Rules of Differentiation of Functions in

Calculus
The basic rules of Differentiation of functions in calculus are presented along with
several examples.

1 - Derivative of a constant function.

The derivative of f(x) = c where c is a constant is given by
f '(x) = 0
Example f(x) = - 10 , then f '(x) = 0

2 - Derivative of a power function (power rule).

The derivative of f(x) = x r where r is a constant real number is given by
f '(x) = r x r - 1
Example f(x) = x -2 , then f '(x) = -2 x -3 = -2 / x 3

3 - Derivative of a function multiplied by a constant.

The derivative of f(x) = c g(x) is given by
f '(x) = c g '(x)
Example f(x) = 3x 3 ,
let c = 3 and g(x) = x 3, then f '(x) = c g '(x)
= 3 (3x 2) = 9 x 2

4 - Derivative of the sum of functions (sum rule).

The derivative of f(x) = g(x) + h(x) is given by
f '(x) = g '(x) + h '(x)
Example f(x) = x 2 + 4
x 2 and h(x) = 4, then f '(x) = g '(x) + h '(x) = 2x + 0 = 2x

let g(x) =

5 - Derivative of the difference of functions.

The derivative of f(x) = g(x) - h(x) is given by
f '(x) = g '(x) - h '(x)
Example f(x) = x 3 - x -2
let g(x) = x 3 and h(x) = x -2, then
f '(x) = g '(x) - h '(x) = 3 x 2 - (-2 x -3) = 3 x 2 + 2x -3

6 - Derivative of the product of two functions (product

rule).
The derivative of f(x) = g(x) h(x) is given by
f '(x) = g(x) h '(x) + h(x) g '(x)
Example f(x) = (x 2 - 2x) (x - 2)
let g(x) = (x 2 - 2x) and h(x) = (x - 2), then
f '(x) = g(x) h '(x) + h(x) g '(x) = (x 2 - 2x) (1) + (x - 2) (2x - 2)
= x 2 - 2x + 2 x 2 - 6x + 4 = 3 x 2 - 8x + 4

7 - Derivative of the quotient of two functions (quotient

rule).
The derivative of f(x) = g(x) / h(x) is given by
f '(x) = ( h(x) g '(x) - g(x) h '(x) ) / h(x) 2
Example f(x) = (x - 2) / (x + 1)
let g(x) = (x - 2) and h(x) = (x + 1), then
f '(x) = ( h(x) g '(x) - g(x) h '(x) ) / h(x) 2
= ( (x + 1)(1) - (x - 2)(1) ) / (x + 1) 2
= 3 / (x + 1) 2
Updated: 26 November 2007 (A Dendane) Elementary

differentiation

rules of

Unless otherwise stated, all functions will be functions from R to R, although more generally, the
formulae below make sense wherever they are well defined.
Differentiation is linear
Main article: Linearity of differentiation

For any functions f and g and any real numbers a and b.

In other words, the derivative of the function h(x) = a f(x) + b g(x) with respect to x

Special cases include:

The constant multiple rule

The sum rule

The subtraction rule

The product or Leibniz rule

For any functions f and g,
In other words, the derivative of the function h(x) = f(x) g(x) with respect to x is

The chain rule

This is a rule for computing the derivative of a function of a function, i.e., of the composite
of two functions f and g:

In other words, the derivative of the function h(x) = f (g(x)) with respect to x is
In Leibniz's notation this is written (suggestively) as:

The polynomial or elementary power rule

Calculus with polynomials

If f(x) = xn, for some natural number n (including zero) then

Special cases include:

Constant rule: if f is the constant function f(x) = c, for any number c, then for all x
The derivative of a linear function is constant: if f(x) = ax (or more generally, in view of the
constant rule, if f(x)=ax+b ), then
Combining this rule with the linearity of the derivative permits the computation of the
derivative of any polynomial.

The reciprocal rule

For any (nonvanishing) function f, the derivative of the function 1/f (equal at x to 1/f(x)) is
In other words, the derivative of h(x) = 1/f(x) is

The inverse function rule

Inverse functions and differentiation

This should not be confused with the reciprocal rule: the reciprocal 1/x of a nonzero real number x is its
inverse with respect to multiplication, whereas the inverse of a function is its inverse with respect to
function composition.
If the function f has an inverse g = f1 (so that g (f(x)) = x and f (g(y)) = y) then

Further rules of differentiation

The quotient rule
If f and g are functions, then:
Wherever g is nonzero.

This can be derived from reciprocal rule and the product rule. Conversely (using the constant rule) the
reciprocal rule is the special case f(x) = 1.

Generalized power rule

The elementary power rule generalizes considerably. First, if x is positive, it holds when n is any real
number. The reciprocal rule is then the special case n = -1 (although care must then be taken to avoid
confusion with the inverse rule).
The most general power rule is the functional power rule: for any functions f and g,
Wherever both sides are well defined.

Logarithmic derivatives
The logarithmic derivative is another way of stating the rule for differentiating the logarithm of a function
(using the chain rule):

Wherever f is positive.

See also
Mathematics reference
Rules for differentiation
Essential rules for differentiation.
Legend.

Operator.

Basic.
(d/dx) (a u) = a du/dx

equation 1

(d/dx) (u +- v) = du/dx +- dv/dx

equation 2

(d/dx) (u v) = u dv/dx + du/dx v

equation 3

(d/dx) (u/v) = (v du/dx - u dv/dx)/v2

equation 4

(d/dx) a = 0

equation 5

(d/dx) x = 1

equation 6

(d/dx) xn = n xn - 1

equation 7

(d/dx) x1/2 = (1/2) x-1/2

equation 8

(d/dx) |x| = x/|x|, x != 0

equation 9

(d/dx) ex = ex

equation 10

(d/dx) ln x = 1/x

equation 11

Trigonometry.
(d/dx) sin x = cos x
(d/dx) cos x = -sin x

equation 12

Rules of Differentiation
"Civilization advances by extending the number of important operatons which can be performed without
thinking about them." --- A.N. Whitehead

Rule name (if any)

The Sum rule

The Product rule

The Quotient rule

The Chain rule

The Power rule