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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.
The second derivative of a function f can be used to determine the concavity of the graph of f. [2] A function whose second derivative is positive is said to be concave up (also referred to as convex), meaning that the tangent line near the point where it touches the function will lie below the graph of the function.
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.}
One way of improving the approximation is to take a quadratic approximation. That is to say, the linearization of a real-valued function f(x) at the point x 0 is a linear polynomial a + b(x − x 0), and it may be possible to get a better approximation by considering a quadratic polynomial a + b(x − x 0) + c(x − x 0) 2.
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)} .
In calculus, the product rule (or Leibniz rule [1] or Leibniz product rule) is a formula used to find the derivatives of products of two or more functions.For two functions, it may be stated in Lagrange's notation as () ′ = ′ + ′ or in Leibniz's notation as () = +.
If f is a function, then its derivative evaluated at x is written ′ (). It first appeared in print in 1749. [3] Higher derivatives are indicated using additional prime marks, as in ″ for the second derivative and ‴ for the third derivative. The use of repeated prime marks eventually becomes unwieldy.
Therefore, the true derivative of f at x is the limit of the value of the difference quotient as the secant lines get closer and closer to being a tangent line: ...