Derivative Rules

The Derivative tells you the slope of a function at any point.

The derivatives of many functions are well known. Here are some useful rules to help you work
out the derivatives of more complicated functions (with examples below). Note: the little mark
means !erivative of.
Common Functions Function Derivative
"onstant c #
x $
%&uare x
'
'x
%&uare (oot )x (*)x
+*
,xponential e
x
e
x
a
x
a
x
(ln a)
-o.arithms ln(x) $/x
lo.a(x) $ / (x ln(a))
Tri.onometry (x is in radians) sin(x) cos(x)
cos(x) +sin(x)
tan(x) sec
'
(x)
sin
+$
(x) $/)($+x
'
)
tan
+$
(x) $/($0x
'
)