Philippine Handbook Differential

Calculus
in Chemical Engineering Yolanda Brondial

A4. DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS

A4.1. FUNCTION

A function is a set of ordered pairs such that no two distinct pairs have the same first
coordinates. A function is represented as y = f (x), where x is the independent variable and y,
the dependent variable.

The set of all admissible values of x is called the domain of the function and the set of
all resulting values of y are called the range of the function.

1. Absolute-Value Function is denoted by y  a and that

a  a if a  0
a  a if a  0

2. Step Function – a function represented by two or more functions taken as one function.
An example is :
1  x if x  1
f ( x)   2 
 x if x  1 

3. Greatest Integer Function – defined by [x] which is equal to the largest integer that is
less than or equal to x. For example:

[5] = 5; [5.9] = 5;    3 ;  2   1 ;   13   1
4. Even Function – If x is replaced by –x in the function and the function remains the same
or does not change, then the function is an even function and it is symmetrical with
respect to the y-axis. It means f(-x) = f(x).

5. Odd Function – If x is replaced by –x in the function and the function f(-x) = -f(x), then
the function is an odd function. This function is symmetrical with the origin.

6. Increasing Function – a function is called increasing on an interval I if f(-x1) < f(x2)

whenever x1 < x2 in I. This means that as the value of x increases, the value of y increases.

7. Decreasing Function – a function is called decreasing on I if f(-x1) > f(x2) whenever x1 <
x2 in I. This means that as the value of x increases, the value of y decreases.

8. Linear Function – when y is a linear function of x, the graph of the function is a line and
the linear function is represented as y = mx + b where m is the slope of the line and b is
the y-intercept.

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9. Polynomial Function – a function P is called a polynomial if

P( x )  a n x n  a n 1 x n 1  .....  a 2 x 2  a1 x  a 0

where n is a nonnegative integer and the number a0, a1, a2…… an are constants
called the coefficient of the polynomial.

10. Rational Function – It is a ratio of two polynomials:

P( x)
f ( x)  where P and Q are polynomials
Q( x)

11. Composite Function – Given two functions f and g, the composite function f  g (also
called the composite of f and g) is defined by ( f  g )( x)  f  g ( x) . The notation f  g
means that the function g is applied first and then f is applied second. In general,
f g  g f .

A4.2. LIMITS

Let f(x) be a function of x and a be a constant. Suppose there is a number L such that,
to make the value of f(x) as close to L as maybe desired, it is sufficient to choose a value of x
close enough to a, so we may say that the limit of f(x) as x approaches a is L.

lim f ( x)  L
x a

This limit is obtained whether we choose a value close to a but greater than a or close
to a but less than a.

1. One-Sided Limits

The xlim
a 
f ( x) is the right-hand limit of f(x) as x approaches a or it is the limit of f(x)
as x approaches a from the right. This simply means that the value of x is greater than a.

The xlim
a
f ( x) is the left-hand limit of f(x) as x approaches a or it is the limit of f(x) as
x approaches a from the left. This simply means that the value of x is less than a.

2. Infinite Limits

Let f be a function defined on both sides of a, except possibly at a itself. Then,

lim f ( x)   means that the values of f(x) can be made arbitrarily large by taking x
xa
sufficiently close to a, but not equal to a.

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On the other hand, the lim f ( x )   means that the values of f(x) can be made
xa

arbitrarily large negative by taking x sufficiently close to a, but not equal to a.

3. Limits at Infinity

Let f be a function defined in some interval (a,  ). Then

lim f ( x)  L means that
x 

the values of f(x) can be made arbitrarily close to L by taking x sufficiently large.

Similarly, xlim f ( x)  L means that the values of f(x) can be made arbitrarily close
 

to L by taking x sufficiently large negative.

