Mathematics for Master Students
Which tasks gave you trouble? Bring them up now. We take the time to go through them before we move on to today’s topic.
Question
The roastery’s average cost is \(A(q) = \frac{200}{q} + 5\) per bag, demand is \(D(p) = 1200 - 20p\). What is \(A(D(50))\), and which price must be excluded from \(A(D(p))\)? Type both.
What does a €1 price rise add to the roastery’s revenue at €10, and at €30? Today: measure how steep a curve is at one point, then compute it in one line with the rules.
At price \(p\) the roastery earns \(R(p) = 1200p - 20p^2\) a week, Session 3's revenue parabola.
Question
The price goes up by €1. How much revenue does that add at \(p = 10\)? Guess in the chat.
\[R(11) - R(10) = 10780 - 10000 = 780\]
Now out loud: does a €1 rise at \(p = 30\) add more, less, or the same?
\[R(31) - R(30) = 17980 - 18000 = -20\]
Same €1 nudge, one curve: +€780 at €10, −€20 at €30. Why?
Steep at €10, flat at €30: the answer is the steepness of the curve where we stand.
The €780 was revenue change per €1 of price; divide by the step \(h\) for the difference quotient (the average rate of change):
\[\frac{R(10 + h) - R(10)}{h} \quad\longrightarrow\quad \frac{f(a+h) - f(a)}{h}\]
The difference quotient is the slope of the secant line through \((10, R(10))\) and \((20, R(20))\): \(\frac{16000 - 10000}{10} = 600\) euros of revenue per euro of price.
Question
For \(R(p) = 1200p - 20p^2\), what is the difference quotient from \(p = 10\) to \(p = 15\)? Type the number in the chat.
\[\frac{R(15) - R(10)}{5} = \frac{13500 - 10000}{5} = 700\]
A step of \(10\) gave \(600\) and a step of \(5\) gives \(700\): as the second price closes in on €10, the slope climbs. Where does it stop?
Zoom in on a smooth curve and it turns straight; the secant stops tilting. That straight line is the tangent at \(p = 10\), and its slope is the rate of change right at \(p = 10\).
The secant slope of revenue, \(\frac{R(p+h) - R(p)}{h}\), at the two prices from the start:
| \(h\) | \(10\) | \(5\) | \(1\) | \(0.1\) | \(0.01\) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at \(p = 10\) | \(600\) | \(700\) | \(780\) | \(798\) | \(799.8\) |
| at \(p = 30\) | \(-200\) | \(-100\) | \(-20\) | \(-2\) | \(-0.2\) |
The derivative of \(f\) at \(a\) is the instantaneous rate of change:
\[f'(a) = \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{f(a+h) - f(a)}{h}\]
Question
You are told \(f'(a) = -3\). What does that say?
| (a) \(f\) is falling at \(a\), slope \(-3\) | (b) The value \(f(a)\) equals \(-3\) |
| (c) \(f\) has a minimum at \(a\) | (d) \(f\) drops by exactly \(3\) up to \(a + 1\) |
(a): the derivative is a slope, and a negative slope means the graph falls at \(a\).
(d) is only approximately right, and only for a nearly straight graph: the tangent slope describes the trend at \(a\), not a whole unit further on. (b) confuses the value with the slope.
All of these mean the same thing:
| Notation | Read as |
|---|---|
| \(f'(x)\) | “\(f\) prime of \(x\)” |
| \(\dfrac{df}{dx}\) | “derivative of \(f\) with respect to \(x\)” |
| \(\dfrac{d}{dx} f(x)\) | “\(\frac{d}{dx}\) applied to \(f(x)\)” |
\(\frac{df}{dx}\) deliberately looks like a difference quotient: it reminds you where the derivative comes from. We mostly write \(f'(x)\); when the letters are not \(f\) and \(x\) (e.g. \(R(p)\)), the \(\frac{dR}{dp}\) form says with respect to what: € of revenue per € of price.
