4.

6 Directional Derivatives and Gradient Vector

Theorem If is a differentiable function of and , then has a directional

derivative in the direction of any unit vector = + and

, = , + ,

EXAMPLE 2 Find the directional derivative , if

, = −3 +4

and u is the unit vector given by angle . What is 1,2

SOLUTION

Therefore
 The Gradient Vector

Definition If is a function of two variables and , then the gradient of is

the vector function defined by

, = , + , = ,

EXAMPLE 3 If , = sin + , then

With this notation for the gradient vector, we can rewrite the
directional derivative of a differentiable function as

EXAMPLE 4 Find the directional derivative of the function

, = −4
at the point (2, −1) in the direction of the vector v = 2 i + 5 j.
SOLUTION We first compute the gradient vector at
(2, −1)
Note that is not a unit vector, but since = 29 , the unit vector
in the direction of is

Therefore
Functions of Three Variables
EXAMPLE 5 If
, , = sin
(a) find the gradient of .
(b) find the directional derivative of at (1,3,0) in the direction of
v = i + 2j − k.

SOLUTION
(a) The gradient of is
(b) At (1,3,0), we have 1,3,0 = 0,0,3 . The unit vector in
the direction of v is
1 2 1
u= + −
6 6 6
Therefore
1,2,3 = 1,3,0 .

1 2 1
= 3 . + −
6 6 6

31
= 3 . − = − .
6 2
Exercise 9:
(a) Find the gradient of .
(b) Evaluate the gradient at the point .
(c) Find the rate of change of at in the direction of the vector .

4 3
, , = − , 2, −1,1 , = 0, , − .
5 5
SOLUTION

=2 − , = − , = −3
(a) The gradient of is
= 2 − , − , −3

(b) The gradient at the point (2, −1,1)

2, −1,1 = −3, 2, 2

(c) The rate of change of at in the direction of the vector .

4 3 8 6 2
2, −1,1 = 2, −1,1 . = −3, 2, 2 . 0, , − = − =
5 5 5 5 5
Exercise 12: Find the directional derivative of the function at the
given point in the direction of the vector .

, = , 1,2 , = 3,5 .
SOLUTION

1 + − (2 ) − 2
= = , =−
+ + +

− 2
= ,−
+ +
Then
3 4
(1,2) = ,−
25 25
The unit vector in the direction of is
3 5
u= +
34 34
The directional derivative of at P in the direction of the vector is

3 4 3 5
1,2 = 1,2 . = − . +
25 25 34 34

9 20 11
= − =−
25 34 25 34 25 34
 Maximizing the Directional Derivative

Theorem Suppose is a differentiable function of two or three

variables. The maximum value of the directional derivative
is and it occurs when has the same direction as the
gradient vector .

where is the angle between and u. The maximum value of cos is 1 and
this occurs when = 0. Therefore the maximum value of is
and it occurs when = 0, that is, when has the same direction as .
EXAMPLE 6
(a) If , = , find the rate of change of at the point (2,0)

in the direction from to ,2 .

(b) In what direction does have the maximum rate of change? What
is this maximum rate of change?
SOLUTION
(a) We first compute the gradient vector:

= , =
 2,0 = , = 1,2

The unit vector in the direction of = − , 2 is

2 3
= = − ,2
5 2
so the rate of change of in the direction from to is

2 3 2 5
(2,0) = (2,0). = − +4 = =1
5 2 5 2
We see that increases fastest in the direction of the gradient vector

2,0 = , = 1,2

The maximum rate of change is

2,0 = 1,2 = 5.
Exercise 25: Find the maximum rate of change of at the given
point and the direction in which it occurs.
, , = + + , 3,6, −2 .
SOLUTION

= , = ,
+ + + +

=
+ +
3 6 2
3,6, −2 = , , −
7 7 7
The maximum rate of change is

3 6 2 1
3,6, −2 = , ,− = 9 + 36 + 4 = 1.
7 7 7 7

The direction of the gradient vector

3 6 2
3,6, −2 = , , = , ,−
7 7 7
 Tangent Planes to Level Surfaces

The tangent plane to the level surface ( , , )= at

( , , ) as the plane that passes through P and has normal
vector ( , , ). Using the standard equation of a plane, we can
write the equation of this tangent plane as

, , − + , , − + , , − =0
 Normal Line

The normal line to S at P is the line passing through P and perpendicular to the
tangent plane. The direction of the normal line is therefore given by the gradient
vector ( , , ) and so, its symmetric equations are

− − −
= =
, , , , , ,
EXAMPLE 8 Find the equations of the tangent plane and normal line

at the point (−2,1, −3) to the ellipsoid

+ + = 3.
4 9
SOLUTION The ellipsoid is the level surface of the function

, , = + +
4 9
Therefore we have

, , = , , , = 2 , , , =
 −2,1, −3 = −1, (−2,1, −3) = 2, −2,1, −3 = −

Then the equation of the tangent plane

2
−1 + 2 + 2 − 1 − +3 =0
3
which simplifies to
3 − 6 + 2 + 18 = 0

The symmetric equations of the normal line are

+2 −1 +3
= =
−1 2 2
−
3
Exercise 42: Find equations of (a) the tangent plane and (b) the
normal line to the given surface at the specified point.

= − , (4,7,3).
SOLUTION
, , = − +
Therefore we have

, , = −2 , , , = 1, , , =2
 (4,7,3) = −8, (4,7,3) = 1, (4,7,3) = 6

The tangent plane

−8 −4 + −7 +6 −3 =0
Thus
8 − −6 −7=0
The normal line

−4 −7 −3
= =
−8 1 6