Calculating derivatives

We rarely calculate derivatives from their definition. Instead, we rely on a number of rules, summarized below:

Rule NameFunctionDerivative
Power Rulexn,n a real number.x^n, n \text{ a real number.}nxn1nx^{n-1}
Constant Rulekk0
Constant Multiple Rulekf(x),k a constant number.kf(x), k \text{ a constant number.}kf´(x)kf´(x)
Sum/Difference Rulef(x)±g(x)f(x)\pm g(x)f(x)±g(x)f'(x)\pm g'(x)
Product Rulef(x)g(x)f(x)g(x)f(x)g(x)+g(x)f(x)f'(x)g(x)+g'(x)f(x)
Quotient Rulef(x)g(x)\frac{f(x)}{g(x)}f(x)g(x)g(x)f(x)g2(x)\frac{f'(x)g(x)-g'(x)f(x)}{g^2(x)}

Some rules for specific functions, which sometimes appear in practice:

FunctionDerivative
exe^xexe^x
ln(x)\ln(x)1/x1/x
sin(x)\sin(x)cos(x)\cos(x)
cos(x)\cos(x)sin(x)-\sin(x)
tan(x)\tan(x)sec2(x)\sec^2(x)