Unit 6: Calculus

University of Namibia

May 8, 2025
Introduction

Calculus is a branch of mathematics that studies change and

accumulation. It has two main branches:
Differential calculus, which deals with rates of change
and helps us understand how quantities vary instantly; and
Integral calculus, which focuses on accumulation and
helps us determine total amounts, such as areas under
curves. Together, they form the foundation for analyzing
dynamic systems in science, engineering, and beyond.

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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

Differentiate basic functions
Integrate basic functions
Apply differentiation and integration to analyse function
behaviour.

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Rates of change
In day to day life we are often interested in the extent to
which a change in one quantity affects a change in another
related quantity. This is called a rate of change.
For example, if you own a motor car you might be
interested in how much a change in the amount of fuel used
affects how far you have travelled.
Sprinters are interested in how a change in time is related
to a change in their position. This rate of change is called
velocity.
An agronomist might be interested in the extent to which a
change in the amount of fertiliser used on a particular crop
affects the yield of the crop.
Economists want to know how a change in the price of a
product affects the demand for that product.
It is the ratio of the change of the output to the change of
the input.
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Differential Calculus

Differential calculus is about finding the rate of change of

one quantity with respect to another quantity.
An example of differentiation is velocity which is equal to
the rate of change of displacement with respect to time.
Another example is acceleration which is equal to the rate
of change of velocity with respect to time.
A rate of change is constant when the ratio of the output
to the input stays the same at any given point on the
function. The constant rate of change is also known as the
slope. Linear functions will have a constant rate of change.

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The fact that the graph is a straight line tells us that the
motorist is travelling at a constant velocity.
At a constant velocity equal increments in time result in
equal changes in distance.
For a straight line graph equal increments in the horizontal
direction result in the same change in the vertical direction.

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Non-constant rate of change
Fig 3 shows the graph of a different motorist’s journey (not
a straight line/ velocity not constant).

The slope of the curve at the point on the curve where

t = 62 is the slope of the tangent to the curve at that point
(dashed line).
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Non-constant rate of change continues..........

The shape of this graph makes good sense. If no fertiliser is

used then there is still some crop yield (50 tonnes to be
precise). As more fertiliser is used the crop yield increases,
Eventually the use of too much fertiliser causes the crop to
die altogether and no yield is obtained
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Differentiation

Definition (Derivative)
The derivative of a function f (x) at a point x is the
instantaneous rate of change of f (x), and is denoted by f ′ (x) or
dy
dx where y = f (x).

The process of finding the derivative of a function is called

differentiation.
The rules for finding the derivatives form the basis of
differential calculus.
Depending on the context, derivatives may be interpreted
as slopes of tangent lines, velocities of moving particles, or
other quantities.

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Figure: Tangent lines to the graph of f (x) drawn at A, B and C on
the graph.

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Basic Differentiation Rules

1. Derivative of a constant function:

If c ∈ R and f (x) = c, then d(fdx
(x))
= f ′ (x) = 0
2. Derivative of a linear function:
d(f (x))
If m, c ∈ R and f (x) = mx + c, then dx = f ′ (x) = m.
3. Power Rule
If n ∈ R such that n ̸= 0, and f (x) = xn , then
d(f (x))
dx = f ′ (x) = nxn−1 .
4. Let f be a differentiable function, and c ∈ R. Then
d(cf (x)) d(f (x))
=c
dx dx
5. Let f and g be differentiable functions. Then
d d(f (x)) d(g(x))
(f (x) + g(x)) = + , and
dx dx dx
d d(f (x)) d(g(x))
(f (x) − g(x)) = −
dx dx dx
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6. Product Rule:
Let f and g be differentiable functions. Then
d(f (x)g(x)) d(f (x)) d(g(x))
= g(x) + f (x) .
dx dx dx
d(f (x)g(x)) d(f (x)) d(g(x))
Note that ̸= ·
dx dx dx
7. Quotient Rule:
Let f and g be differentiable functions such that g(x) ̸= 0
for all x ∈ Dg . Then
g(x) d(fdx
(x))
− f (x) d(g(x))
 
d f (x) dx
=
dx g(x) (g(x))2
8. Reciprocal Rule:
Let g(x) be a differentiable function such that g(x) ̸= 0 for
all x ∈ Dg . Then
− d(g(x))
 
d 1 dx
=
dx g(x) (g(x))2

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Examples
Find the derivatives of the following functions.
a) f (x) = x4 − 8x2 + 3
16
b) f (x) = x2 + x
c) f (x) = (x − 4)(x − 2)
12x2 −1
d) f (x) = x3
√
e) f (x) = x x
√
x
f) f (x) = 2x−1

