Great summary! But the only thing is..isn't this list missing the whole Limit approaching 0 method?

In general we only use limits when we want to prove something — e.g. to prove that these derivative rules are valid. Once the rules are proven for a general case there is no need go back to the formal definition of the derivative for specific problems.

why we need to consider the domain when cancelling the polynomial anyone pls help?

Suppose y(x) is a rational function defined to be (f(x)*h(x)) / (g(x)*h(x)) where f, g, and h are polynomial functions. When h(x) equals 0, f(x) is undefined. So if we cancel out h(x), we must be sure to exclude the values of x where h(x) = 0 from the domain of y(x).

what happens to the units of a function when it is differentiated?

If we take the derivative of a function y=f(x), the unit becomes *y unit/x unit*. A derivative is the tangent line's slope, which is y/x. So the unit of the differentiated function will be the quotient. For example, v(t) is the derivative of s(t). s -> position -> unit: meter t -> time -> unit: second v (ds/dt, the derivative) -> speed -> unit: meter per second

are there other rules? this is not all?

That's all the rules you'll need for differentiation. Integration however, uses much more rules in general

I noticed there are specific rules for addition, multiplication, and division, but not for subtraction. Would d/dx[f(x)-g(x)] be equivalent to d/dx[f(x)]-d/dx[g(x)]?

Yes, the derivative of the difference between two functions is equal to the difference between the derivatives of each function.

Main content

AP®︎/College Calculus AB

Course: AP®︎/College Calculus AB > Unit 3

Lesson 6: Selecting procedures for calculating derivatives: strategy

Strategy in differentiating functions

Google Classroom

Differentiation has so many different rules and there are so many different ways to apply them! Let's take a broader look at differentiation and come up with a workflow that will allow us to find the derivative of any function, efficiently and without mistakes.

Many calculus students know their derivative rules pretty well yet struggle to apply the right rule in the right situation. To alleviate this struggle, we want to learn to quickly categorize functions, know which rule to apply, and even rewrite functions in different forms to make differentiation easier.

For reference, here is a summary of the most common derivative rules:

Name	Rule
Power	$\frac{d}{d x} [x^{n}] = n \cdot x^{n - 1}$ ‍
Sum	$\frac{d}{d x} [f (x) + g (x)] = f^{'} (x) + g^{'} (x)$ ‍
Product	$\frac{d}{d x} [f (x) \cdot g (x)] = f^{'} (x) g (x) + f (x) g^{'} (x)$ ‍
Quotient	$\frac{d}{d x} [\frac{f (x)}{g (x)}] = \frac{f^{'} (x) g (x) - f (x) g^{'} (x)}{[g (x)]^{2}}$ ‍
Chain	$\frac{d}{d x} [f (g (x))] = f^{'} (g (x)) \cdot g^{'} (x)$ ‍

We'll be focusing on the last three rules because those are usually the most challenging to apply.

Spotting products, quotients, and compositions

Most derivative rules tell us how to differentiate a specific kind of function, like the rule for the derivative of

\sin (x)

, or the power rule.

However, there are three very important rules that are generally applicable, and depend on the structure of the function we are differentiating. These are the product, quotient, and chain rules, so be on the lookout for them. Ask yourself: "Do I see a product, quotient, or composition of functions?"

Product: If you see something like

(x^{2} + 1) \cdot \sin (x)

, you want to notice that this is the product of two functions. From there, you can apply the product rule.

Quotient: Similarly, if you see something like

\frac{\sqrt{x}}{\cos (x)}

, you want to notice that one function is being divided by the other, and that the quotient rule will apply.

Composition: Lastly, if you see a function like

(2 x^{2} - 4)^{5}

, try to think of it as an inner function and an outer function:

\underset{outer}{\underset{⏟}{(\overset{inner}{\overset{⏞}{2 x^{2} - 4}})^{5}}}

This sort of function is called a composite function, and you can apply the chain rule to find its derivative.