NOTE: The line y = L is called a horizontal asymptote of the curve y = f(x) if either
lim f ( x)  L or lim f ( x )  L .
x  x  

LIMIT LAWS

lim f ( x) and lim g ( x ) exist. Then

Suppose that c is a constant and the limits x a xa

1. xlim cc (A4 – 1)

a

2. xlim kf ( x)  k lim f ( x) (A4 – 2)

a x a

3. xlim  f ( x)  g ( x)  lim f ( x)  lim g ( x) (A4 – 3)

a x a x a

4. lim f ( x )  g ( x )   lim f ( x )   lim g ( x ) (A4 – 4)

xa  x a   xa 
lim f ( x )
f ( x ) x a g ( x)  0
5. lim  ; if xlim
a (A4 – 5)
x a g ( x ) lim g ( x)
x a
n
6. lim  f ( x) n   lim f ( x)  where n = any positive integer (A4 – 6)
xa  xa 

7. xlim f ( x)  lim f ( x) (A4 – 7)

a x a

A4.3. CONTINUITY

A function is said to be continuous if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) f(a)
lim f ( x) exists and (3) f(a) = lim f ( x) .
exists, (2) x a xa
When any of the above conditions is not satisfied, the function is said to be
discontinuous.
Types of Discontinuity

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1. Missing Point Discontinuity – this is also called removable because the discontinuity can
be removed by factoring. It is obtained when

(a) f(a) is indeterminate which means f ( a )  00 or f(a) 



lim f ( x) exists
(b) x a

(c) xlim f ( x)  f (a)

a

2. Infinite Discontinuity- a function has infinite discontinuity when f ( a )   and

lim f ( x)   .
x a

3. Finite Jump Discontinuity – a function has a finite jump discontinuity if xlim

a 
f ( x ) exists

and xlim f ( x) exists but the lim f ( x)  lim f ( x) .

a  x a xa

A4.4. DERIVATIVE

Definition: If f is a function, the derivative of the function f, denoted by f’ is represented as

f  x  x   f  x 
f ( x)  lim
x0 x

A function is differentiable if the limit exists.

1. Differentiation (Using the three-step rule)

For the function y=f(x), substitute x with x  x and y with y  y so that

y f  x  x   f ( x )
y  f  x  x   f ( x ) . Then divide by x so that  and then take the
x x
limit of both sides as x approaches zero.

y f  x  x   f ( x )
 lim  lim
x 0 x  x  0 x
y dy
but lim 
x 0 x dx

dy f  x  x   f ( x)
  lim
dx x0 x

Example: Find the derivative of y  cos x

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dy cos x  x   cos x
 lim
dx x0 x

cos x cos x  sin x sin x  cos x

 lim
x 0 x
cos x1  cos x  sin x sin x
 lim   lim
x0 x x0 x
 lim   cos x   lim
 1  cos x 
 lim sin x  lim
sin x
x0 x0 x x0 x0 x

1  cos x   0 sin x
1
but lim and lim
x0 x x0 x

dy
  (cos x)(0)  sin x (1)   sin x
dx

2. Derivatives of Algebraic Operations

d (c )
1.  0 ; c = constant (A4 – 8)
dx
d (u n ) du
2.  nu n 1  (A4 – 9)
dx dx
n
d (x )
 nx n 1 (A4 – 10)
dx
d (cu n ) cd (u n ) du
3.   cnu n 1  (A4 – 11)
dx dx dx
d df ( x) dg ( x) dh( x)
4.  f ( x )  g ( x)  h( x)    (A4 – 12)
dx dx dx dx
d du dv dw
 u  v  w    (A4 – 13)
dx dx dx dx
d (uv) dv du
5. u v (A4 – 14)
dx dx dx
d (uvw) dw dv du
 uv  uw  vw (A4 – 15)
dx dx dx dx
du dv
6.  
d uv v u
(A4 – 16)
 dx 2 dx
dx v

