Chapter 1

Slope and Rate of Change

Chapter Summary and Goal

This chapter will start with a discussion of slopes and the tangent line. This will rapidly lead
to heuristic developments of limits and the derivative.

Student Learning Objectives

The student will:
1. Be able to distinguish between the slopes of secant lines and tangent lines.
2. Understand the concept of a limit.
3. Understand the relationship between slopes of a function and the derivative.
4. Learn the definition of a derivative.
5. Learn the relationship between tangent lines and the velocity problem.

The Mathematics of Change

Calculus is about change. More specifically, if gives us ways to explain, using mathematics,
how a variable y might change when a variable x changes. Why do we care about this? Because
change is a fact of life. We can use calculus to figure out how fast our local reservoir will empty
during the next drought; to plan a flight path between Atlanta and London that uses the least
fuel; to figure out how long it will take to pay off a mortgage; to figure out the dimensions of
the largest rectangular tree-house you can build with a fixed amount of plywood; or to predict
how fast a penny dropped off the top of the CN Tower in Toronto would be falling when it hit
the ground. All of these problems involve figuring out how one variable changes in comparison
to, or as mathematicians often like to say, with respect to, another variables.
You’ve probably already come across this concept in an algebra or pre-calculus class through
the use of the slope of a line. Suppose we draw the plot of a non-vertical line

y = mx + b (1.1)

where m is the slope and b is the y intercept (figure 1.1). If we pick any two points (x1 , y1 )
and (x2 , y2 ) on that line, then the slope is defined as
change in y rise y2 − y1
slope = = = (1.2)
change in x run x2 − x1

5
6 Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change

Calculus

Calculus is the quantitative description of how things change in comparison to one

another. It has two branches:
a) Differential Calculus: calculation and application of the derivative to find rates
of change.
b) Integral Calculus: calculate of areas under curves and inversion of the process
of differentiation.

We have introduced the terms rise and run in equation 1.2 to refer to the change in x and
change in y, respectively. These terms are commonly used throughout algebra and analytic
geometry. Sometimes we also use the expressions ∆y and ∆x to refer to the rise and the run,

Figure 1.1: Slope of a line.

Hx2,y2L

y2-y1
change in y
or Dy
Hx1,y1L
x2-x1
change in x, or Dx

∆y = y2 − y1 read this as “Delta y” (1.3)

∆x = x2 − x1 read this as “Delta x” (1.4)

Here the Greek letter ∆ is not a variable that is multiplied by the x or the y but part of
the variable name, so that ∆x is single complete variable name, and ∆y is a single complete
variable name.1

Tangent Lines

We want to extend the concept of the slope of a line to curves. Since curves can bend in any
which-way they might choose, the idea of a single slope that applies to the entire curve doesn’t
make much sense. Instead, given any particular curve, and a particular point P , on that curve,
we observe that if we look at it through a powerful enough magnifying glass, it looks more and
more like a straight line as we get closer and closer to that point (see figure 1.2). Imagine,
then, that we can figure out the slope m of this almost-nearly-straight line, and construct the
line through P . This new line, which we have just drawn, has the same slope as the curve at
P . We call this line the tangent line to the curve at P . The word tangent is derived from
the latin verb tangere, to touch, as in, to touch, but not to cross or intersect. A tangent line
(as we have described it above) just touches the curve at a single point, but does not cross it
1
Technically, ∆ is an operator that means “change in” so ∆x means “change in x”. It comes from the Liebniz
notation that we will study in chapter 8.

Doing Calculus
Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change 7

Figure 1.2: Illustration of a point on a smooth curve, and two successive blow-ups under
the magnifying glass, as you move from the left to the root, showing how the points in the
neighborhood of the smooth curve look very much like a straight line if you look at the point
under a magnifying glass and ignore the rest of the figure.

or intersect it (figure 1.3). The slope of a curve at the point P is defined to be the slope of
the tangent line at P .

Definition 1.1. Slope of a Curve

The slope of a curve at a point P is the slope m of a line that is tangent to the curve
at P .

Figure 1.3: Examples of tangent lines. The tangent line is just touching, but not intersecting,
at the point of tangency.

