Derivatives of Algebraic

Functions
The Derivative Symbols
Using the functional notation y= f(x), the
following are the usual symbols used to mean
the first derivative.
1. y’
2. f’(x)
𝑑𝑦
3.
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
4. y
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦
5. (f(x))
𝑑𝑥
6. 𝐷𝑥
 Differentiation
The process used to find the derivative of
a given function.
Note: The symbol ∆x is read as “delta x”.
It is a single entity which means
increment or change in x
 The Three- step Rule
Based on the definition of the derivative,
𝑓 𝑥+ ∆𝑥 −𝑓(𝑥)
y’= lim , we can write the
∆𝑥
∆x→0
steps for this derivative
 The Three- step Rule
Step 1:
Write down the expression for 𝑓 𝑥 + ∆𝑥 −
𝑓(𝑥) and simplify.
 The Three- step Rule
Step 2:
Divide the result in step 1 by ∆𝑥, 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑦
 The Three- step Rule
Step 3:
Find the limit of the result in step 2
as ∆𝑥 approaches to zero. The
obtained limit is the derivative.
 Example 1
2
Given f(x) = 𝑥 - 3x, find the
first derivative using the
three- step rule
 Example 2
2
Given f(x) =𝑥 + 9, find the
first derivative using the
three- step rule
 Example 3
2
Given f(x) =𝑥 -4x + 3, find
the first derivative using the
three- step rule