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Solution for item (a)

f (x) = x4 − 8x2 + 3

Firstly, we realize that f is a sum of three functions, namely,

x4 , −8x2 , and 3. Now, for x4 , we use the power rule, with
n = 4. For −8x2 , we use a combination of the power rule and
the fact that we have a constant, -8, multiplied by x2 . The
third function is just a constant function, whose derivative is 0.
Adding the derivatives together we get that

d(f (x))
= 4x4−1 − 8(2x2−1 ) + 0
dx
= 4x3 − 16x

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Solution to item (b)
16
f (x) = x2 +
x
In this case, we have a sum of two functions, namely x2 and 16x.
For the first one, we use the power rule, and for the second
function we have constant 16, multiplied by the reciprocal of x.
So, we use the reciprocal rule, and we get that,
 
d(f (x)) −1
= 2x + 16
dx x2
16
= 2x − 2
x

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Solution to item (c)

f (x) = (x − 4)(x − 2)

There are two ways to find the derivative of this function.

Either we expand first, and then differentiate, or we
differentiate it as a product of two functions. The purpose of
this example is to demonstrate the use of the product rule.
Therefore, that’s what we will use. So, we have

d(f (x)) d(x − 4) d(x − 2)

= (x − 2) + (x − 4)
dx dx dx
= (x − 2).1 + (x − 4).1
=x−2+x−4
= 2x − 6.

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Solution to item (d)

12x2 − 1
f (x) =
x3
We have a quotient of two functions, Therefore, we use the
quotient rule as follows;
2 −1) 3
d(f (x)) x3 d(12x
dx − (12x2 − 1) d(x
dx
)
=
dx (x3 )2
(x3 )(24x) − (12x2 − 1)(3x2 )
=
x6
2
−12x + 3
=
x4

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Solution to item (e)
√
f (x) = x x

This function is a product of two functions, and we can rewrite

1
it as f (x) = x · x 2 . So, using the product rule and the power
rule for the second one, we get that,
1
d(f (x)) 1 d(x) d(x 2 )
= x2 · +x·
dx dx dx
1 1 −1
= x2 + x · x 2
2
√ x
= x+ √
2 x
√ 1√
= x+ x
2
3√
= x
2
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Solution to item (f )
This is a quotient of two function, and as we did for the
previous example, we can rewrite the square root and have the
1
x2
function as f (x) = 2x−1 . We then use the quotient rule to get,
1
1
(2x − 1) d(x ) d(2x−1)
2
d(f (x)) dx − x
2
dx
= 2
dx (2x − 1)
−1 1
(2x − 1)( 12 x 2 ) − 2x 2
=
(2x − 1)2
2x−1 √
√ −2 x
2 x
=
(2x − 1)2
√ √
2x−1−2√ x·2 x
2 x
= √
2 x(2x − 1)2
−2x − 1
= √
2 x(2x − 1)2

You are advised to make sure that you understand how each of
the solutions in the previous example is obtained. If you still
don’t understand the explanations provided for each question,
then get help.
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Exercise
1 Differentiate the following functions:

a). f (x) = x4 b). y = x−7 c). f (x) = 4x3 + 2

1 22 −3
d). f (t) = t− 3 e). f (t) = t 7 f). g(z) = z 2

2
g). f (s) = h(x) = xx3 −1
+4
h). h(x) = (3x3 − 2x2 + 8x − 5)(x2 − 2x + 4)
2 Express the following as powers and then differentiate:
√ √
a). f (x) = x12 b). g(t) = t t c). f (x) = 3 x
√
1√ 1 x3 x
d). f (x) = x2 x
e). f (x) = x
√
4 x
f). f (x) = √
3x

1
√
g). f (u) = 1
u3
h). g(t) = t√
t2 t
i).f (x) = x 2 xx

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The Chain Rule
The Chain rule is a technique used to differentiate
composite functions, i.e a function of a function

Theorem (Chain Rule)

Let h = f ◦ g be a composite of two differentiable functions,
f (x) and g(x). Then h is a differentiable function of x, whose
derivative at x is given by

d(h(x)) d(f (g(x))) d(g(x))

= .
dx d(g(x)) dx

Written differently it means: If

h(x) = f (g(x)) then h′ (x) = f ′ (g(x))g ′ (x).

