Lecture 3: Review of Differentiation

Aug. 31, 2015

Lecturer: Chandra Vaidyanathan

3 Intermediate Value Theorem

Functions that are continuous on intervals have properties that make them particularly useful in mathemat-
ics and its applications. One of these is the intermediate value property. A function is said to have the
intermediate value property if it never takes on two values without taking on all the values in between.

Theorem 1. The Intermediate Value Theorem for continuous functions If f is a continuous function on a
closed interval [a, b], and if y0 is any value between f (a) and f (b), then y0 = f (c) for some c in [a, b].

Remark 1. IVT has immediate consequences for real applications. It is on the basis of IVT, we can assert
that continuous functions on an interval I cannot have any breaks. It will be connected, a single, unbroken
curve, like the graph of sin x. Also, another interesting application is that to solve for f (x) = 0, where f (x)
is continuous, once we can find an interval on which f (x) changes signs, we know that the root will be in
the interval.

EXAMPLE: 3.1. Show that there is a root of the equation x3 x 1 = 0 between 1 and 2.

4 The Derivative of a function

0
Definition 1. The derivative of a function, f , with respect to the variable x, is the function f , whose value
at x is
0 f (x + h) f (x)
f (x) = lim
h0 h
provided the limit exists.

QUESTION: 4.1. What can be said about the domain of the derivative?

EXAMPLE: 4.1. Investigate the differentiability of the function y = |x|.

Remark 2. A smooth function will fail to have a derivative at a point where the graph has

1. a corner

2. a cusp

3. a vertical tangent

4. a discontinuity

Theorem 2. A function is continuous at every point where it has a derivative.

1
 0
Proof: Given that f (c) exists, we must show that lim f (x) = f (c). Equivalently, lim f (c + h) = f (c).
xc h0
If h 6= 0, then

f (c + h) = f (c) + f (c + h) f (c)
f (c + h) f (c)
= f (c) + .h
h
Taking the limit, as h 0, we get,

f (c + h) f (c)
lim f (c + h) = lim f (c) + lim . lim h = f (c)
h0 h0 h0 h h0

Intermediate Value Property of Derivatives

0
Theorem 3. If a and b are any two points in an interval on which f is differentiable, then f takes on every
0 0
value between f (a) and f (b).

QUESTION: 4.2. Can every function be a derivative of some other function?

Remark 3. When can a function be the derivative of another function? - This was one of the central
questions of in all of calculus. We will discuss the answer to this question as the course progresses.

At this point, I am going to assume you are all familiar with the rules for finding derivatives. There will be a
seperate handout with the derivatives of standard functions, from which you can recollect all the results you
have already learnt.

5 The Chain rule

When we have composition of two or more functions, how do we handle taking the derivative? For example,
if f (x) = sin(x2 4), what is its derivative. Of course, we know what the derivative of sin x and the
derivative of x2 4, are.

Theorem 4. If f (u) is differentiable at the point u = g(x) and g(x) is differentiable at x, then the composite
0 0 0
function f g(x) = f (g(x)), is differentiable at x and is given by (f g) (x) = f (g(x)).g (x).
d(sin(x2 4))
So, using the theorem above, we get, = cos(x2 4).2x
dx

EXERCISE: 5.1. Find the derivative of y = x2 + 1, y = tan (5 sin 2t).

EXERCISE: 5.2. Suppose that f (x) = x2 and g(x) = |x|. Then the composite function, |x|2 = x2 is
differentiable at x = 0, even though g itself is not differentiable at x = 0. Does this contradict the Chain
Rule?

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6 Implicit Differentiation
Let us now review the important concept of implicit differentiation.
dy
EXAMPLE: 6.1. Find , if y 2 = x.
dx
dy dy 1
Differentiating both sides, 2y = 1, which means, = .
dx dx 2y
dy
EXERCISE: 6.1. Find , if 2y = x2 + sin y.
dx
d2 y
EXERCISE: 6.2. Find , if 2x3 3y 2 = 7.
dx2
0
Remark 4. Slope of the tangent to a curve f (x) at a point x0 , is given by the derivative f (x0 ).
We are now ready to explore the fascinating world of word problems on related rates.
QUESTION: 6.1. How rapidly will the fluid level inside a vertical cylindrical tank drop if we pump the
fluid out at the rate of 3000 L/min?
QUESTION: 6.2. A hot-air balloon rising straight up from a level field is tracked by a range finder 500m

from the lift off point. At the moment the range finders elevation angle is , the angle is increasing at the
4
rate of 0.14rad/min. How fast is the balloon rising at the moment?
QUESTION: 6.3. Water runs into a conical tank at the rate of 9 m3 /min. The tank stands point down and
has a height of 10m and a base radius of 5m. How fast is the water level rising when the water is 6m deep?
We finish up with the following interesting application of derivatives. Suppose we want to approximate a
complicated function with a simple one that is accurate enough for our application. One of the simplest such
approximation is linearization.As we move closer and closer to a point at which a function is differentiable,
it resembles its tangent more and more. We exploit this fact to come up with the approximation of the
function at the point.
Definition 2. If f is differentiable at x = a, then the approximating function,
0
L(x) = f (a) + f (a)(x a)

is the linearization of f at a. The approximation

f (x) L(x)

of f by L is the standard linear approximation of f at a. The point x = a is the center of the approximation.

EXAMPLE: 6.2. Find the linearization of f (x) = 1 + x at x = 0.
0 1
f (x) = (1 + x)1/2 .
2
We have f (0) = 1 and f ( 0) = 1/2, giving the linearization
0 1 x
L(x) = f (a) + f (a)(x a) = 1 + (x 0) = 1 +
2 2

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EXERCISE: 6.3. Find the linearization of f (x) = cos x at x = .
2
Definition 3. Let y = f (x) be a differentiable function. The differential dx is an independent variable. The
differential dy is
0
dy = f (x)dx

Remark 5. We use the Leibniz notation dy/dx to represent the derivative of y with respect to x. Contrary
to its appearance, it is not a ratio. The above definition introduces two new variables, dx and dy with the
property that when their ratio exists, it is equal to the derivative. Geometrically speaking, the differential
dy is the change in the linearization of f when x = a changes by an amount dx = x. The differential dy
represents the amount the tangent line rises or falls when x changes by an amount dx = x.