Derivative Plotter
Have fun with derivatives!
Type in a function and see its slope below (as calculated by the program).
Then see if you can figure out the derivative yourself.
It plots your function in blue, and plots the slope of the function on the graph below in red (by calculating the difference between each point in the original function, so it does not know the formula for the derivative).
You also have the option to plot another function in green beneath that calculated slope ... if the lines coincide there is a good chance you have found the derivative!
Things To Try!
Enter the function at top, then see if you can find the derivative by trying different functions at the bottom.
"Powers":
| function: | x | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 |
| derivative: | 1 | ?x | ?x2 | ?... | ?... |
| See if you can discover the pattern! | |||||
(Note the plotter prefers x2 entered as x^2, x3 as x^3 etc)
Trigonometry Functions:
| function: | sin(x) | cos(x) | tan(x) |
| derivative: | cos(x) | ? | ? |
Exponential Functions:
| function: | ex | ln(x) |
| derivative: | ? | ? |
Cautions:
This is just a numerical estimate, it does not know the formula for the derivative ... that is up to you to find!
Also, because it just does simple calculations, it will not handle special conditions such as holes, jumps, etc. See Continuity.
But it is a fun and educational tool, so enjoy!