Not
Tangent

Tangent
Tangent

Tangent

Let f (x) be a smooth function. We want to develop an easy, methodical process for calculating
the slope of the tangent line through a point P on the plot of f (x). Let the coordinates of P be
(x1 , y1 ). Let Q = (x2 , y2 ) be another point on the curve, and construct the secant line through
P and Q (see the curve in the left frame of figure 1.4.) Next, we imagine marching point Q

Figure 1.4: Using a sequence of secant lines to define the tangent line. The image on the left
shows a single secant line between the points Q and P . Then, on the right, as the point Q
approaches P , the secant line approaches the tangent line at P .

Q Q

P P

towards P , as indicated by the arrows in the right frame of figure 1.4. As Q gets closer and
closer to P , the secant line gets closer and closer to the tangent line through P . We call this
process of one point getting closer and closer to another point taking a limit or a limiting

Doing Calculus
8 Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change

process. We denote the limiting process by Q → P , which we read as “Q goes to P ,” or “the

limit as Q goes to P .”
As Q is marching closer and closer to P , Q is trying to get as close as possible. Q may actually
get all the way to P ; but there are some cases where it may not actually get there. For example,
we may have chosen P to be a hole in the function (a point x = c where f (x) is not defined,
surrounded by an open neighborhood in which f (x) is defined). It is often still possible to
define the slope at a hole, even though the function is not defined there.
In order to do calculations, it is more convenient to talk about the coordinates (x, y) instead
of P and Q. Since both P and Q lie on the function f (x), we have

P = (x1 , y1 ) = (x1 , f (x1 )) (1.5)

Q = (x2 , y2 ) = (x2 , f (x2 )) (1.6)

Since x is the independent variable and y is the dependent variable, instead of saying Q
approaches P , we say that x2 approaches x1 , which we write as x2 → x1 . Instead of saying
“the limit as Q goes to P ” we say “the limit as x2 goes to x1 .” At the same time, we observe
that y2 → y1 because Q → P .
Since the slope of the secant is

f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
msecant = (1.7)
x2 − x1

we can then define the slope of the tangent line at x1 as the limit of msecant as x2 → x1 .
We will call this slope f 0 (x1 ).

f (x2 ) − f (x1 )
f 0 (x1 ) = lim (1.8)
x2 →x1 x2 − x1

If we define the fixed point x1 = a and let x = x2 then (1.8) becomes

f (x) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim (1.9)
x→a x−a

Equation 1.9 gives the slope of the tangent line at the point x = a. It is a number, and is
called the derivative of f (x) at the point x = a.
If we instead define h = x2 − x1 in (1.8) then x2 = x1 + h. So when x2 → x1 , h must go to
zero; it is the horizontal distance between the coordinates of P and Q. Substituting,

f (x1 + h) − f (x1 )
f 0 (x1 ) = lim (1.10)
x1 +h→x1 h

Since there is only one x coordinate (that of P ) the index is no longer needed, and the equation
for the slope of the tangent line at x becomes

f (x + h) − f (x)
f 0 (x) = lim (1.11)
h→0 h

We call the slope of the tangent line at x the derivative of f (x) and denote it by f 0 (x). When
the limit (1.11) exists we say that f (x) is differentiable at x . We emphasize here that while
the slope of a line is a number, and the slope of a curve at a particular point, the derivative of a
function is another function. The derivative f 0 (x) gives the slope of f (x) as a continually
changing function of x.

Doing Calculus
Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change 9

Definition 1.2. The Derivative

The derivative of a function f (x) is the function f 0 (x) defined by

f (x + h) − f (x)
f 0 (x) = lim (1.12)
h→0 h
The derivative at the point x = a is a number f 0 (a) that may be calculated either
by by setting x = a in the formula for f 0 (x) or by calculating a limit such as

f (a + h) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim (1.13)
h→0 h
or
f (x) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim (1.14)
x→a x−a

