Concept of Differentiation: Differentiation is a concept from calculus, which is a branch of mathematics. It is the process of finding the derivative of a function, which represents the rate at which the function's value changes at any given point. To differentiate a function means to calculate its derivative.
Derivative Interpretation: The derivative of a function at a certain point can be thought of as the slope of the tangent line to the function's graph at that point. It gives us an instantaneous rate of change of the function with respect to one of its variables.
Limit Definition: To find the derivative of a function, we use the limit definition of the derivative if we are dealing with the basic principles. For a function f(x), the derivative f′(x) at a point x is given by the limit as h approaches zero of the difference quotient: hf(x+h)−f(x).
Differentiation Rules: In practice, differentiation often involves applying rules such as the power rule, the product rule, the quotient rule, and the chain rule to find derivatives without resorting to the limit definition for every problem.
Power Rule Example: For example, using the power rule, the derivative of f(x)=xn with respect to x is f′(x)=n⋅x(n−1), where n is a constant and x is the variable.
Applications of Differentiation: Differentiation can be applied in various fields such as physics, engineering, economics, and any other field that requires the understanding of how a quantity changes in response to changes in another quantity.