In words: differentiate the ‘outside’ function, and then multiply

by the derivative of the ‘inside’ function.
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 To apply this to f (x) = (x2 + 1)17 , the outside function is
h(·) = (·)17 and its derivative is 17(·)16
The inside function is g(x) = x2 + 1 which has derivative
2x. The composite function rule tells us that
f ′ (x) = 17(x2 + 1)16 · 2x.
Example
1
Differentiate the function .
(z 3 + 4z 2 − 3z − 3)6

Solution
This can be rewritten as (z 3 + 4z 2 − 3z − 3)−6 .
The outside function is (·)−6 which has derivative −6(·)−7 .
The inside function is z 3 + 4z 2 − 3z − 3 with derivative
3z 2 + 8z − 3.
The chain rule says that
d 3
(z +4z 2 −3z−3)−6 = −6(z 3 +4z 2 −3z−3)−7 ×(3z 2 +8z−3).
dz
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Exercise
1. Differentiate the following functions using the Chain rule of
differentiation.
a. f (x) = (2x + 3)2 b. f (x) = (x2 + 2x + 1)12
(3 − x)
c. f (x) = √ 21 d. f (x) = (x3 − 1)5
1
e. f (t) = t2 − 5t + 7 f. g(z) = √2−z 4
√ 3
g. y = (t3 − t)−3.8 h. y = (x + x1 ) 7
2. Differentiate the functions below. You will need to use
both the chain rule and the product or quotient rule.
a. f (x) = (x + 2)(x + 3)2 b. f (x) = (2x − 1)2 (x + 3)3
p 1 2
c. g(x) = x (1 − x) d. g(x) = x 3 (1 − x) 3
x
e. f (x) = √1−x 2

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Derivatives of exponential and logarithmic functions

The basic results are:

d f (x)
e = ef (x) · f ′ (x)
dx
d d f ′ (x)
(loge (f (x))) = (ln(f (x))) =
dx dx f (x)
We can use these results and the rules that we have learnt
already to differentiate functions which involve
exponentials or logarithms.

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Example
1. Differentiate ln(x2 + 3x + 1).

Solution
We solve this by using the chain rule and our knowledge of the
derivative of lnx.
d d
ln(x2 + 3x + 1) = (lnu) (where u = x2 + 3x + 1)
dx dx
d du
= (lnu) × (by the chain rule)
du dx
1 du
= ×
u dx
1 d 2
= 2 × (x + 3x + 1)
x + 3x + 1 dx
1
= 2 × (2x + 3)
x + 3x + 1
2x + 3
= 2
x + 3x + 1 26 / 47
2.
Example
Find d x3 +2x ).
dx (e

Solution
Again, we use our knowledge of the derivative of ex together
with the chain rule.
d x3 +2x deu
(e )= (where u = x3 + 2x)
dx dx
du
= eu × (by the chain rule)
dx
3 +2xd 3
= ex ×
(x + 2x)
dx
3
= (3x2 + 2) × ex +2x

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Exercise
Differentiate the following functions.

7
a. f (x) = ln(2x3 ) b. f (x) = ex c. f (x) = ln(11x7 )

d. f (x) = ex2 + x3 e. f (x) = loge (7x−2 ) f. f (x) = e−x

 
x2 +1
g. f (x) = ln(ex + x3 ) h. f (x) = ln(ex x3 ) i. f (x) = ln x3 −x

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Integral Calculus

While differential calculus focuses on rates of change, such as

slopes of tangent lines and velocities, integral calculus deals
with total size or value, such as lengths, areas, and volumes.

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Integration

Integration is used in dealing with two essentially different

types of problems:
The first type are problems in which the derivative of a
function is known and we want to find the function.
We are therefore required to reverse the process of
differentiation.
This reverse process is known as anti-differentiation, or
finding a primitive function, or finding an indefinite
integral.

Example
Given f ′ (x) = 4, then f (x) = 4x + c where c is a constant of
integration

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The second type are problems which involve adding up a
very large number of very small quantities, (and then
taking a limit as the size of the quantities approaches zero
while the number of terms tends to infinity).
This process leads to the definition of the definite integral.
Definite integrals are used for finding area, volume, centre
of gravity, moment of inertia, work done by a force, and in
many other applications.

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Integrals

Definition (Indefinite integral)

d
If F (x) is a function such that dx F (x) = f (x), then we define an
indefinite
Z integral of f (x) to be the function F (x) and we write
f (x)dx = F (x)
Z
d
Thus [F (x)] = f (x) ⇒ f (x)dx = F (x)
dx

For example, since the derivative (with respect to x) of x2 is 2x,

we can say that an indefinite integral of 2x is x2 + c. c is the
constant of integration
Mathematically:
d 2 2xdx = x2 + c
R
dx (x ) = 2x, so

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Basic rules of Integration

1. Z
Constant functions
kdx = kx + c, where k is any constant.
2. Power rule:
xn+1
Z
n
x dx = + c, provided n ̸= 1
n+1
3. Z
Constant times Z a function:
kf (x)dx = k f (x)dx, where k is any constant.
4. SumR or difference:
R
Z f (x)dx and g(x)dx
If Z exist, then
Z
[f (x) ± g(x)] dx = f (x)dx ± g(x)dx
eax
Z
5. Exponential function eax dx = +c
a

