Gaurav Sharma
Last Activity: 15 Years ago
The Constant Rule
The derivative of a constant function is 0. That is, if c is a real number, then d/dx[c] = 0.
The Sum and Difference Rules
The sum(or difference) of two differentiable functions is differentiable and is the sum(or difference) of their derivatives.
d/dx[f(x) + g(x)] = f'(x) + g'(x)
d/dx[f(x) - g(x)] = f'(x) - g'(x)
The Constant Multiple Rule
If f is a differentiable function and c is a real number, then cf is also differentiable and d/dx[
cf(x)] =
cf'(x)
The Power Rule
If
n is a rational number, then the function
f(x) = xn is differentiable and d/dx[
xn] =
nxn-1
The Product Rule
The product of two differentiable functions,
f and
g, is itself differentiable. Moreover, the derivative of
fg is the first function times the derivative of the second, plus the second function times the derivative of the first.
d/dx[f(x)g(x)] = f(x)g'(x) + g(x)f'(x)
The Quotient Rule
The quotient
f/g, of two differentiable functions,
f and
g, is itself differentiable at all values of
x for which
g(x) does not = 0. Moreover, the derivative of
f/g is given by the denominator times the derivative of the numerator minus the numerator times the derivative of the denominator divided by the square of the denominator.
d/dx[ f(x)/g(x) ] = (g(x)f'(x) - f(x)g'(x)) / [g(x)]2 g(x) does not = 0
The Chain Rule
If
y =
f(u) is a differentiable function of
u and
u =
g(x) is a differentiable function of
x, then
y =
f(g(x)) is a differentiable function of
x and d/dx[
f(g(x))] =
f'(g(x))g'(x)
The General Power Rule
If
y = [
u(x)]
n, where u is a differentiable function of
x and
n is a rational number, then d/dx = [
un] =
nun-1u'.