The Chain Rule and General Power Rule

MATH 151 Calculus for Management

J. Robert Buchanan

Department of Mathematics

Fall 2018
Objectives

After finishing this section we will be able to:

I use the Chain Rule to find the derivative of a composition
of functions,
I use the General Power Rule to find the derivative of a
function raised to a power, and
I apply several derivative rules in combination to find the
derivative of a complex function.
Motivation

Consider these derivative problems:

d h 2 i
1. (x + 1)2
dx
d h 2 i
2. (x + 1)3
dx
d h 2 i
3. (x + 1)4
dx
d h 2 i
4. (x + 1)−1
dx
d h 2 i
5. (x + 1)−2/3
dx
For the first four we could, with some effort, calculate the
derivative, but the last one would be challenging.
We will develop a simple formula for calculating this type of
derivative.
The Chain Rule

Theorem (Chain Rule)

If y = f (u) and u = g(x), then

dy dy du
= ·
dx du dx
dy du
provided that and both exist.
du dx
The Chain Rule

Theorem (Chain Rule)

If y = f (u) and u = g(x), then

dy dy du
= ·
dx du dx
dy du
provided that and both exist.
du dx
Theorem (Chain Rule (Second Form))
If y = f (g(x)) then

dy
= f 0 (g(x))g 0 (x),
dx
provided that f 0 (g(x)) and g 0 (x) both exist.
Examples (1 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

y = (x 3 + x − 1)4
Examples (1 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

y = (x 3 + x − 1)4
dy d h 3 i
= 4(x 3 + x − 1)3 x +x −1
dx dx
Examples (1 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

y = (x 3 + x − 1)4
dy d h 3 i
= 4(x 3 + x − 1)3 x +x −1
dx dx
= 4(x 3 + x − 1)3 (3x 2 + 1)
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

p
y = 4x 2 + 3x + 1
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

p
y = 4x 2 + 3x + 1
= (4x 2 + 3x + 1)1/2
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

p
y = 4x 2 + 3x + 1
= (4x 2 + 3x + 1)1/2
dy 1 d h 2 i
= (4x 2 + 3x + 1)−1/2 4x + 3x + 1
dx 2 dx
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the Chain
Rule.

p
y = 4x 2 + 3x + 1
= (4x 2 + 3x + 1)1/2
dy 1 d h 2 i
= (4x 2 + 3x + 1)−1/2 4x + 3x + 1
dx 2 dx
8x + 3
= √
2 4x 2 + 3x + 1
The General Power Rule

Theorem (General Power Rule)

If y = (g(x))n , then

dy
= n (g(x))n−1 · g 0 (x),
dx
provided that g 0 (x) exists.

Remarks: to use the General Power Rule,

1. apply the Power Rule to (g(x))n , and
2. multiply that result by g 0 (x).
Examples (1 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the

General Power Rule.

y = (2x 3 − 5)1/3
Examples (1 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the

General Power Rule.

y = (2x 3 − 5)1/3
dy 1 d h 3 i
= (2x 3 − 5)−2/3 2x − 5
dx 3 dx
Examples (1 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the

General Power Rule.

y = (2x 3 − 5)1/3
dy 1 d h 3 i
= (2x 3 − 5)−2/3 2x − 5
dx 3 dx
1 3 −2/3
h i
= (2x − 5) 6x 2
3
2x 2
=
(2x 3 − 5)2/3
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the

General Power Rule.

 2
4x + 5
f (x) = 2
x + 2x + 6
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the

General Power Rule.

 2
4x + 5
f (x) =
x 2 + 2x + 6
   
0 4x + 5 d 4x + 5
f (x) = 2
x 2 + 2x + 6 dx x 2 + 2x + 6
Examples (2 of 2)

Find the first derivative of the following function using the

General Power Rule.

 2
4x + 5
f (x) =
x 2 + 2x + 6
   
4x + 5 d 4x + 5
f 0 (x) = 2
x 2 + 2x + 6 dx x 2 + 2x + 6
4(x 2 + 2x + 6) − (4x + 5)(2x + 2)
 
8x + 10
=
x 2 + 2x + 6 (x 2 + 2x + 6)2
(8x + 10)(−4x 2 − 10x + 14)
=
(x 2 + 2x + 6)3
Application

From 1996 through 2005, the revenue per share R (measured

in dollars) for U.S. Cellular can be modeled by
R = (−0.009t 2 + 0.54t − 0.1)2 for 6 ≤ t ≤ 15, where t is the
year, with t = 6 corresponding to 1996. Use this model to
approximate the rates of change in the revenue per share in
1997, 1999, and 2003. If you had been a U.S. Cellular
stockholder from 1996 through 2005, would you have been
satisfied with the performance of this stock?
Solution

R = (−0.009t 2 + 0.54t − 0.1)2

R 0 (t) = 2(−0.009t 2 + 0.54t − 0.1)(−0.018t + 0.54)
R 0 (7) = 2(−0.009(7)2 + 0.54(7) − 0.1)(−0.018(7) + 0.54)
≈ $2.68/yr
0
R (9) = 2(−0.009(9)2 + 0.54(9) − 0.1)(−0.018(9) + 0.54)
≈ $3.05/yr
0
R (13) = 2(−0.009(13)2 + 0.54(13) − 0.1)(−0.018(13) + 0.54)
≈ $3.30/yr
Illustration

40

30
Revenue per Share

20

10

0
6 8 10 12 14 16
Year (1996-2005)
Summary of Differentation Rules
Let f and g be differentiable functions of x and let c be any constant,

d
[c] = 0 (constant rule)
dx
d
[x n ] = nx n−1 (power rule)
dx
d
[c f (x)] = c f 0 (x) (constant multiple rule)
dx
d
[f (x) ± g(x)] = f 0 (x) ± g 0 (x) (sum and difference rules)
dx
d
[f (x) · g(x)] = f 0 (x)g(x) + f (x)g 0 (x) (product rule)
dx
f 0 (x)g(x) − f (x)g 0 (x)
 
d f (x)
= (quotient rule)
dx g(x) (g(x))2
d
[f (g(x))] = f 0 (g(x))g 0 (x) (chain rule)
dx
d
[(f (x))n ] = n(f (x))n−1 f 0 (x) (generalized power rule)
dx