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Example
Find the following indefinite integrals:
i). (1 + 2x − 3x2 + 5x4 )dx
R

ii). (3x2 − 12 ex )dx

R

Solutions
i).
Z Z Z Z Z
(1 + 2x − 3x2 + 5x4 )dx = 1dx + 2xdx − 3x2 dx + 5x4 d

= x + x2 − x3 + x5 + c
ii).
Z Z Z
1 1
(3x − ex )dx =
2 2
3x dx − ex dx
2 2
1
= x3 − ex + c.
2
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Exercise
Find the following indefinite integrals:
R x
(e − 1)dx
(1 − 10x + 9x2 )dx
R

(3x2 + x4 )dx
R

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Examples
Find
i. x3 dx
R

ii. dx
R
R√x2
iii. xdx

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Solutions

i.
Z
1
x3 dx = x4 + c
(3 + 1)
1
= x4 + c.← replacing n by 3 in
4
the formula
ii.
Z Z
dx 1
= x−2 dx = x−2+1 + c
x2 −2 + 1
1 ← replacing n by −2 in
= − + c.
x the formula

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Exercise
Find the following integrals:
R
i −3xdx
ii (x3 + 3x2 + x + 4)dx
R

x − x1 dx
R

iii

2
x − x1 dx Hint: multiply out the expression
R
iv
R 2 √ 
v √ + x dx
x 2
R 2x4 +x2
vi x dx Hint: divide through by the denominator
R  3+5x−6x2 −7x3 
vii 2x2
dx Hint: divide through by the
denominator

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Definite integrals

Definition (Definite integral)

d
If F (x) is a function such that dx F (x) = f (x), then the definite
integral of f (x) between a and b is given by F (b) − F (a) and we
write
Z b b
f (x) dx = F (x) = F (b) − F (a)
a a

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Example
Find the anti-derivatives of the following functions.
R4
a) 1 x2 dx
R4
b) 3 (x + 7x2 )dx
R1
c) 0 e2x dx
R 3 dx
d) 2 (x+1) 3

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Solutions

R4
a) 1 x2 dx
4
x3
Z
4
x2 dx =
1 3 1

43 13
= −
3 3
64 1
= −
3 3
= 21
b) Do!
c) Do!
d) DO!

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Things you can’t do when integrating

You cannot move a variable past the integral sign they way
we do with constants
The integral of the product of two functions is not the
same as the product of their integrals.

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Application of Differentiation

Derivatives have quite a lot of practical applications.

Determining the minimum and maximum values of a given
function, and hence optimization is just one of many
applications

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Maximum, Minimum and Points of Inflection
Definition
Let f (x) be a function.
A point c on a function is said to be a critical point if
f ′ (c) = 0 or f ′ (c) does not exist.
A critical point c is a maximum of f (x) if f ′′ (c) < 0.
A critical point c is a minimum of f (x) if f ′′ (c) > 0.
A critical point c is a point of inflection (saddle point) if its
neither a maximum nor a minimum i.e if f ′′ (c) = 0 .
A local maximum is a point such that f (c) ≥ f (x) for all x
in some open interval containing c and a local minimum is
a point such that f (c) ≤ f (x) for all x in some open
interval containing c
A global maximum is a point c that f (c) ≥ f (x) for all x in
the domain of f and a global minimum is a point c such
that f (c) ≤ f (x) for all x in the domain of f . 44 / 47
Procedure for finding the maximum or minimum values
of a function.

1. Find the end-points of the region under consideration (if

there are any).
2. Find all the critical points in the region.
3. Substitute each of these into the function and see which
gives the greatest (or smallest) function value.

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Example
Find the minimum value and the maximum value of the
function f (x) = x2 ex for −4 ≤ x ≤ 1.

Solution

We will follow the procedure outlined above.

The endpoints are −4 and 1.
Differentiating we obtain f ′ (x) = x2 ex + 2xex = x(x + 2)ex .
Setting f ′ (x) = 0 and solving we get critical points at x = 0
and x = −2.
Therefore the maximum and minimum values will be found
at one of the points x = −4, −2, 0, 1.
Substituting we obtain f (−4) ≈ 0.29, f (−2) ≈ 0.54,
f (0) = 0 and f (1) = e ≈ 2.7. therefore the maximum value
occurs at x = 1 and is equal to e, and the minimum value
occurs at x = 0 and is 0.
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Exercise
Find the maximum and the minimum of the function
f (x) = x4 − 2x2 for −1 ≤ x ≤ 2
2
Maximise the function g(t) = te−t for −2 < t < 2.
Find the minimum value of h(u) = 2u3 + 3u2 − 12u + 5 in
the region −3 ≤ u ≤ 2.

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