2h 9 6 = lim(8 + h) = 8 h h0 h0 y = 8(x 3) + 15 = 8x 9

Since f 0 (3) = 8 and f (3) = 15, the equation of the tangent line is:

E XAMPLES
Determine the equation of the tangent line to the graph of the following functions at the points given. (a) f (x) = x2 + 2x (b) g(t) = 5/t (c) h(x) = 4 x at x = 3 at t = 2 at x = 9 (b) First we determine g0 (2). g (2) = lim = lim
0 5 2+h h0

5 2

= lim

105(2+h) 2(2+h)

5h 5 5 = lim = 4 h0 2h(2 + h) h0 2(2 + h)

h 0

Since g0 (2) = 5/4 and g(2) = 5/2, the equation of the tangent line is: 5 5 5 y = ( x 2) + = x + 5 4 2 4

E XAMPLES
Determine the equation of the tangent line to the graph of the following functions at the points given. (a) f (x) = x2 + 2x (b) g(t) = 5/t (c) h(x) = 4 x at x = 3 at t = 2 at x = 9 (c) First we determine h0 (9). 4 9+h4 9 0 h (9) = lim h h0 (4 9 + h 12) = lim h h0 = lim So, 4 9 + h 12 = lim h h0 (4 9 + h + 12) (4 9 + h + 12)

16(9 + h) 144 16 16 2 = lim = = 24 3 h0 h(4 9 + h + 12) h0 4 9 + h + 12 y = 2 2 (x 9) + 12 = x + 6. 3 3

E XISTENCE OF THE D ERIVATIVE

As mentioned last class, it is easier to determine if the derivative of a function at a point exists by looking at its graph.

Existence of the Derivative

The derivative of a function f at a point x = a exists if all of the following are satised: (1) f is continuous at x = a. (2) f is smooth at x = a (the graph has no sharp corners) (3) f does NOT have a vertical tangent line at x = a. If ANY ONE of these conditions is not satised, then the derivative of f at x = a does not exist.

E XAMPLES

Y Axis

e
X Axis

(x = a) Derivative does NOT exist (not continuous) (x = b) Derivative does NOT exist (not continuous) (x = c) Derivative does NOT exist (vertical tangent) (x = d) Derivative does NOT exist (not continuous) (x = e) Derivative exists! (x = f ) Derivative does NOT exist (not smooth)

E XAMPLES
Graph each of the following functions. Determine whether the derivative of the function at x = 0 exists, if it does not, explain which condition fails. (a) f (x) = x2/3 (b) g(t) = t1/3 (c) h(x) = x2/3

Does NOT exist Vertical tangent at x = 0

Does NOT exist Not smooth at x = 0

Does NOT exist Not continuous at x = 0

E STIMATING THE D ERIVATIVE FROM THE G RAPH

In the real world you often nd yourself with a graph of a function, but not the equation describing it. Below is the graph of the distance traveled from Omaha (miles) travelled in the 1.5 hours of a road trip to Minnesota.
90 80 70 60
Y Axis

50 40 30 20 10 0.5 1 1.5
X Axis

2.5

Estimate the speed of the car 0.5 hours into the trip. ( 40 mph)

E STIMATING THE D ERIVATIVE FROM THE G RAPH

In the real world you often nd yourself with a graph of a function, but not the equation describing it. Below is the graph of the distance traveled from Omaha (miles) travelled in the 1.5 hours of a road trip to Minnesota.
90 80 70 60
Y Axis

50 40 30 20 10 0.5 1 1.5
X Axis

2.5

Estimate the speed of the car 1 hour into the trip. (0 mph)

E XAMPLES
Below is the graph of the function g(x).
8 6 4 2

-4

-3

-2

-1
-2 -4

10

Use this graph to approximate the following:

-6

(a) g0 (1) = -82

(b) g0 (4) = 0.5

(c) g0 (7) = 4.5

S KETCHING THE D ERIVATIVE

Lets take what we just did one step further and sketch the graph of a derivative from the graph of the original function.
5 4 3 2 1 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 1 2 3 4

Below is the graph of a function f (x). Sketch the graph of f 0 (x).

S KETCHING THE D ERIVATIVE

Below is the graph of a function f (x). Sketch the graph of f 0 (x).

S KETCHING THE D ERIVATIVE

Below is the graph of a function g(t). Sketch the graph of g0 (t).

S KETCHING THE D ERIVATIVE

Below is the graph of a function h(x). Sketch the graph of h0 (x).