Question
A courier van covers 150 km in 2 hours. Halfway through, a speed camera clocks it at 90 km/h. Which statement is right?
| (a) The camera is wrong: the van averaged 75 km/h | (b) Both hold: 90 km/h is an average, 75 km/h a derivative |
| (c) Both hold: 75 km/h is an average, 90 km/h a derivative | (d) Just one can hold: a van has one speed per trip |
For \(x^2\) the difference quotient simplifies:
\[\frac{(x+h)^2 - x^2}{h} = \frac{2xh + h^2}{h} = 2x + h \;\to\; 2x \quad \text{as } h \to 0\]
The pattern holds for every power:
One rule decides what negative and fractional powers mean: multiplying adds exponents, \(x^a \cdot x^b = x^{a+b}\).
Rewrite as a power, differentiate, translate back. Sanity check: \(\frac{1}{x}\) falls, so its slope must be negative ✓
Question
Let \(f(x) = x^4\). What is \(f'(2)\)? Type the number.
\[f'(x) = 4x^3, \qquad f'(2) = 4 \cdot 8 = 32\]
Common Mistake
\(f'(2) = 4 \cdot 2^4 = 64\) forgets to reduce the exponent. Exponent down front and one less on top.
Differentiate \(g(x) = \dfrac{1}{x^2}\):
\[g(x) = x^{-2}, \qquad g'(x) = -2x^{-3} = -\frac{2}{x^3}\]
\[(c \cdot f)'(x) = c \cdot f'(x) \qquad (f + g)'(x) = f'(x) + g'(x)\]
Question
A cost function is \(C(q) = 0.1q^2 + 4q + 50\). What is \(C'(20)\)? Type the number.
\[C'(q) = 0.2q + 4, \qquad C'(20) = 4 + 4 = 8\]
At \(20\) units, cost grows at €8 per unit, while the fixed cost \(50\) has disappeared from \(C'\) entirely: it never reacts to output.
Revenue \(R(p) = p \cdot D(p)\): price along the bottom, bags sold up the side. Raise \(p = 10\) by \(h\):
Gains on bags still sold, losses on bags no longer sold, and a corner that shrinks like \(h^2\).
\[R'(p) = \underbrace{1 \cdot D(p)}_{\text{gain}} + \underbrace{p \cdot D'(p)}_{\text{loss}} = (1200 - 20p) - 20p = 1200 - 40p\]
Session 3 saw the roastery’s average cost \(A(q) = (200 + 5q)/q\) settle towards €5. Does it fall with every bag?
\[\left(\frac{f}{g}\right)'(x) = \frac{f'(x)\,g(x) - f(x)\,g'(x)}{\left(g(x)\right)^2}\]
The price sets the bags, the bags the cost: \(p \xrightarrow{\;D\;} q \xrightarrow{\;C\;} C(D(p))\)
Question
With \(D(p) = 1200 - 20p\) and \(C(q) = 200 + 5q\), the price rises by €1. How does the weekly cost change? Type the number.
When the outer function curves, its rate depends on what the inner one delivers. A warehouse: stock \(q(t) = 30 + 4t\) pallets after \(t\) weeks, storage cost \(H(q) = 0.2q^2\) in €.
Question
What is the derivative of \((3x + 2)^5\)?
| (a) \(5(3x + 2)^4\) | (b) \(15(3x + 2)^4\) |
| (c) \(5 \cdot 3^4\) | (d) \(15x\,(3x + 2)^4\) |
(b): outer derivative \(5(3x+2)^4\), times the inner derivative \(3\).
(a) forgot the inner factor, (c) differentiated the bracket away, (d) invented an \(x\): the inner derivative of \(3x + 2\) is the constant \(3\), nothing more. Forgetting the inner factor is the classic chain-rule slip.
Question
Which rules differentiate (i) \((5x+1)^4\), (ii) \(x^3(2x - 7)\), (iii) \(\frac{x}{x^2+1}\), in that order?
| (a) power · product · quotient | (b) chain · chain · quotient |
| (c) chain · product · power | (d) chain · product · quotient |
(d) is right:
Every \(b^x\) passes through \((0, 1)\). How steep is it there? \(2^x\) has slope \(0.69\), \(3^x\) has \(1.10\): which base has slope exactly \(1\)?
Between base \(2\) (0.69) and base \(3\) (1.10) sits the base with slope exactly \(1\): Euler’s number \(e \approx 2.718\).
