LECTURE 6

FOUR STEP RULE AND FORMULAS FOR DIFFERENTIATION

6.1 The Four Step Rule
The average rate of change of y with respect to x in the interval from x to x+x is obtained when an
increment y of a function in y=f(x) is divided by x . In symbols,

y f(x+x)-f(x)
=
x x

Note that the average rate of change approaches the limit C as the length of the interval x approaches
dy
zero, and this limit is known as the derivative of y with respect to x denoted by dx or dy/dx.

dy y f(x+x)-f(x)
Hence, dx = lim = lim
x→0 x x→0 x

d
We may also use other symbols to denote derivative such as Dxy, Dxf(x), y’, f’(x), dx f(x).

When y=f(x) is known, then the process of finding the derivative is called differentiation, and f(x) is said
to be a differentiable function if the derivative exists. The four step rule is used to find the derivative of
a given function.

In using the four step rule we will follow certain steps

1. In y=f(x), substitute x+x for x and y+y for y.
2. Subtract y=f(x) from the result in step 1 and solve for y in terms of x and x.
3. Divide x on both sides of the equation from the results obtained in step 2.
4. Using the result in step 3, find the limit of the function as x approaches zero.

Example 6.1 Find the derivative of the following functions using the four step rule:

1. 𝑦 = 7𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 + 2
2. 𝑦 = √𝑥 + 2
2𝑥+3
3. 𝑦 = 3𝑥−2

Solution:
1. 𝑦 = 7𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 + 2

𝑦 + ∆𝑦 = 7(𝑥 + ∆𝑥)2 − 6(𝑥 + ∆𝑥) + 2

∆𝑦 = 7(𝑥 2 + 2𝑥∆𝑥 + ∆𝑥 2 ) − 6𝑥 − 6∆𝑥 + 2 − 𝑦

∆𝑦 = 7𝑥 2 + 14𝑥∆𝑥 + 7∆𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 − 6∆𝑥 + 2 − 7𝑥 2 + 6𝑥 − 2

∆𝑦 = 14𝑥∆𝑥 + 7∆𝑥 2 − 6∆𝑥

∆𝑦 = ∆𝑥(14𝑥 + 7∆𝑥 − 6)
∆𝑦 ∆𝑥(14𝑥+7∆𝑥−6)
∆𝑥
= ∆𝑥

∆𝑦
∆𝑥
= 14𝑥 + 7∆𝑥 − 6
∆𝑦
lim = lim (14𝑥 + 7∆𝑥 − 6)
∆𝑥→0 ∆𝑥 ∆𝑥→0
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= lim (14𝑥 + 7∆𝑥 − 6)
∆𝑥→0
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 14𝑥 + 7(0) − 6
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 14𝑥 − 6

2. 𝑦 = √𝑥 + 2
𝑦 + ∆𝑦 = √𝑥 + ∆𝑥 + 2
∆𝑦 = √𝑥 + ∆𝑥 + 2 − 𝑦
∆𝑦 = √𝑥 + ∆𝑥 + 2 − √𝑥 + 2
√𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
∆𝑦 = (√𝑥 + ∆𝑥 + 2 − √𝑥 + 2) ∙ ( )
√𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
𝑥+∆𝑥+2−(𝑥+2)
∆𝑦 =
√𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
𝑥+∆𝑥+2−𝑥−2
∆𝑦 =
√𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
∆𝑥
∆𝑦 =
√𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
∆𝑥
∆𝑦 √𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2 ∆𝑥 1
∆𝑥
= ∆𝑥
= ∙
√𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2 ∆𝑥
∆𝑦 1
lim = lim
∆𝑥→0 ∆𝑥 ∆𝑥→0 √𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
𝑑𝑦 1
= lim
𝑑𝑥 ∆𝑥→0 √𝑥+∆𝑥+2+√𝑥+2
𝑑𝑦 1
𝑑𝑥
=
√𝑥+0+2+√𝑥+2
𝑑𝑦 1
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥+2+ 𝑥+2
√ √
𝑑𝑦 1
=
𝑑𝑥 2√𝑥+2
𝑑𝑦 1 √𝑥+2
𝑑𝑥
= 2 𝑥+2 ∙ 𝑥+2
√ √
𝑑𝑦 √𝑥+2
𝑑𝑥
= 2(𝑥+2)
 𝑑𝑦 √𝑥+2
𝑑𝑥
= 2𝑥+4

