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Worked Examples · Example 12

Q.Find the derivative of f(x)=1xf(x) = \dfrac{1}{x}.

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The derivative of f(x)=1/xf(x) = 1/x is found by applying the limit definition of the derivative at a point. The key is to combine the fractions in the numerator and simplify before taking the limit. The result is f′(x)=−1/x2f'(x) = -1/x^2.

The derivative of a function at a point tells us the instantaneous rate of change — the slope of the tangent line. For f(x)=1/xf(x) = 1/x, we can't just "bring down the exponent" without thinking, because the function is a rational expression. The most reliable way is to go back to the definition: the derivative f′(x)f'(x) is the limit of the difference quotient as h→0h \to 0.

Let's work through it.

  1. Write the difference quotient. The definition is:

f′(x)=lim⁡h→0f(x+h)−f(x)hf'(x) = \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{f(x+h) - f(x)}{h}

For f(x)=1/xf(x) = 1/x, we have f(x+h)=1/(x+h)f(x+h) = 1/(x+h). So:

f(x+h)−f(x)h=1x+h−1xh\frac{f(x+h) - f(x)}{h} = \frac{\frac{1}{x+h} - \frac{1}{x}}{h}

  1. Combine the fractions in the numerator. The numerator is a difference of two fractions. Get a common denominator:

1x+h−1x=x−(x+h)x(x+h)=−hx(x+h)\frac{1}{x+h} - \frac{1}{x} = \frac{x - (x+h)}{x(x+h)} = \frac{-h}{x(x+h)}

So the difference quotient becomes:

−hx(x+h)h=−hx(x+h)⋅1h=−1x(x+h)\frac{\frac{-h}{x(x+h)}}{h} = \frac{-h}{x(x+h)} \cdot \frac{1}{h} = \frac{-1}{x(x+h)}

The hh cancels — this is the crucial simplification that removes the division by zero problem.

  1. Take the limit as h→0h \to 0. Now we have: f′(x)=lim⁡h→0−1x(x+h)f'(x) = \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{-1}{x(x+h)} …

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