3. Implicit Differentiation

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Some functions cannot be expressed explicitly as one variable in terms of another
variable as in the example below. In such case, we can use the method of implicit
differentiation. This consists of differentiating both sides of the equation with respect to x and
dy
then solving the resulting equation for y’ or .
dx

dy 2 5 x
Example: Find of 3x  y  2 xy  y  5
dx

dy
yx
dy dy dx  0
6x  5 y 4  2x  2y  2
dx dx y

Multiplying both sides by y2:

dy dy dy
6 xy 2  5 y 6  2 xy 2  2 y3  y  x
dx dx dx
dy
dx
 
5 y 6  2 xy 2  x  y  2 y 3  6 xy 2

dy


y 1  2 y 2  6 xy 
dx 5 y 6  2 xy 2  x

4. Derivatives of Transcendental Functions

A. Trigonometric Functions

d  sin u  du
1.  cos u  (A4 – 17)
dx dx
d  cos u  du
2.   sin u  (A4 – 18)
dx dx
d  tan u  du
3.  sec 2 u  (A4 – 19)
dx dx
d  cot u  du
4.   csc 2 u  (A4 – 20)
dx dx
d  sec u  du
5.  sec u  tan u (A4 – 21)
dx dx
d  csc u  du
6.   csc u  cot u (A4 – 22)
dx dx

B. Inverse Trigonometric Functions

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1.

d sin 1 u

du
dx (A4 – 23)
dx 1  u2

2.

d cos 1 u


du
dx (A4 – 24)
dx 1 u2

3. d 
tan 1
u
du
 dx2
 (A4 – 25)
dx 1 u

4. d 
cot 1
u  du
  dx2 (A4 – 26)
dx 1 u

5.

d sec 1 u

du
dx (A4 – 27)
dx 2
u u 1

6.

d csc 1 u

du
dx (A4 – 28)
dx u u2 1

C. Logarithmic Functions

d  log a u  log a e du
1.   ; a  0, a  1 (A4 – 29)
dx u dx
d  ln u  1 du
2.   (A4 – 30)
dx u dx

D. Exponential Functions

1.
 
d au
 a u ln a 
du
(A4 – 31)
dx dx

2.
 
de u
 eu 
du
(A4 – 32)
dx dx

E. Hyperbolic Functions

d  sinh u  du
1.  cosh u  (A4 – 33)
dx dx
d  cosh u  du
2.  sinh u  (A4 – 34)
dx dx
d  tanh u  du
3.  sec h 2 u  (A4 – 35)
dx dx
d  coth u  du
4.   csc h 2 u  (A4 – 36)
dx dx
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d  sec hu  du
5.   sec hu  tanh u (A4 – 37)
dx dx
d  csc hu  du
6.   csc hu  coth u (A4 – 38)
dx dx

F. Inverse Hyperbolic Functions

du
1. 
d sinh 1 u dx

 (A4 – 39)
dx u2 1
du
2.  1
d cosh u
 dx ;
 u>1 (A4 – 40)
dx u2 1
du
3. 
d tanh u 1

 dx 2
; |u| < 1 (A4 – 41)
dx 1 u
du
4. d  coth 1 u  ; |u| > 1 (A4 – 42)
 dx 2
dx 1 u
du
5. 
d sec h 1u
 dx 
dx u 1 u2
(A4 – 43)
du
6. 
d csc h 1u
 dx  (A4 – 44)
dx u u2 1

Example: Find
dy
dx
 
for y  sin x 2  5 ln 3 1  x 2 
dy
dx
 
 sin x 2  5  3
1
2

1
3

1 x2  2 3
  2 x    ln 3 1  x 2 cos x 2  52 x
 
1 x


2 x  sin x 2  5 


 ln 3 1  x 2  cos x 2  5   

3  1  x 2 3
  



dy e  cos 4 x
Example: Find for y 
dx 34 x

  
dy 3 4 x e  cos 4 x  sin 4 x  4   e  cos 4 x 3 4 x  ln 3 4 

 
dx 34 x
2
 
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dy

43  e
4x
 sin 4 x  ln 3
 cos 4 x

dx 3 
4x 2

dy 4e  cos 4 x  sin 4 x  ln 3

dx 34 x

5. Derivative of a Variable Raised to Another Variable

If y  x x , get the ln of both sides, so

ln y  x ln x

Getting the derivatives of both sides of the equation

1 dy 1
  x   ln x
y dx x
dy
 y 1  ln x 
dx
dy
  x x 1  ln x 
dx

6. Higher Derivatives
dy
The first derivative of y  f (x) is which is also expressed as D x y or y’ or
dx
f’(x). The derivative of the first derivative is the second derivative and is denoted by
d2y
 D x2 y  y   f ( x ) .
dx 2
The first derivative is interpreted as the slope of the original curve while the second
derivative can be interpreted as the rate of change of the slope of the original curve. In
general, the second derivative can be interpreted as a range of change of a rate of change.
The most familiar example of this is acceleration.