2𝑥+3
3. 𝑦 = 3𝑥−2
2(𝑥+∆𝑥)+3
𝑦 + ∆𝑦 = 3(𝑥+∆𝑥)−2
2𝑥+2∆𝑥+3
∆𝑦 = −𝑦
3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2
2𝑥+2∆𝑥+3 2𝑥+3
∆𝑦 = 3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2
− 3𝑥−2
(2𝑥+2∆𝑥+3)(3𝑥−2)−(3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(2𝑥+3)
∆𝑦 = (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
6𝑥 2 +6𝑥∆𝑥+9𝑥−4𝑥−4∆𝑥−6−(6𝑥 2 +6𝑥∆𝑥−4𝑥+9𝑥+9∆𝑥−6)
∆𝑦 = (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
6𝑥 2 +6𝑥∆𝑥+9𝑥−4𝑥−4∆𝑥−6−6𝑥 2 −6𝑥∆𝑥+4𝑥−9𝑥−9∆𝑥+6
∆𝑦 = (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
6𝑥∆𝑥−4∆𝑥−6𝑥∆𝑥−9∆𝑥
∆𝑦 = (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
−13∆𝑥
∆𝑦 (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
∆𝑥
= ∆𝑥
∆𝑦 −13∆𝑥 1
∆𝑥
= (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2) ∙ ∆𝑥

∆𝑦 −13
= (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
∆𝑥
∆𝑦 −13
lim = lim
∆𝑥→0 ∆𝑥 ∆𝑥→0 (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
𝑑𝑦 −13
𝑑𝑥
= lim (3𝑥+3∆𝑥−2)(3𝑥−2)
∆𝑥→0
𝑑𝑦 −13
𝑑𝑥
= (3𝑥+3(0)−2)(3𝑥−2)
𝑑𝑦 −13 −13
𝑑𝑥
= (3𝑥−2)2 = 9𝑥 2 −12𝑥+4

2.2 Formulas for Differentiation

If a function has derivative at x then we say that a function is differentiable at that value. Aside from the
usual variable x and y, we will also use u and v to denote any function of x that are differentiable. The
following formulas will be used to find the derivative of a given function.
 d( c ) d(uv) d(v) d(u)
D1: dx = 0 𝐷6: dx = u dx + v dx
d(x)
D2: dx =1

𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 ) d(un) du
𝐷3 : 𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 𝐷7: dx = nun-1 dx
u du dv
dv v dx -udx
d(cu) d(u)
𝐷4: dx =c dx 𝐷9 : dx = v2

d(u+v) d(u) d(v) d u 1 du

𝐷5: dx = dx + dx 𝐷10: dx = •
2 u dx
𝐷 1
𝑛 𝑑൭𝑢𝑛 ൱ 1
𝑑 √𝑢 1 −1𝑑𝑢
11: = = 𝑢𝑛
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑛 𝑑𝑥

𝑑𝑦
Example 2.2 Use the formulas for differentiation to find .
𝑑𝑥

1. 𝑦 = (𝑥 − 1)(2𝑥 3 + 3)
1 2
2. 𝑦 = 2𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 3
2
3. 𝑦 = (𝑥 3 − 𝑥 −3 )
5
4. 𝑦 = 4(𝑥 2 − 2)5
(2−𝑥)(2𝑥+3)
5. 𝑦 =
𝑥2
6. 𝑦 = (𝑥 − 1)(3𝑥 − 4)2
3
7. 𝑦 = 3( √𝑥 − 2)
3 3
8. 𝑦 = √𝑎𝑥 + √𝑎2 𝑥
Solution:

1. 𝑦 = (𝑥 − 1)(2𝑥 3 + 3)
𝑢 = 𝑥 − 1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 = 2𝑥 3 + 3
d(uv) d(v) d(u)
Applying the product rule dx = u dx + v dx , we get
𝑑𝑦 𝑑(2𝑥 3 +3) 𝑑(𝑥−1 )
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1) 𝑑𝑥
+ (2𝑥 3 + 3) 𝑑𝑥
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, 𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1)(6𝑥 2 + 0) + (2𝑥 3 + 3)(1 − 0 )
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1)(6𝑥 2 ) + (2𝑥 3 + 3)(1 )
𝑑𝑦
= 6𝑥 3 − 6𝑥 2 + 2𝑥 3 + 3
𝑑𝑥
 𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 8𝑥 3 − 6𝑥 2 + 3
1 2
2. 𝑦 = 2𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 3
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, = 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
𝑑𝑥
1 2
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥 2−1 + 2𝑥 3−1
1 1
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥 −2 + 2𝑥 −3

𝑑𝑦 1 2
𝑑𝑥
= 1 + 1
𝑥2 𝑥3
𝑑𝑦 1 2
𝑑𝑥
= +3
√𝑥 √𝑥
3
𝑑𝑦 1 √𝑥 2 √𝑥 2
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥∙ 𝑥+3 ∙ 3
√ √ √𝑥 √𝑥 2
3 2
𝑑𝑦 √ 𝑥 2 √𝑥
= +
𝑑𝑥 𝑥 𝑥
3 2
𝑑𝑦 √ 𝑥+2 √𝑥
=
𝑑𝑥 𝑥
2
3. 𝑦 = 5 (𝑥 − 𝑥 −3 )
3

2 2
𝑦 = 5 𝑥 3 − 5 𝑥 −3
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, 𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
6 6
𝑦 = 5 𝑥 3−1 + 5 𝑥 −3−1

𝑑𝑦 6 6
𝑑𝑥
= 5 𝑥 2 + 5 𝑥 −4
𝑑𝑦 6 6
𝑑𝑥
= 5 𝑥 2 + 5𝑥 4

4. 𝑦 = 4(𝑥 2 − 2)5
d(un) du
Applying the power rule with base 𝑢, dx = nun-1 dx , we get
𝑢 = 𝑥2 − 2
𝑑𝑦 𝑑(𝑥 2 −2)
𝑑𝑥
= 20(𝑥 2 − 2)5−1 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 20(𝑥 2 − 2)4 (2𝑥 − 0)
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 20(𝑥 2 − 2)4 (2𝑥)
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 40𝑥(𝑥 2 − 2)4
(2−𝑥)(2𝑥+3)
5. 𝑦 = 𝑥2

4𝑥+6−2𝑥 2 −3𝑥
𝑦= 𝑥2

𝑥+6−2𝑥 2
𝑦=
𝑥2

−2𝑥 2 +𝑥+6
𝑦= 𝑥2
 u du dv
dv v dx -udx
Applying the quotient, dx = v2 , we get

𝑢 = −2𝑥 2 + 𝑥 + 6 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 = 𝑥 2
𝑑(−2𝑥2 +𝑥+6) 𝑑(𝑥2 )
𝑑𝑦 (𝑥 2 ) 𝑑𝑥
−(−2𝑥 2 +𝑥+6 )
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 2 )2
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, 𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
𝑑𝑦 (𝑥 2 )(−4𝑥+1+0)−(−2𝑥 2 +𝑥+6 )(2𝑥)
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥4
𝑑𝑦 −4𝑥 3 +𝑥 2 −(−4𝑥 3 +2𝑥 2 +12𝑥 )
=
𝑑𝑥 𝑥4
𝑑𝑦 −4𝑥 3 +𝑥 2 +4𝑥 3 −2𝑥 2 −12𝑥
=
𝑑𝑥 𝑥4
𝑑𝑦 −𝑥 2 −12𝑥 𝑥(−𝑥−12)
= =
𝑑𝑥 𝑥4 𝑥4
𝑑𝑦 −𝑥−12
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥3

