MTH122

WEEK 5a: The Derivative as the Limit of Rate of Change

Average rate of change → Instantaneous rate of change → Derivative

Lesson objectives / outcomes
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
1 explain the idea of rate of change;
2 compute the average rate of change of a function over an interval;
3 explain why the derivative is defined as a limit;
4 state the derivative of f (x ) from first principles;
5 interpret the derivative as the slope of the tangent;
6 use first principles to find the derivative of simple functions;
7 distinguish between average rate of change and instantaneous rate of change;
8 identify points at which a function may fail to have a derivative.

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Why do we need derivatives?

In many problems, one quantity changes as another changes.

Examples:
distance changes with time,
cost changes with quantity,
population changes with time,
temperature changes with time.
We often want to know: how fast is the change happening?
That question leads to the idea of a rate of change.

Key idea
The derivative is the mathematical tool used to measure instantaneous rate of change.

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What is a rate of change?
A rate of change compares:
change in output to change in input.

General idea
If y = f (x ), then over an interval,

change in y
rate of change = .
change in x

Simple example
If a car moves from 20 km to 100 km in 2 hours, then the average speed is
100 − 20 80
= = 40 km/h
2 2

Remember: At this stage, this is an average rate of change, not yet the derivative.
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Average rate of change of a function
Suppose y = f (x ). Take two input values x1 and x2 .
Average rate of change
f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
.
x2 − x 1

Numerator:
f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
is the change in output.
Denominator:
x2 − x 1
is the change in input.

Interpretation
This gives the slope of the secant line joining the two points (x1 , f (x1 )) and (x2 , f (x2 )).
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Geometric meaning: secant line

Secant line

P
x

P and Q are two points on the graph.

The line through them is called a secant line.
Its slope gives the average rate of change.
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Worked example: average rate of change
Find the average rate of change of
f (x ) = x 2
from x = 1 to x = 3.
1 First compute the function values:
f (1) = 12 = 1, f (3) = 32 = 9.
2 Use the formula:
f (x2 ) − f (x1 ) f (3) − f (1)
= .
x2 − x 1 3−1
3 Substitute:
9−1 8
= = 4.
2 2

Answer
The average rate of change is 4.
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But what if we want the rate of change at one point only?
Average rate of change uses two points. But sometimes we want the rate of change at exactly one
point, say at x = a.
Example: speed of a car at exactly 10 seconds.
Example: slope of a curve at exactly one point.
Example: marginal cost at a specific production level.

Problem
With only one point, we cannot directly form a secant line.

Key idea
So we take a second point very close to the first one, then let that second point move toward the first.
That is why we need a limit.

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Introducing a nearby point
Let the point of interest be x .
Take another nearby point:
x + h,
where h is a small change in x .

Average rate between the two nearby points

f (x + h) − f (x ) f (x + h) − f (x )
= .
(x + h) − x h

This is still an average rate of change.

But now the interval is very small.
If we let h → 0, the secant slope approaches the tangent slope.

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Definition of the derivative from first principles
The derivative of f (x ) at the point x is defined by

f (x + h) − f (x )
f ′ (x ) = lim ,
h→0 h
provided the limit exists.
What each part means
f (x + h) − f (x ): change in the function value,
h: change in the input,
f (x + h) − f (x )
: average rate of change,
h
lim : makes the interval shrink to zero.
h→0

Remember
The derivative is the limit of average rate of change.
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Geometric meaning: from secant to tangent

Tangent Secant

P
x

Start with two points P and Q.

The secant line gives average rate of change.
As Q moves toward P, the secant approaches the tangent.
The tangent slope is the derivative.
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Notation for the derivative
If y = f (x ), the derivative may be written as:
dy
f ′ (x ), y ′, .
dx

Meaning
All these symbols represent the rate of change of y with respect to x .

Example
If
y = x 2,
dy
then its derivative is dx = 2x .

Remember
dy
When you see , read it as “derivative of y with respect to x ”.
dx 12 / 35
Example 1: Find the derivative of f (x ) = x 2 from first principles
Using the limit definition,
f (x + h) − f (x )
f ′ (x ) = lim .
h→0 h

Step 1: Evaluate f (x + h)
f (x + h) = (x + h)2

Step 2: Expand the expression

(x + h)2 = x 2 + 2xh + h2

Step 3: Compute f (x + h) − f (x )
f (x + h) − f (x ) = x 2 + 2xh + h2 − x 2 = 2xh + h2

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Example 1: Find the derivative of f (x ) = x 2 from first principles (continued)
From the previous step,
f (x + h) − f (x ) = 2xh + h2 .

