How are Derivatives Calculated?
While it is possible to verify many formulas for calculating derivatives using the above definition, most of the time derivatives are calculated using a look-up table. Since a table including every single derivative in existance would be a bit cumbersome, often only the most fundamental derivatives are listed, and one is required to apply a variety of useful rules to calculate more complicated derivatives. Some common derivatives are: • • • • Some of the more common rules regarding derivative calculation are: • k = constant • • Numerical Calculation Another method for calculating derivatives involves approximating the exact limit above with a difference: , h > 0. More complicated methods involve assuming a known simple function, such as a polynomial, can be fit to data at a few points.
