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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.
For other stencil configurations and derivative orders, the Finite Difference Coefficients Calculator is a tool that can be used to generate derivative approximation methods for any stencil with any derivative order (provided a solution exists).
The derivative of the function at a point is the slope of the line tangent to the curve at the point. Slope of the constant function is zero, because the tangent line to the constant function is horizontal and its angle is zero. In other words, the value of the constant function, y, will not change as the value of x increases or decreases.
A number of properties of the differential follow in a straightforward manner from the corresponding properties of the derivative, partial derivative, and total derivative. These include: [ 11 ] Linearity : For constants a and b and differentiable functions f and g , d ( a f + b g ) = a d f + b d g . {\displaystyle d(af+bg)=a\,df+b\,dg.}
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 . Geometrically, the derivative at a point is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point, provided that the derivative exists and is ...
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. For example, the second partial derivatives of a function f(x, y) are: [6]
Combining derivatives of different variables results in a notion of a partial differential operator. The linear operator which assigns to each function its derivative is an example of a differential operator on a function space. By means of the Fourier transform, pseudo-differential operators can be defined which allow for fractional calculus.
It can be thought of as the rate of change of the function in the -direction.. Sometimes, for = (,, …), the partial derivative of with respect to is denoted as . Since a partial derivative generally has the same arguments as the original function, its functional dependence is sometimes explicitly signified by the notation, such as in: