Unit 2A

Derivatives Part 1

Lesson 5: The Chain Rule

Recall a function is a rule that associates one set of values with another set of values. One way to think about functions is as a machine that takes an input and converts it into an output.

For example, the function «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»2«/mn»«/msup»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» is a rule instructing to square the input, and then add one to find the output. The input/output relationship of the ordered pair «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mfenced»«mrow»«mn»4«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mn»17«/mn»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mstyle»«/math», which satisfies «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»2«/mn»«/msup»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», is shown in the diagram.

A composition of functions can be thought of as nested functions. Consider the functions «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»2«/mn»«/msup»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» and «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»g«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»-«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mstyle»«/math». These can be composed as «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mrow»«mi»g«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» (this is sometimes written as «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mfenced»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mo»§#8728;«/mo»«mi»g«/mi»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» - as discussed in Unit 1 Section A Lesson 3). This can be thought of as taking the output from «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»g«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» and inputting it into «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»f«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math». The diagram shows «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mrow»«mi»g«/mi»«mfenced»«mn»11«/mn»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«mo»=«/mo»«mn»101«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math». Notice that the functions are evaluated from the inside out.