Problem 1

Jake tried to find the derivative of

(x^{2} + 5 x) \cdot \sin (x)

. Here is his work:

\begin{aligned} \frac{d}{d x} [(x^{2} + 5 x) \cdot \sin (x)] \\ = \frac{d}{d x} [x^{2} + 5 x] \cdot \frac{d}{d x} [\sin (x)] \\ = (2 x + 5) \cdot \cos (x) \\ = 2 x \cdot \cos (x) + 5 \cdot \cos (x) \end{aligned}

Is Jake's work correct? If not, what's his mistake?

(Choice A)
Jake's work is correct.
(Choice B)
Jake's work is incorrect. He didn't apply the chain rule correctly.
(Choice C)
Jake's work is incorrect. He didn't apply the product rule correctly.
(Choice D)
Jake's work is incorrect. He didn't differentiate $\sin (x)$ ‍ correctly.

[Show the correct method]

Common mistake: forgetting to apply the product or quotient rules

Remember: Taking the product of the derivatives is not the same as applying the product rule.

Similarly, taking the quotient of the derivatives is not the same as applying the quotient rule.

Problem 2

Leon tried to find the derivative of

\sin (x^{2} + 5 x)

. Here is his work:

\begin{aligned} \frac{d}{d x} [\sin (x^{2} + 5 x)] \\ = \frac{d}{d x} [\sin (x) \cdot (x^{2} + 5 x)] \\ = \frac{d}{d x} [\sin (x)] \cdot (x^{2} + 5 x) + \sin (x) \cdot \frac{d}{d x} [x^{2} + 5 x] \\ = \cos (x) (x^{2} + 5 x) + \sin (x) (2 x + 5) \end{aligned}

Is Leon's work correct? If not, what's his mistake?

(Choice A)
Leon's work is correct.
(Choice B)
Leon's work is incorrect. He applied the product rule instead of applying the chain rule.
(Choice C)
Leon's work is incorrect. He didn't apply the product rule correctly.
(Choice D)
Leon's work is incorrect. He didn't differentiate $x^{2} + 5 x$ ‍ correctly.

[Show the correct method]

Common mistake: Confusing function notation with multiplication

As we saw in Problem 2,

\sin (x^{2} + 5)

is a composite function where the outer function is

\sin (x)

and the inner function is

x^{2} + 5

. However, some people are confused by the notation and consider this to be the product

\sin (x) (x^{2} + 5)

. This is an entirely different function, and differentiating it will result in a wrong derivative.

We can rewrite functions to make differentiation easier.

Let's face it: applying the product, quotient, and chain rules can be a lot of work. The quotient rule is especially demanding. So why would we do all of that work if we don't have to? The following three examples highlight some products and quotients that can be rewritten to make differentiation much easier.

Making expressions more efficient to differentiate isn't just a matter of convenience; The simpler and shorter the differentiation, the smaller the chance that you make a mistake along the way!

Sometimes, we can rewrite a product as a simple polynomial.

We could apply the product rule to differentiate

(x + 5) (x - 3)

, but that would be a lot more work than what's needed. Instead, we can just expand the expression to

x^{2} + 2 x - 15

then apply the power rule to get the derivative:

2 x + 2

To really drive home the point, just look at how much more work it would have been to use the product rule:

Product rule	Power rule
$\begin{aligned} \frac{d}{d x} [(x + 5) (x - 3)] \\ = \frac{d}{d x} [x + 5] \cdot (x - 3) + (x + 5) \cdot \frac{d}{d x} [x - 3] \\ = (1) (x - 3) + (x + 5) (1) \\ = x - 3 + x + 5 \\ = 2 x + 2 \end{aligned}$ ‍	$\begin{aligned} \frac{d}{d x} [(x + 5) (x - 3)] \\ = \frac{d}{d x} [x^{2} + 2 x - 15] \\ = 2 x + 2 \end{aligned}$ ‍

To be clear: both ways are correct, but using the power rule will take you less time, and has better chances of avoiding calculation mistakes along the way.

