Differentiation-A General Formula

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The most common type of expression that you will be asked to differentiate, is of the form

e.g.

There is a very simple rule, that works for any variation of this

=>

where a & n are constants
i.e. You multiply by the power and then reduce the power by one
Below are some very simple examples

=>

=>

=>

 
There are 2 special cases for this rule:
If the power of x is 1, then you are just left with the number in front of it.
e.g.

=>

=>

If you have a number, on it's own, this vanishes when you differentiate
e.g.

=>

=>

 

The power of x does not have to be positive integer

=>

=>

 

It is important that before you apply the differentiation formula, you make sure that your expression is written in the form:
You may need to re-arrange your expression, before you differentiate.
e.g.
Differentiate
First re-arrange
Then differentiate

Differentiate

=>

Re-arrange

Below are a few more examples of this basic formula

 

Differentiate

=>

Differentiate

=>

Differentiate

=>

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