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Lagrange's notation for the derivative: If f is a function of a single variable, ′, read as "f prime", is the derivative of f with respect to this variable. The second derivative is the derivative of ′, and is denoted ″. ˙
In mathematics, the derivative is a fundamental tool that quantifies the sensitivity to change of a function's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point.
The symbol was introduced originally in 1770 by Nicolas de Condorcet, who used it for a partial differential, and adopted for the partial derivative by Adrien-Marie Legendre in 1786. [3] It represents a specialized cursive type of the letter d , just as the integral sign originates as a specialized type of a long s (first used in print by ...
for the first derivative, for the second derivative, for the third derivative, and for the nth derivative. When f is a function of several variables, it is common to use "∂", a stylized cursive lower-case d, rather than "D". As above, the subscripts denote the derivatives that are being taken.
If the derivative f vanishes at p, then f − f(p) belongs to the square I p 2 of this ideal. Hence the derivative of f at p may be captured by the equivalence class [f − f(p)] in the quotient space I p /I p 2, and the 1-jet of f (which encodes its value and its first derivative) is the equivalence class of f in the space of all functions ...
The derivatives in the table above are for when the range of the inverse secant is [,] and when the range of the inverse cosecant is [,]. It is common to additionally define an inverse tangent function with two arguments , arctan ( y , x ) {\textstyle \arctan(y,x)} .
The following table lists many common symbols, together with their name, how they should be read out loud, and the related field of mathematics. Additionally, the subsequent columns contains an informal explanation, a short example, the Unicode location, the name for use in HTML documents, [ 1 ] and the LaTeX symbol.
[2] The primary objects of study in differential calculus are the derivative of a function, related notions such as the differential, and their applications. The derivative of a function at a chosen input value describes the rate of change of the function near that input value. The process of finding a derivative is called differentiation.