Calculus Notes

Steven W. Walker September 14, 2011

Increasing and Decreasing Functions

A function f (x) with domain in the real numbers is increasing if f (x1 ) < f (x2 ) for all x1 < x2 (read left right) Decreasing is opposite. Power Functions A power function is a function of the form f (x) = xn for some n = 0, 1, 2, 3,. . . A polynomial is a sum of power functions with real coecients.

Inverse Functions

A function f is one to one (1-1) if it never takes on the same value twice, that is: f (x1 ) = f (x2 ) for every x1 = x2 If the graph is able to be intersected by a horizontal line more than once, f is not 1-1. Let f be a 1-1 function with the domain A and range B. The inverse, f 1 , has the domain B and range A and is dened by f 1 (y) = x if and only if f (x) = y NOTE: f (f 1(y)) = y and f 1 (f (x)) = x How to nd inverse functions 1.) Replace f(x) by y 2.) Solve for x in terms of y if possible 3.) Switch x and y

Examples f (x) = 2x + 3 x3 f 1 (x) = 2

Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

Denition: An exponential function is a function of the form f (x) = ax for some positive real number a. Laws of Exponents a and b are positive reals and x and y are any reals. 1.) ax+y = ax ay x 2.) axy = ay a 3.) (ax )y = axy 4.) ax bx = (ab)x

Inverse Function of ax The inverse of ax is loga x, but what is loga x? If a > 0 and a = 1 the inverse of ax is called the logarithmic function with base a and is denoted by f 1 (x) = ax . NOTE: a = 1 due to the required 1-1 ness to invert ax

Tangents and Velocity

Tangents: Tangent comes from the Latin tangens meaning touching. But how to dene the tangent from f (x)? Finding Tangents from f (x) Pick a pont (x1 , y1) on the graph of f (x) then compute the slope of the line through the desired point and another point (x2 , y2). The closer (x2 , y2) is to the point (x1 , y1 ), the better the approximation is. To compute an exact tangent line, a limit is needed so the points become innitely close. y2 y1 lim x2 x1 x2 x1 2

Velocities Given an object is moving in a straight line, we know the average velocity over a range of time t1 to t2 . If p(t) is the position function, the average velocity is p(t2 ) p(t1 ) t2 t1 Example Galileo showed that the distance fallen from the starting point by any freely falling body is given by s(t) = 4.9t2 where t is the seconds of falling and s(t) is distance is metres. The average velocity for small time periods of the object is s(t1 ) s(t) t1 t At t = 5seconds the instantaneous velocity is lim
t5

s(t) s(5) t5

Limits
xa

A limit is written: lim f (x) = L where the limit of f (x) as x approaches a equals L if we can make the values of f (x) arbitrarily close to L by taking x suciently close to a but not equal to a. For example: x1 lim 2 x1 x 1 One way to guess L is to gather data. Make a table of values on a calculator. The data will approach a single value as you get closer to a. In this 1 case, the example approaches 2 . NOTE: Your calculator cannot always be trusted.

sin x x0 x In this example, you can simply think about the limiting behaviour. Geometry is especially important in this case. If you think back to the unit circle where x is in radians, and draw a line from where the radius touches the circle to the x axis, you can determine that sin x approaches x, the length of the arc from angle x. Therefore, the solution to this limit is 1. lim One-Sided Limits A one-sided limit is written:
xa

Example 2:

lim f (x) = L

for the Left Hand Limit and

lim f (x) = L

for the Right Hand Limit. The directional designations refer to the side from which a limit approaches. In a left hand limit grows closer to a as x a while the right hand limit grows closer to a while x a. NOTE: One sided limits can exist even when a traditional limit does not. A full limit can only exist when
x a

lim f (x) = L = lim+ f (x)

Innite Limits An innite limit can be written:

lim f (x) =

Which means f (x) can be made arbitrarily large by taking x suciently close to a, but not equal to a. For example: 1 x2 The domain of this function is (, 0) (0, ), therefore g(x) =
x0

lim g(x) =

NOTE: Innite limits can be used to dene vertical asymptotes. 4

Limit Laws Suppose C is a constant and limxa f (x) and limxa g(x) both exist. Then: SUM/DIFFERENCE LAW
xa

lim [f (x) g(x)] = lim f (x) lim g(x)

CONSTANT MULTIPLE LAW:

lim [C f (x)] = C lim f (x)

PRODUCT LAW:
xa

lim [f (x) g(x)] = lim f (x) lim g(x)