Step 4: Substitute into the difference quotient

f (x + h) − f (x ) 2xh + h2
=
h h

Step 5: Simplify
f (x + h) − f (x ) h(2x + h)
= = 2x + h
h h

Step 6: Take the limit as h → 0

f ′ (x ) = lim (2x + h) = 2x
h→0

∴ f ′ (x ) = 2x 14 / 35
Derivative at a specific point
If
f ′ (x ) = 2x ,
then at x = 3,
f ′ (3) = 2(3) = 6.

Meaning
At x = 3, the slope of the tangent to the graph of y = x 2 is

6.

Interpretation
Near x = 3, the function is changing at about 6 units of y for each 1 unit of x .

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Example 2: Find the derivative of f (x ) = 3x + 5 from first principles
Using the definition,
f (x + h) − f (x )
f ′ (x ) = lim .
h→0 h

Step 1: Evaluate f (x + h)
f (x + h) = 3(x + h) + 5 = 3x + 3h + 5

Step 2: Compute f (x + h) − f (x )
f (x + h) − f (x ) = (3x + 3h + 5) − (3x + 5) = 3h

Step 3: Substitute into the difference quotient

f (x + h) − f (x ) 3h
= =3
h h
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Example 2: (solution continued)
From the previous step,
f (x + h) − f (x )
= 3.
h

Step 4: Take the limit as h → 0

f ′ (x ) = lim 3 = 3
h→0

∴ f ′ (x ) = 3

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 1
Example 3: Find the derivative of f (x ) = from first principles
x
Using the definition,
f (x + h) − f (x )
f ′ (x ) = lim .
h→0 h

Step 1: Evaluate f (x + h)
1
f (x + h) =
x +h

Step 2: Compute f (x + h) − f (x )
1 1
f (x + h) − f (x ) = −
x +h x

Step 3: Simplify the expression

1 1 x − (x + h) −h
− = =
x +h x x (x + h) x (x + h)
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Example 3: (solution continued)
From the previous step,
−h
f (x + h) − f (x ) = .
x (x + h)

Step 4: Substitute into the difference quotient

f (x + h) − f (x ) −h 1 1
= · =−
h x (x + h) h x (x + h)

Step 5: Take the limit as h → 0

 
1 1
f ′ (x ) = lim − =−
h→0 x (x + h) x2

1
∴ f ′ (x ) = −
x2
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Physical interpretation: velocity
Suppose position is given by
s = f (t).

Average velocity over a time interval

f (t + h) − f (t)
.
h

Instantaneous velocity
f (t + h) − f (t)
v (t) = lim = f ′ (t).
h→0 h

Meaning
The derivative of position with respect to time gives velocity.

Remember
Derivative = instantaneous rate of change. 20 / 35
Economic interpretation: marginal change
If
C (x )
is a cost function, then
dC
dx
measures how cost changes when output changes.

Interpretation
C ′ (x )
is called the marginal cost.

Meaning
It tells us approximately how much the total cost changes when one more unit is produced.
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A note on differentiability
A function is said to be differentiable at a point if it has a derivative at that point.
Important idea
If a function is differentiable at a point, then it must also be continuous at that point.

But be careful
A function may be continuous at a point and still fail to be differentiable there.

Example
The function
f (x ) = |x |
is continuous at x = 0, but it is not differentiable at that point.

Remember
If a function is differentiable, then it is continuous. But a continuous function may still not be
differentiable. 22 / 35
Why f (x ) = |x | is not differentiable at x = 0

For y
f (x ) = |x |, 3

the graph has a sharp corner at x = 0.

2
Slope from the left
1
As we approach 0 from the left, the slope is −1
x
Slope from the right −2 −1 1 2
As we approach 0 from the right, the slope is 1 Left slope: −1
Right slope: 1
Sharp corner at x = 0
What this means
Since the slope from the left is not equal to the slope
from the right, the derivative at x = 0 does not exist.

Conclusion
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Common mistakes students make

1 Confusing average rate of change with instantaneous rate of change.

2 Forgetting that
(x + h)2 = x 2 + 2xh + h2 .
3 Cancelling h incorrectly before simplifying.
4 Substituting h = 0 too early.
5 Forgetting that the derivative is a limit.
6 Thinking derivative means only slope; it also means rate of change in many applications.