Question
Differentiate \(f(x) = e^{2x}\) and \(g(x) = \ln(5x)\). Which pair is right?
| (a) \(2e^{2x}\) and \(\frac{1}{x}\) | (b) \(2e^{2x}\) and \(\frac{5}{x}\) |
| (c) \(2x\,e^{2x}\) and \(\frac{1}{x}\) | (d) \(e^{2x}\) and \(\frac{1}{5x}\) |
Building blocks
| \(f(x)\) | \(f'(x)\) |
|---|---|
| \(c\) | \(0\) |
| \(x^n\) | \(n x^{n-1}\) |
| \(e^x\) | \(e^x\) |
| \(a^x\) | \(a^x \ln a\) |
| \(\ln x\) | \(\frac{1}{x}\) |
Combinations
| Rule | Formula |
|---|---|
| Constant multiple | \((c f)' = c f'\) |
| Sum | \((f + g)' = f' + g'\) |
| Product | \((f g)' = f'g + f g'\) |
| Quotient | \(\left(\frac{f}{g}\right)' = \frac{f'g - f g'}{g^2}\) |
| Chain | \((f(g))' = f'(g) \cdot g'\) |
Session 3's advertising curve: \(S(a) = 100\sqrt{a}\) extra bags from a budget \(a\) (in €1000). Each extra €1000 added \(+100\), \(+41\), \(+32\), \(+27\).
The slope tells the same story, \(S'(a) = \dfrac{50}{\sqrt{a}}\):
| budget \(a\) | \(1\) | \(4\) | \(9\) |
|---|---|---|---|
| slope \(S'(a)\) | \(50\) | \(25\) | \(16.7\) |
Question
The slope falls as the budget grows. How would you measure how fast it falls?
The slope \(f'\) is again a function, so differentiate again:
\[f''(x) = \left(f'\right)'(x) \qquad \text{also written } \frac{d^2 f}{dx^2}\]
Question
Let \(f(x) = 2x^3 - 5x\). What is \(f''(3)\)? Type the number.
\[f'(x) = 6x^2 - 5, \qquad f''(x) = 12x, \qquad f''(3) = 36\]
Positive: at \(x = 3\) the slope is increasing; the graph bends upward, convex there. The next slide makes that reading official.
Session 3's chord test becomes a sign check on an interval:
Same cubic, three views. Watch the sign of the right panel and how the left curve bends.
Question
The print shop’s cost \(C(q) = 0.5q^2 + 10q + 200\) has \(C'(q) = q + 10\) and \(C''(q) = 1\). What does \(C'' > 0\) say about the next unit?
| (a) Total cost falls once output is large | (b) Each extra unit costs the same amount |
| (c) Each extra unit costs more than the last | (d) The fixed cost grows with every unit |
(c): the slope \(C'\) keeps rising, so every further unit is dearer. The cost curve is convex.
(b) holds only for a straight cost line such as the roastery’s, €5 per bag. (a) confuses the curvature with the slope: \(C' > 0\) for all \(q \geq 0\), so cost only rises. (d) is wrong because the fixed €200 never changes.
The last question already used it. What does the next unit cost?
Question
The print shop again, \(C(q) = 0.5q^2 + 10q + 200\). Approximately what does the 101st unit cost? Type the number.
\[C'(100) = 100 + 10 = 110 \qquad \text{so about €110}\]
Exact check: \(C(101) - C(100) = 6310.5 - 6200 = 110.5\). The tangent slope misses by 50 cents, and it is far quicker than the subtraction.
What does the next bag earn? That question asks about bags, so revenue counted in bags gets its own name, \(\tilde R(q)\). Session 3's inverse \(D^{-1}(q) = 60 - \frac{q}{20}\) prices the \(q\)-th bag:
\[\tilde R(q) = q \cdot D^{-1}(q) = 60q - \frac{q^2}{20}, \qquad \tilde R'(q) = 60 - \frac{q}{10} \ \text{(€ per bag)}\]
That’s it for today.
Any Questions?
When differentiating, name the structure first: sum, product, quotient or chain? The right rule follows automatically.
See you there, and bring your questions!
Session 04 - Differentiation | Dr. Tobias Vlćek | Home