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The functions f(x) = sin x and f’(x) = cos x are graphed. It is apparent that when f(x) has a maximum or a minimum that f’(x) = 0.
Where f ( x ) has a maximum or a minimum, f ( x ) = 0 that is, f ( x ) = 0 where f ( x ) has a horizontal tangent. These points are noted with dots on the graphs.

Differentiating a function containing sin x

Find the derivative of f ( x ) = 5 x 3 sin x .

Using the product rule, we have

f ( x ) = d d x ( 5 x 3 ) · sin x + d d x ( sin x ) · 5 x 3 = 15 x 2 · sin x + cos x · 5 x 3 .

After simplifying, we obtain

f ( x ) = 15 x 2 sin x + 5 x 3 cos x .
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Find the derivative of f ( x ) = sin x cos x .

f ( x ) = cos 2 x sin 2 x

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Finding the derivative of a function containing cos x

Find the derivative of g ( x ) = cos x 4 x 2 .

By applying the quotient rule, we have

g ( x ) = ( sin x ) 4 x 2 8 x ( cos x ) ( 4 x 2 ) 2 .

Simplifying, we obtain

g ( x ) = −4 x 2 sin x 8 x cos x 16 x 4 = x sin x 2 cos x 4 x 3 .
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Find the derivative of f ( x ) = x cos x .

cos x + x sin x cos 2 x

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An application to velocity

A particle moves along a coordinate axis in such a way that its position at time t is given by s ( t ) = 2 sin t t for 0 t 2 π . At what times is the particle at rest?

To determine when the particle is at rest, set s ( t ) = v ( t ) = 0 . Begin by finding s ( t ) . We obtain

s ( t ) = 2 cos t 1 ,

so we must solve

2 cos t 1 = 0 for 0 t 2 π .

The solutions to this equation are t = π 3 and t = 5 π 3 . Thus the particle is at rest at times t = π 3 and t = 5 π 3 .

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A particle moves along a coordinate axis. Its position at time t is given by s ( t ) = 3 t + 2 cos t for 0 t 2 π . At what times is the particle at rest?

t = π 3 , t = 2 π 3

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Derivatives of other trigonometric functions

Since the remaining four trigonometric functions may be expressed as quotients involving sine, cosine, or both, we can use the quotient rule to find formulas for their derivatives.

The derivative of the tangent function

Find the derivative of f ( x ) = tan x .

Start by expressing tan x as the quotient of sin x and cos x :

f ( x ) = tan x = sin x cos x .

Now apply the quotient rule to obtain

f ( x ) = cos x cos x ( sin x ) sin x ( cos x ) 2 .

Simplifying, we obtain

f ( x ) = cos 2 x + sin 2 x cos 2 x .

Recognizing that cos 2 x + sin 2 x = 1 , by the Pythagorean theorem, we now have

f ( x ) = 1 cos 2 x .

Finally, use the identity sec x = 1 cos x to obtain

f ( x ) = sec 2 x .
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Find the derivative of f ( x ) = cot x .

f ( x ) = csc 2 x

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The derivatives of the remaining trigonometric functions may be obtained by using similar techniques. We provide these formulas in the following theorem.

Derivatives of tan x , cot x , sec x , And csc x

The derivatives of the remaining trigonometric functions are as follows:

d d x ( tan x ) = sec 2 x
d d x ( cot x ) = csc 2 x
d d x ( sec x ) = sec x tan x
d d x ( csc x ) = csc x cot x.

Finding the equation of a tangent line

Find the equation of a line tangent to the graph of f ( x ) = cot x at x = π 4 .

To find the equation of the tangent line, we need a point and a slope at that point. To find the point, compute

f ( π 4 ) = cot π 4 = 1 .

Thus the tangent line passes through the point ( π 4 , 1 ) . Next, find the slope by finding the derivative of f ( x ) = cot x and evaluating it at π 4 :

f ( x ) = csc 2 x and f ( π 4 ) = csc 2 ( π 4 ) = −2 .

Using the point-slope equation of the line, we obtain

y 1 = −2 ( x π 4 )

or equivalently,

y = −2 x + 1 + π 2 .
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Finding the derivative of trigonometric functions

Find the derivative of f ( x ) = csc x + x tan x .

To find this derivative, we must use both the sum rule and the product rule. Using the sum rule, we find

f ( x ) = d d x ( csc x ) + d d x ( x tan x ) .

In the first term, d d x ( csc x ) = csc x cot x , and by applying the product rule to the second term we obtain

d d x ( x tan x ) = ( 1 ) ( tan x ) + ( sec 2 x ) ( x ) .

Therefore, we have

f ( x ) = csc x cot x + tan x + x sec 2 x .
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Source:  OpenStax, Calculus volume 1. OpenStax CNX. Feb 05, 2016 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11964/1.2
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