If s  f (t ) is the position function of an object that moves in a straight line, its first
derivative represents the velocity v  f (t ) . The instantaneous rate of change of velocity
ds
with respect to time is called the acceleration a  f (t ) . Thus if s  f (t ) and v  ,
dt
dv d  ds  d 2 s
a    . The acceleration is the second derivative of the position function.
dt dt  dt  dt 2

7. Maximum and Minimum Values

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Some of the most important application of derivatives are optimization problems, in
which the optimal value or the best value is obtained. This refers to finding the maximum or
minimum values of a function.

A function f has an absolute maximum or global maximum if f  c   f  x  for all x in

the domain (D). The number f(c) is called the maximum value of f on D. Similarly, f has an
absolute minimum at c if f  c   f  x  for all x in D and the number f(c) is called the
minimum value of f on D. The maximum and minimum values of f are called the extreme
values of f or the critical values of f.

Y
C y  f (x)

G
A F

E
D

B X
a c d b

Figure A4-1 shows the graph

Figure of the
A4-1. function
Graph y=
of y -= f(x). The points A, B, C, and D are
f(x)
called critical points on (a, b). These critical points are points where the tangent lines are
horizontal. Point C is the absolute maximum point and is called maxima while point B is the
absolute minimum point and is called minima. However, the critical point A is a relative
maxima on (a, c) while point D is a relative minima on (d, b). Points E, F and G are called
points of inflection.

8. Critical Point (CP)

In Figure A4-1, the critical points are obtained by getting the first derivative y’ and
equating it to zero to find the x values of the CP’s. There are two tests to determine whether
the critical point is a maximum or a minimum.

First Derivative Test:

1. Choose a point just before and a point just after CP
2. Substitute the points into y’.

3. a) If y’ changes from positive to negative, the critical point is a maximum point.

b) If y’ changes from negative to positive, the crtitical point is a minimum point.

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c) If y’ does not change in sign, i.e., f’ is positive on both sides of CP or negative on
both sides of CP, then there is no maximum or minimum point at CP.

Second Derivative Test:

1. Find the y” of the curve.
2. Substitute the CP into y”.
3. a) If y” is positive, the critical point is a minimum point.
b) If y” is negative, the critical point is a maximum point.
c) If y” is zero, the test fails.

9. Point of Inflection (PI)

It is a point on the curve y = f(x) where there is a change in the direction of the
concavity of the curve. It means that the curve changes from concave downward to concave
upward or from concave downward. It is obtained by getting y” of the curve and equating it
to zero to find the x-values of the points of inflection. It is a point where y’ does not change
in sign just before and just after it. In figure A4-1 above points E, F and G can be verified as
points of inflection by two methods.

First Derivative Test

Choose a point just before and just after the point of inflection and substitute into y’ of
the curve. If y’ doe not change, i.e., positive to positive or negative to negative, then the
point is really a point of inflection.

Second Derivative Test

Choose a point just before and just after the point of inflection and substitute into y” of
the curve. If y” changes from positive to negative or from negative to positive, the point is
really a point of inflection.

10. Concavity of the Curve

If the graph of y = f(x) lies above all its tangents on an interval I, then it is called
concave upward on I. This means that the slope of the tangent line as in Figure A4-2a
increases.

If the graph of y = f(x) lies below all its tangents on an interval I, then it is called concave
downward on I. This means the slope of the tangent line as shown in Figure A4-2b
decreases.

Concavity Test

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1. If y” > 0 for all x in I, then the graph of f is concave upward on I.
2. If y” < 0 for all x in I, then the graph of f is concave downward on I.

