/* Concept page — derivative Source text adapted from OpenStax Calculus Volume 1, §3.1 CC-BY 4.0 */ const ConceptPageDerivative = () => { const [hValue, setHValue] = React.useState(0.5); const [funcKey, setFuncKey] = React.useState("xsq"); const [pointX, setPointX] = React.useState(1.0); // ── Functions for explorers ───────────────────────────── const FUNCS = { xsq: { label: "f(x) = x²", tex: "x^2", f: (x) => x*x, df: (x) => 2*x, dlabel: "f'(x) = 2x" }, sin: { label: "f(x) = sin(x)", tex: "\\sin(x)", f: Math.sin, df: Math.cos, dlabel: "f'(x) = cos(x)" }, exp: { label: "f(x) = eˣ", tex: "e^{x}", f: Math.exp, df: Math.exp, dlabel: "f'(x) = eˣ" }, }; const fn = FUNCS[funcKey]; // ── KaTeX render helper ───────────────────────────────── const Tex = ({ tex, display }) => { const ref = React.useRef(null); React.useEffect(() => { if (window.katex && ref.current) { try { window.katex.render(tex, ref.current, { displayMode: !!display, throwOnError: false }); } catch(e) {} } }, [tex, display]); return ; }; return (
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§ 03.01 / Mathematics / Calculus / Differentiation / Derivative
Mastery 62%

{/* ── Title block ───────────────────────────────────── */}
Definition
Identifier
def.calc.derivative
Edges
14 in · 28 out
Difficulty

Derivative

The instantaneous rate of change of a function at a point. Foundational object of differential calculus; equivalent to the slope of the tangent line to the graph of at .


{/* ── §1 Definition + prerequisites two-up ──────────── */}
01 Formal definition

Let be a function defined on an open interval containing the point . The derivative of at , denoted , is defined by

(3.1.1)

provided this limit exists. If the limit fails to exist, is said to be not differentiable at . When the derivative exists at every point of an interval , the resulting function is itself called the derivative of .

Geometrically, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of at the point . The defining quotient is the slope of the secant line through and ; the derivative is the limit of these secant slopes as the second point approaches the first.

{/* ── §2 Explorable — tangent slider ───────────────── */}
02 Explorable · tangent as the limit of secants Figure 3.1.A

Function
{Object.entries(FUNCS).map(([k, v]) => ( ))}
Point a
{pointX.toFixed(3)}
setPointX(parseFloat(e.target.value))} />
−20+2
Step h
{hValue.toFixed(4)}
setHValue(parseFloat(e.target.value))} />
0.0010.51.5

Secant slope {(((fn.f(pointX + hValue) - fn.f(pointX)) / hValue)).toFixed(4)}
f'(a) — exact {fn.df(pointX).toFixed(4)}
Error |secant − f'| {Math.abs(((fn.f(pointX + hValue) - fn.f(pointX)) / hValue) - fn.df(pointX)).toFixed(5)}

Drag h toward zero. The secant rotates into the tangent. The numeric error collapses to the precision of the underlying limit.

{/* ── §3 Limit table ──────────────────────────────── */}
03 Numerical limit · the difference quotient as h → 0 Table 3.1.A

Evaluating the difference quotient for {fn.label} at over a sequence of decreasing :

{/* ── §4 Theorems involving derivative ────────────── */}
04 Theorems involving derivative 14 results

{[ {n:"3.2.1", k:"theorem", title:"Differentiability implies continuity", body:<>If is differentiable at , then is continuous at . The converse is false: at ., refs:["limit_of_difference_quotient","continuity"], mastery:"mastered"}, {n:"3.3.1", k:"theorem", title:"Sum rule", body:<>, whenever both derivatives exist. Linearity in the function argument., refs:["limit_sum_rule","derivative"], mastery:"mastered"}, {n:"3.3.2", k:"theorem", title:"Product rule", body:<>. Proven by adding and subtracting in the numerator., refs:["limit_product_rule","derivative"], mastery:"learning"}, {n:"3.3.3", k:"theorem", title:"Chain rule", body:<>. The cornerstone of differentiating composite functions., refs:["limit_of_composition","derivative"], mastery:"frontier"}, {n:"3.4.1", k:"theorem", title:"Mean value theorem", body:<>If is continuous on and differentiable on , there exists with ., refs:["rolles_theorem","derivative"], mastery:"locked"}, {n:"3.5.1", k:"lemma", title:"Carathéodory's characterization", body:<> is differentiable at iff there exists a function continuous at with ., refs:["continuity","derivative"], mastery:"locked"}, ].map((t) => (
{t.n} {t.k}

{t.title}

{t.body}

Uses {t.refs.map((r,i) => {r})}
))}
{/* ── §5 Procedures ────────────────────────────────── */}
05 Procedures · computational techniques 04 procedures

{[ ["Differentiate from first principles","Apply the limit definition directly. 4 steps.","mastered"], ["Power rule","Differentiate xⁿ as nxⁿ⁻¹. 2 steps.","mastered"], ["Product / quotient rule","Differentiate fg or f/g. 5 steps.","learning"], ["Chain rule for composite functions","Decompose, differentiate, recombine. 6 steps.","frontier"], ].map(([t, sub, m], i) => ( P.{(i+1).toString().padStart(2,"0")} {t} {sub} ))}
{/* ── §6 Embedding neighborhood ────────────────────── */}
06 Embedding neighborhood · concepts near in semantic space qwen3 · 1024-dim

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); }; window.ConceptPageDerivative = ConceptPageDerivative;