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Key Terms

acceleration
is the rate of change of the velocity, that is, the derivative of velocity
amount of change
the amount of a function f(x)f(x) over an interval [x,x+h][x,x+h] is f(x+h)f(x)f(x+h)f(x)
average rate of change
is a function f(x)f(x) over an interval [x,x+h][x,x+h] is f(a+h)f(a)hf(a+h)f(a)h
chain rule
the chain rule defines the derivative of a composite function as the derivative of the outer function evaluated at the inner function times the derivative of the inner function
constant multiple rule
the derivative of a constant c multiplied by a function f is the same as the constant multiplied by the derivative: ddx(cf(x))=cf(x)ddx(cf(x))=cf(x)
constant rule
the derivative of a constant function is zero: ddx(c)=0,ddx(c)=0, where c is a constant
derivative
the slope of the tangent line to a function at a point, calculated by taking the limit of the difference quotient, is the derivative
derivative function
gives the derivative of a function at each point in the domain of the original function for which the derivative is defined
difference quotient
of a function f(x)f(x) at aa is given by
f(a+h)f(a)horf(x)f(a)xaf(a+h)f(a)horf(x)f(a)xa
difference rule
the derivative of the difference of a function f and a function g is the same as the difference of the derivative of f and the derivative of g: ddx(f(x)g(x))=f(x)g(x)ddx(f(x)g(x))=f(x)g(x)
differentiable at a
a function for which f(a)f(a) exists is differentiable at aa
differentiable function
a function for which f(x)f(x) exists is a differentiable function
differentiable on S
a function for which f(x)f(x) exists for each xx in the open set SS is differentiable on SS
differentiation
the process of taking a derivative
higher-order derivative
a derivative of a derivative, from the second derivative to the nth derivative, is called a higher-order derivative
implicit differentiation
is a technique for computing dydxdydx for a function defined by an equation, accomplished by differentiating both sides of the equation (remembering to treat the variable yy as a function) and solving for dydxdydx
instantaneous rate of change
the rate of change of a function at any point along the function a,a, also called f(a),f(a), or the derivative of the function at aa
logarithmic differentiation
is a technique that allows us to differentiate a function by first taking the natural logarithm of both sides of an equation, applying properties of logarithms to simplify the equation, and differentiating implicitly
marginal cost
is the derivative of the cost function, or the approximate cost of producing one more item
marginal profit
is the derivative of the profit function, or the approximate profit obtained by producing and selling one more item
marginal revenue
is the derivative of the revenue function, or the approximate revenue obtained by selling one more item
population growth rate
is the derivative of the population with respect to time
power rule
the derivative of a power function is a function in which the power on xx becomes the coefficient of the term and the power on xx in the derivative decreases by 1: If nn is an integer, then ddxxn=nxn1ddxxn=nxn1
product rule
the derivative of a product of two functions is the derivative of the first function times the second function plus the derivative of the second function times the first function: ddx(f(x)g(x))=f(x)g(x)+g(x)f(x)ddx(f(x)g(x))=f(x)g(x)+g(x)f(x)
quotient rule
the derivative of the quotient of two functions is the derivative of the first function times the second function minus the derivative of the second function times the first function, all divided by the square of the second function: ddx(f(x)g(x))=f(x)g(x)g(x)f(x)(g(x))2ddx(f(x)g(x))=f(x)g(x)g(x)f(x)(g(x))2
speed
is the absolute value of velocity, that is, |v(t)||v(t)| is the speed of an object at time tt whose velocity is given by v(t)v(t)
sum rule
the derivative of the sum of a function f and a function g is the same as the sum of the derivative of f and the derivative of g: ddx(f(x)+g(x))=f(x)+g(x)ddx(f(x)+g(x))=f(x)+g(x)
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