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TheoremProved

Product rule for derivatives

Statement

If f,gf,g are differentiable at xx, then fgfg is differentiable at xx and (fg)′(x)=f′(x)g(x)+f(x)g′(x)(fg)'(x) = f'(x)g(x)+f(x)g'(x).

Why is it true?

A growing rectangle's area changes for two reasons at once - its width is growing and its height is growing - and the total rate of change of the area is exactly the sum of the two separate contributions.

Proof sketch

Write f(x+h)g(x+h)−f(x)g(x)h\frac{f(x+h)g(x+h)-f(x)g(x)}{h} and insert −f(x+h)g(x)+f(x+h)g(x)-f(x+h)g(x)+f(x+h)g(x) in the numerator to split it as f(x+h)⋅g(x+h)−g(x)h+f(x+h)−f(x)h⋅g(x)f(x+h)\cdot\frac{g(x+h)-g(x)}{h} + \frac{f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}\cdot g(x). As h→0h\to 0, the first difference quotient tends to g′(x)g'(x) and f(x+h)→f(x)f(x+h)\to f(x) by continuity (since ff is differentiable at xx), while the second difference quotient tends to f′(x)f'(x); the sum tends to f(x)g′(x)+f′(x)g(x)f(x)g'(x)+f'(x)g(x).

Proved by

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Step-by-step proofs

No step-by-step proof yet for this theorem.

References

  1. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1684). Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis...
  2. C. H. Edwards (1979). The Historical Development of the Calculus