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Lesson summary

1 Average rate of change:

f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
.
x2 − x 1
2 Derivative from first principles:
f (x + h) − f (x )
f ′ (x ) = lim .
h→0 h
3 The derivative is the limit of average rate of change.
4 Geometrically, it is the slope of the tangent line.
5 Physically, it can represent velocity.
6 Economically, it can represent marginal change.

Key idea
The derivative is one of the central ideas in calculus because it measures how a quantity changes at an
instant.
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Practice exercises
Using first principles, find the derivative of each of the following:
1 f (x ) = x 2 + 3x
2 f (x ) = 5x − 7
3 f (x ) = x 3
1
4 f (x ) = √
x

Discussion question
What is the difference between:
f (x + h) − f (x ) f (x + h) − f (x )
and lim ?
h h→0 h

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 1
Solution: Find the derivative of f (x ) = √ from first principles
x
Using the definition,
f (x + h) − f (x )
f ′ (x ) = lim .
h→0 h

Step 1: Evaluate f (x + h)
1
f (x + h) = √
x +h

Step 2: Form f (x + h) − f (x )
1 1
f (x + h) − f (x ) = √ −√
x +h x

Step 3: Substitute into the difference quotient

√1 − √1
f (x + h) − f (x ) x +h x
=
h h
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 1
Solution: Find the derivative of f (x ) = √ from first principles (continued)
x
From the previous step,
√1 − √1
f (x + h) − f (x ) x +h x
= .
h h

Step 4: Combine the fractions in the numerator

√ √
√1 √1
x − x +h √ √
x +h
− x
√ √
x x +h x − x +h
= = √ √
h h h x x +h

Step 5: Rationalise the numerator

√ √ √ √
x − x +h x + x +h
√ √ ·√ √
h x x +h x + x +h
x − (x + h)
= √ √ √ √
h x x + h ( x + x + h)
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 1
Solution: Find the derivative of f (x ) = √ from first principles (continued)
x
From the previous step,
x − (x + h)
√ √ √ √
h x x + h ( x + x + h)

Step 6: Simplify
x − (x + h) −h
√ √ √ √ = √ √ √ √
h x x + h ( x + x + h) h x x + h ( x + x + h)
1
= −√ √ √ √
x x + h ( x + x + h)

Step 7: Take the limit as h → 0

 
1
f ′ (x ) = lim−√ √ √ √
h→0 x x + h ( x + x + h)
1 1 1
= −√ √ √ √ = − √ = − 3/2
x x( x + x) 2x x 2x 29 / 35
Take-home assignment
MTH122 – Practice (to be submitted)

Attempt all questions carefully.

Use first principles unless otherwise stated.
Show all algebraic steps clearly.
Interpret your answers where required.

Instruction
Do not give final answers only. Your marks will depend strongly on the method, explanation and
interpretation.

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Take-home assignment A: First principles

1 Using first principles, find the derivative of

f (x ) = x 2 − 4x + 7.

2 Using first principles, find the derivative of

1
f (x ) = .
2x + 1
3 Using first principles, find the derivative of
√
f (x ) = x, x > 0.

4 Let
x2 − 9
f (x ) = , x ̸= 3.
x −3
Find f ′ (x ), and then discuss what happens near x = 3.
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Take-home assignment B: Motion and interpretation
A particle moves along a straight line with displacement

s(t) = t 3 − 6t 2 + 9t + 4.

1 Using the definition of derivative, find the instantaneous velocity function v (t).
2 Hence find
v (1), v (2), v (4).
3 Determine the time(s) when the particle is momentarily at rest.
4 State where the particle is moving forward and where it is moving backward.

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Take-home assignment C: Economic applications

1 A firm’s total cost function is

C (x ) = 2x 2 + 5x + 100.
Using first principles, find the marginal cost function

C ′ (x ).

2 Interpret the meaning of C ′ (10).

3 The revenue function of another firm is

R(x ) = 50x − x 2 .

Use first principles to find

R ′ (x ).
4 Find the production level x at which marginal revenue is zero, and explain the meaning of your
result.
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Take-home assignment D: Theory

1 Show from first principles that if

f (x ) = ax + b,
where a and b are constants, then
f ′ (x ) = a.
2 Show from first principles that if
f (x ) = x 3 ,
then
f ′ (x ) = 3x 2 .

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Take-home assignment E: Challenge problems

1 Using first principles, find the derivative of

x −1
f (x ) = .
x +1

2 If
f (x ) = x n ,
compute
f (x + h) − f (x )
h
′
for n = 4, and use your result to obtain f (x ).

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