Problem 3

f (x) = (3 - 8 x) (2 x - 7)

How would you rewrite $f (x)$ ‍ so it can be differentiated using the power rule?

Similarly, some quotient rule problems can be rewritten to use the power rule

We could apply the quotient rule to find the derivative of

\frac{x^{6} - 8 x^{3}}{2 x^{2}}

. However, it would be easier to divide first, getting

0.5 x^{4} - 4 x

, then apply the power rule to get the derivative of

2 x^{3} - 4

. We just have to remember that the function is undefined for

x = 0

, and therefore so is the derviative.

If we do it the long way, with the quotient rule, we get the same result. However, we have a better chance to make some kind of mistake along the way.

[Show me how this is done with the quotient rule.]

Not every quotient can be rewritten this way. For example,

\frac{x^{2} + 5 x - 14}{x - 7}

cannot be simplified as a polynomial.

Remember: You can always use this method for quotients where the denominator is a monomial.

When the denominator is a polynomial with more than one term, you might be able to simplify it using factorization and canceling common terms.

Don't forget to consider the domain when rewriting quotients.

Problem 4

f (x) = \frac{x^{5} - 2 x^{3} - 8 x^{2}}{x}

How would you rewrite $f (x)$ ‍ so it can be differentiated using the power rule?
Assume $x \neq 0$ ‍.

Last example: rewriting a quotient as a product

For many people, the product rule is easier to remember than the quotient rule is. Fortunately, we can always rewrite a quotient as a product.

Suppose we wanted to differentiate

\frac{\sqrt{x + 3}}{x^{4}}

but couldn't remember the order of the terms in the quotient rule. We could first separate the numerator and denominator into separate factors, then rewrite the denominator using a negative exponent so we would have no quotients.

\begin{aligned} \frac{\sqrt{x + 3}}{x^{4}} & = \sqrt{x + 3} \cdot \frac{1}{x^{4}} \\ = \sqrt{x + 3} \cdot x^{- 4} \end{aligned}

Now we would be ready to use our product rule. (Note: we would also use the chain rule to handle the interior of the square root function.)

Problem 5

h (x) = \frac{\sin (x)}{3 x}

How would you rewrite $h (x)$ ‍ so it can be differentiated using the product rule?

Want more practice? Try this exercise.

A common struggle: It can be tricky to convert radicals or reciprocals into powers if you're uncomfortable with the process (examples:

\sqrt{x} = x^{1 / 2}

and

\frac{1}{x^{3}} = x^{- 3}

). If you'd like some additional practice with this, check out these exercises:

Summary

Being fluent at taking derivatives requires knowing which rule to apply and when to apply it. It also requires seeing opportunities to rewrite expressions to make differentiation easier.

Here's a flowchart that summarizes this process:

Want to join the conversation?

Sort by:

Steve
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Steve's post “Great summary! But the on...”
Great summary! But the only thing is..isn't this list missing the whole Limit approaching 0 method?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(7 votes)
Answer
- tyersome
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to tyersome's post “In general we only use li...”
  In general we only use limits when we want to prove something — e.g. to prove that these derivative rules are valid.
  
