Differentiation rules


This is a summary of differentiation rules, that is, rules for computing the derivative of a function in calculus.

Elementary rules of differentiation

Unless otherwise stated, all functions are functions of real numbers that return real values; although more generally, the formulae below apply wherever they are well defined — including the case of complex numbers.

Differentiation is linear

For any functions and and any real numbers and, the derivative of the function with respect to is
In Leibniz's notation this is written as:
Special cases include:
For the functions f and g, the derivative of the function h = f g with respect to x is
In Leibniz's notation this is written

The chain rule

The derivative of the function is
In Leibniz's notation, this is written as:
often abridged to
Focusing on the notion of maps, and the differential being a map, this is written in a more concise way as:

The inverse function rule

If the function has an inverse function, meaning that and then
In Leibniz notation, this is written as

Power laws, polynomials, quotients, and reciprocals

The polynomial or elementary power rule

If, for any real number then
When this becomes the special case that if then
Combining the power rule with the sum and constant multiple rules permits the computation of the derivative of any polynomial.

The reciprocal rule

The derivative of for any function is:
In Leibniz's notation, this is written
The reciprocal rule can be derived either from the quotient rule, or from the combination of power rule and chain rule.

The quotient rule

If ' and ' are functions, then:
This can be derived from the product rule and the reciprocal rule.

Generalized power rule

The elementary power rule generalizes considerably. The most general power rule is the functional power rule: for any functions ' and ',
wherever both sides are well defined.
Special cases
the equation above is true for all, but the derivative for yields a complex number.
the equation above is also true for all , but yields a complex number if.

Logarithmic derivatives

The logarithmic derivative is another way of stating the rule for differentiating the logarithm of a function :
Logarithmic differentiation is a technique which uses logarithms and its differentiation rules to simplify certain expressions before actually applying the derivative.
Logarithms can be used to remove exponents, convert products into sums, and convert division into subtraction — each of which may lead to a simplified expression for taking derivatives.

Derivatives of trigonometric functions

It is common to additionally define an inverse tangent function with two arguments,. Its value lies in the range and reflects the quadrant of the point. For the first and fourth quadrant one has. Its partial derivatives are

Derivatives of hyperbolic functions

See Hyperbolic functions for restrictions on these derivatives.

Derivatives of special functions

Derivatives of integrals

Suppose that it is required to differentiate with respect to x the function
where the functions and are both continuous in both and in some region of the plane, including , and the functions and are both continuous and both have continuous derivatives for. Then for :
This formula is the general form of the Leibniz integral rule and can be derived using the
fundamental theorem of calculus.

Derivatives to ''n''th order

Some rules exist for computing the -th derivative of functions, where is a positive integer. These include:

Faà di Bruno's formula

If ' and ' are -times differentiable, then
where and the set consists of all non-negative integer solutions of the Diophantine equation.

General Leibniz rule

If ' and ' are -times differentiable, then