6. 𝑦 = (𝑥 − 1)(3𝑥 − 4)2
d(uv) d(v) d(u)
Applying the product rule dx = u dx + v dx , we get
𝑢 = 𝑥 − 1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 = (3𝑥 − 4)2
𝑑𝑦 𝑑[(3𝑥−4)2 ] 𝑑(𝑥−1)
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1) 𝑑𝑥
+ (3𝑥 − 4)2 𝑑𝑥
d(un) du
Applying the power rule with base 𝑢, dx = nun-1 dx and power rule with base 𝑥,
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get

Let 𝑢1 = 3𝑥 − 4 for (3𝑥 − 4)2

𝑑𝑦 𝑑(𝑢1 )
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1)(2)(𝑢1 )2−1𝑑𝑥
+ (3𝑥 − 4)2 (1 − 0)
𝑑𝑦 𝑑(3𝑥−4)
= (𝑥 − 1)(2)(3𝑥 − 4) + (3𝑥 − 4)2 (1 − 0)
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, = 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1)(2)(3𝑥 − 4)(3 − 0) + (3𝑥 − 4)2 (1)
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= (𝑥 − 1)(6)(3𝑥 − 4) + (3𝑥 − 4)2 (1)
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= (6𝑥 − 6)(3𝑥 − 4) + 9𝑥 2 − 24𝑥 + 16
𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑥
= 18𝑥 2 − 24𝑥 − 18𝑥 + 24 + 9𝑥 2 − 24𝑥 + 16
𝑑𝑦
= 27𝑥 2 − 66𝑥 + 40
𝑑𝑥

3
7. 𝑦 = 3( √𝑥 − 2)
3
𝑦 = 3 √𝑥 − 6
1
𝑦 = 3𝑥 3 − 6
 𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, 𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
1
𝑑𝑦
= 𝑥 3−1 − 0
𝑑𝑥
2
𝑑𝑦
= 𝑥 −3 − 0
𝑑𝑥

𝑑𝑦 1
𝑑𝑥
= 2
𝑥3
3
𝑑𝑦 1 √𝑥
𝑑𝑥
= 3 ∙
2 3
√𝑥 √𝑥
3
𝑑𝑦 √𝑥
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑥

3 3
8. 𝑦 = √𝑎𝑥 + √𝑎2 𝑥 where 𝑎 is an arbitrary constant
1 1
𝑦 = (𝑎𝑥)3 + (𝑎2 𝑥)3
1 1 2 1
𝑦 = 𝑎 3 𝑥 3 + 𝑎3 𝑥 3
𝑑(𝑥 𝑛 )
Applying the power rule with base 𝑥, 𝑑𝑥
= 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , we get
𝑑𝑦 1 1 1 1 2 1
= 𝑎3 𝑥 3−1 + 𝑎3 𝑥 3−1
𝑑𝑥 3 3
𝑑𝑦 1 1 −2 1 2 −2
= 𝑎3 𝑥 3 + 𝑎3𝑥 3
𝑑𝑥 3 3
1 2
𝑑𝑦 1 𝑎3 1 𝑎3
= + 2
𝑑𝑥 3 23 3 3
𝑥 𝑥
3 3
𝑑𝑦 1 √𝑎 1 √𝑎 2
𝑑𝑥
= 3 2 + 3 2
3 √𝑥 3 √𝑥
3 3 3 3
𝑑𝑦 1 √𝑎 √𝑥 1 √𝑎 2 √𝑥
= ∙3 + ∙3
𝑑𝑥 3 3√𝑥 2 √𝑥 3 3√𝑥 2 √𝑥
3 3
𝑑𝑦 1 √𝑎𝑥 1 √𝑎 2 𝑥
𝑑𝑥
=3 𝑥
+ 3 𝑥
3 3 2
𝑑𝑦 √𝑎𝑥 √𝑎 𝑥
𝑑𝑥
= 3𝑥
+ 3𝑥
3 3
𝑑𝑦 √𝑎𝑥 + √𝑎2 𝑥
=
𝑑𝑥 3𝑥