Y B Y
B

A
A
X X

(a) Concave upward (b) Concave downward

11. Indeterminate Forms Figure A4-2. Concavity of the Curves

0 
Forms of the types , , 0  ,   ,1 , 0 0 and  0 are called indeterminate
0 
0 
forms. L’Hospital’s Theorem is used for or  form. According to this theorem, if
0
f ( x) 0  f ( x) f ( x)
lim  or , then the lim  lim . This means that the limit of the
x 0 g ( x ) 0  x 0 g ( x ) x0 g ( x )
quotient is equal to the limit of the derivative of the numerator over the derivative of the
denominator.

12. Partial Derivative

If z  f ( x, y ) , x maybe allowed to vary while y is held constant or y maybe allowed

to vary while x is held constant. If x varies while y is held fixed, z is a function of x and its
derivative with respect to x is:

z f  x  x, y   f  x, y 
f x  x, y    lim (A4 – 45)
x x0 x

If y varies while x is held fixed, z is a function of y and its derivative with respect to y
z f  x, y  y   f  x, y 
is f y  x, y    lim (A4 – 46)
y y 0 y

If z is defined implicitly as a function of x and y by the relation F ( x, y, z )  0 , the

z z
partial derivatives and y maybe formed using implicit differentiation.
x

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13. Geometric Interpretation of Partial Derivatives

Z Z
z z
x y
B
B

Y A Y
A
C
X C X

(a) (b)
Figure A4-3. Geometric Interpretation of Partial Derivatives

Suppose the function z = f(x,y) is graphed as shown in Figure A4-3. As x varies while
z
y is fixed, then is represented as the slope of the tangent line to the curve BC of the
x
z
shaded section ABC in Figure A4-3a. Similarly, as y varies while x is fixed, then y is
represented as the slope of the tangent line to the curve BC of the shaded section ABC as
shown in Figure A4-3b.

14. Higher Partial Derivatives

z z z z
There are two first partial derivatives, and y . When or y is
x x
differentiated with respect to x and with respect to y, four second partial derivatives are
2z 2z 2z 2z
formed, namely , , and . If each second partial derivative is
x 2 yx xy y 2
differentiated with respect to x and with respect to y, eight third partial derivatives are
obtained.

15. Order of Differentiation

The order of differentiation is immaterial for any number of differentiations or variables

provided the function and the appropriate derivatives are continuous. Therefore, for
z  f ( x, y ) , it follows that

4z 4z 4z 4z 4z 4z

    
x 2 y 2 y 2 x 2 yxyx xyxy xyyx yxxy

A4 - 13
Philippine Handbook Differential
Calculus
in Chemical Engineering Yolanda Brondial
16. Chain Rule
z z
If z  f ( x, y ) and
and y are continuous and that x  f ( r , s ) and y  f (r , s ) .
x
x x y y
If , , and all exist, then z can be expressed as a function of r and s and
r s r s
the following formulas hold.

z z x z y
   
r x r y r
(A4 – 47)
z z x z y
   
s x s y s
(A4 – 48)

17. Differentiation of Composite Functions

Definition of a Composite Function of Two Variables

If f is a function of a single variable and g is a function of two variables, then the

composite function f  g is the function of two variables defined by

 f  g  x, y   f  g  x, y  
If f is a differentiable function of a single variable x such that y  f (x) and f is
defined implicitly by the equation F ( x, y )  0 , then if F is differentiable and F ( x, y )  0

dy F ( x, y )
 x (A4 – 49)
dx F y  x, y 

concavity test, A4 - 12
continuity, A4 - 3
critical point, A4 - 10

A4 - 14
Philippine Handbook Differential
Calculus
in Chemical Engineering Yolanda Brondial
derivative, A4 - 4
higher derivatives, A4 - 9
differential calculus, A4 - 1
differentiation, A4 - 4
domain, A4 - 1
function, A4 - 1
absolute-value, A4 - 1
exponential, A4 - 7
hyperbolic, A4 - 7
logarithmic, A4 - 7
onometric, A4 - 6
step, A4 - 1
transcendental, A4 - 6
implicit differentiation, A4 - 6
limits, A4 - 2
laws, A4 - 7
points of inflection., A4 - 10
range, A4 - 1

A4 - 15