  Once the rules are proven for a general case there is no need go back to the formal definition of the derivative for specific problems.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (33 votes)
Rubytranhcm
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Rubytranhcm's post “why we need to consider t...”
why we need to consider the domain when cancelling the polynomial anyone pls help?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(4 votes)
Answer
- KLaudano
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to KLaudano's post “Suppose y(x) is a rationa...”
  Suppose y(x) is a rational function defined to be (f(x)*h(x)) / (g(x)*h(x)) where f, g, and h are polynomial functions. When h(x) equals 0, f(x) is undefined. So if we cancel out h(x), we must be sure to exclude the values of x where h(x) = 0 from the domain of y(x).
  Comment on KLaudano's post “Suppose y(x) is a rationa...”
  (4 votes)
scott.d.corwin
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to scott.d.corwin's post “Speaking of calculation m...”
Speaking of calculation mistakes - I'm wondering how common they are. How often do you make mistakes when solving problems? To be clear, these are the type of mistakes that you make when you know how to do the work, but accidentally added 3 × 3, or your pencil wrote the opposite of what you were thinking. That kind of mistake.
I counted my errors from the past 20 problems and missed 3, which feels about right. Because I always try to get 100% on everything prior to a unit test, I have spent lots of time going through a 4-problem exercise where I'd keep missing 1 problem then intentionally skipping the others to re-do. I recall spending the most time on trig word problems where you have to model a full function including phase shift.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on scott.d.corwin's post “Speaking of calculation m...”
(5 votes)
Answer
Yu Aoi
Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to Yu Aoi's post “are there other rules? th...”
are there other rules? this is not all?
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(1 vote)
Answer
- Venkata
  Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to Venkata's post “That's all the rules you'...”
  That's all the rules you'll need for differentiation. Integration however, uses much more rules in general
  Button navigates to signup page
  (6 votes)
Pranathi
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Pranathi's post “what happens to the units...”
what happens to the units of a function when it is differentiated?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- Yan
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Yan's post “If we take the derivative...”
  If we take the derivative of a function y=f(x), the unit becomes y unit/x unit.
  
  A derivative is the tangent line's slope, which is y/x. So the unit of the differentiated function will be the quotient.
  
  For example, v(t) is the derivative of s(t).
  s -> position -> unit: meter
  t -> time -> unit: second
  v (ds/dt, the derivative) -> speed -> unit: meter per second
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Cole Ireland
Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to Cole Ireland's post “I noticed there are speci...”
I noticed there are specific rules for addition, multiplication, and division, but not for subtraction. Would d/dx[f(x)-g(x)] be equivalent to d/dx[f(x)]-d/dx[g(x)]?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(1 vote)
Answer
- KLaudano
  Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to KLaudano's post “Yes, the derivative of th...”
  Yes, the derivative of the difference between two functions is equal to the difference between the derivatives of each function.
  Comment on KLaudano's post “Yes, the derivative of th...”
  (3 votes)
Hongbing Zhu
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Hongbing Zhu's post “I am confused if we can r...”
I am confused if we can rewrite the square root of (3 times (cos(x))'s third power) to 3's square root times cos(x)'s 3/2 power, then appply power rule? it is seems different result compared with if firstly apply chain rule to the whole? this is one question in the last "practice", thanks.
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(1 vote)
Answer
- Jerry Nilsson
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Jerry Nilsson's post “𝑑∕𝑑𝑥√(3 cos³𝑥) = = 1∕...”
  𝑑∕𝑑𝑥√(3 cos³𝑥) =
  = 1∕(2√(3 cos³𝑥)) ∙ 3 ∙ 3 cos²𝑥 ∙ (−sin 𝑥) =
  = −3√3√3 cos²𝑥 sin 𝑥∕(2√3 cos 𝑥 √(cos 𝑥)) =
  = −(3√3√(cos 𝑥) sin 𝑥)∕2
  
  𝑑∕𝑑𝑥(√3 ∙ (cos 𝑥)^(3∕2) = √3 ∙ (3∕2) (cos 𝑥)^(1∕2) ∙ (−sin 𝑥) =
  = −(3√3√(cos 𝑥) sin 𝑥)∕2
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  (1 vote)
terryschop
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to terryschop's post “I believe that Problem 3 ...”
I believe that Problem 3 is incorrect. It asks to be able to use the power rule, but the answer that is highlighted as correct requires the product rule.
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(0 votes)
Answer
- Venkata
  Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to Venkata's post “The correct answer is −16...”
  The correct answer is −16x^(2) + 62x − 21. This does infact require the power rule (Remember that the power rule applies for functions of the form x^(n)). If the expression in the question were to be differentiated as is (that is, if you were asked to differentiate f(x)=(3−8x)(2x−7)), you'd apply the product rule, as f(x) is a product of two functions
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  (1 vote)