QUOTIENT LAW: limxa f (x) f (x) = if lim = 0 xa xa g(x) limxa g(x) lim

(2 + h)3 8 h0 h This limit will compute the slope of the tangent line to f (x) = x3 at the point(2, 8). First, expand the cube: lim 12h + 6h2 + h3 8 + 12h + 6h2 + h3 8 = lim = lim (12 + 6h + h2 ) h0 h0 h0 h h lim Then simplify with limit laws:
h0

Example:

lim 12 + lim 6h + lim h2 = 12 + 0 + 0 = 12

Direct Substitution Property If f is a polynomial or a rational function and a is in the domain of f , then:
xa

lim f (x) = f (x) 5

Two Useful Theorems The Comparison Theorem: If f (x) g(x) when x is near a and limxa f (x) and limxa g(x) both exist, then:
xa

lim f (x) lim g(x)

The Squeeze Theorem: If f (x) g(x) h(x) when x is near a and the limits are equal, then so are the functions.

Continuity

NOTE: Limits with polynomials are easy because of direct substitution. This property holds on continuous functions. A function f (x) is continuous at a value a if limxa f (x) = f (a). This assumes: 1) f is dened at a 2) limxa f (x) exists If f is not continuous at a but f is dened near a we say f is discontinuous at a. Types of Discontinuities A) An innite discontinuity is a vertical asymptote. B) A jump discontinuity leaps between y values. C) A removable discontinuity is a hole. NOTE: One sided continuity can be dened as well. Example: Let f (x) be the greatest integer function. This function is continuous from the left of every integer. A function f (x) is continuous over the interval I if f is continuous at each point in I. Use one sided limits on endpoints.

Theorems

What is continuous? If f and g are continuous at a and c is a constant, the following are continuous at a: 6

i) f + g ii) f g iii) c f iv) f g v) f where g(a) = 0 g

Intermediate Value Theorem Say f is continuous over the interval [a, b]. Let N be in (f (a), f (b)) Then there is some c in (a, b) such that f (c) = N.

Derivatives

Given a function f (x) dening a curve y = f (x), the tangent line to f through the point (a, f (a)) is the line through (a, f (a)) with slope f (x) f (a) xa xa lim provided the limit exists. Alternatively: f (a + h) f (a) h0 h lim Instantaneous velocity can be determined using a derivative such that f (t + h) f (t) h0 h lim where f (t) is a function giving the position of an object at t seconds. The derivative is denoted f (a). Some examples of derivatives include velocity, power and marginal cost. Modelling Say y = f (x) is a quantity depending on another quantity x. If x changes from x1 to x2 , write x = x2 x1 , the change in x, y = f (x2 ) f (x1 ) is the corresponding change in y then the dierence quotient is f (x2 ) f (x1 ) y = x x2 x1 7

In this case, the instantaneous rate of change can be found by computing the limit y lim x0 x

Derivative as a Function

For a function f (x) we construct a new function f (x) called the derivative of f by setting f (x + h) f (x) f (x) = lim h0 h where the limit exists. For example: f (x) = 2x 1 In this case f (x) = 2 as the slope of all tangent lines is 2. NOTE: When f (x) = mx + b, f (x) = m

Example 2: If f (x) = |x| nd f (x). In this case: f (x) = x if x 0 x if x < 0

This function is not dierentiable at x = 0 because:

lim +

|x| 0 |x| 0 = lim x0 x 0 x0

Because of cases like this, f (x) does not always have the same domain of f (x) and is not necessarily continuous over its entire domain. Granted, if a function is dierentiable then it MUST be continuous. A function is only dierentiable at a point a if f (a) exists. The function is dierentiable on the interval I if it is dierentiable at every point in I. Note that I can be: (a, b), [a, b], (a, b], [a, b)

Notation f (x) = y = dy df d = = f (x) = Df (x) = Dx f (x) = y = f dx dx dx

3 Ways to Violate Dierentiability A function is not dierentiable if it contains a corner/cusp, discontinuities, or a vertical tangent line. Higher Derivatives The second derivative of f (x), generally denoted f (x) is the derivative of f (x). The third derivative of f is f (x), the derivative of f (x). At higher powers the notation is general f (n) (x) where (n) denotes the derivative. Fundamental Example f (t) = position at time t f (t) = instantaneous velocity at time t f (t) = instantaneous acceleration at time t f (t) = jerk at time t