Example 1.1. Find the slope of the tangent line to y = x2 at the point (1, 1) by simulating
the process of Q → P empirically, and use this slope to calculate the equation of the tangent
line at (1, 1).
Solution. By an empirical calculation we mean we want to experimentally calculate the values
of the slop as Q marches toward P . Let Q = (x, y) = (x, x2 ) be any other point on the
curve of y = x2 . Then the slope is
y2 − y1 x2 − 1 (x − 1)(x + 1)
m = lim = lim = lim =x+1 (1.15a)
x2 →x1 x2 − x1 x→1 x − 1 x→1 x−1
We will arbitrarily pick a sequence of values of x that approach 1 from the left, and see
what the slope appears to be approaching:

x m=1+x
0.9 1.9
0.99 1.99
0.999 1.999
0.9999 1.999
0.9999999999 1.9999999999
as x → 1 from the left, it would appear that m → 2. What about if x → 1 from
the right? We can repeat the empircal calculation:

x m=1+x
1.1 2.1
1.01 2.01
1.001 2.001
1.0001 2.0001
1.0000000001 2.0000000001
It would appear that m → 2 as x → 1 from the right as well. Thus the tangent
line through (1, 1) is (using the point-slope form of the equation of a line),
y − 1 = 2(x − 1) = 2x − 2 (1.15b)
Bringing the 1 to the right hand side gives the equation in the more standard slope-
intercept form of y = 2x − 1.
As it turns it, we could have simply plugged x = 1 into the last step of equation (1.15a)
x2 − 1
m = lim = lim (x + 1) = 2 (1.16)
x→1 x−1 x→1

Doing Calculus
10 Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change

We will see why we can do this when we discuss the limit laws (such as theorem 3.9) in chapter
2. In this case, since f (x) = x + 1 is a polynomial, theorem 3.9 allows us to simply substitute
x2 − 1
the value of x into the formula for f (x). We could not have plugged x = 1 into g(x) = ,
x−1
even though g(x) = f (x) for all x 6= 1, to calculate the limit because that would have led to
the rather perplexing conundrum of fraction equal to 0/0. We will also discus 0/0 limits in
chapter 2.

Average and Instantaneous Rate of Change

Suppose that the amount or quantity of something is a function of time: position, altitude of
an airplane, the odometer on your car, amount of flour in a cannister on your kitchen counter,
amount of gasoline in your car. We want to be able to describe that quantity y = f (t) changes
with time. Suppose there is an amount y1 = f (t1 ) at time t1 , and an amount y2 = f (t2 ) at
time t2 .
Let ∆t = t2 − t1 be the change in t, and ∆y = y2 − y1 be the corresponding change in y over
the timespan ∆t starting at t1 .
Then the average rate of change of y is the total change in y divided by ∆t, and we will
denote this by vaverage :
∆y f (t2 ) − f (t1 )
vaverage = = (1.17)
∆t t2 − t1
If y is the position, for example, then v is the average velocity or speed, and is measured in
km/sec. If y is the amount of gasoline in your car, it may be measured in gallons/day. If y is
the number of gallons in a tank of water, then dy/dt is rate at which you use the water.
We observe that the average rate of change is the slope of the secant line to f (t) from
time t = t1 to time t = t2 .
We use the term instantaneous rate of change to refer to the limit (see figure 1.5)
f (t2 ) − f (t1 ) ∆y
vinstantenous (t1 ) = lim = lim (1.18)
t2 →t1 t2 − t1 ∆t→0 ∆t

which is precisely the derivative at t1 . Hence

f (a) − f (t) f (t + h) − f (t)
vinstantaneous (t) = f 0 (t) = lim = lim (1.19)
a→t a−t h→0 h
The instantaneous rate of change at any time t = a is the slope of the tangent line at t = a,
and is equal to the value of the derivative f 0 (a).
Example 1.2. In the absence of air resistance, the distance an object falls when it is dropped
is related to the time since it has fallen by the equation
1 2
y= gt (1.20)
2
where g = 9.80665 m/sec2 is the Earth standard acceleration due to gravity. Estimate the
velocity that a US penny has when it hits the ground if it is dropped off the top of the tallest
building in Los Angeles (the US Bank tower, 310 Meters).
Solution. We first solve for the time it takes to hit the ground; solving (1.20) for t,
… …
2y 2 × 310
t= = = 7.95125 sec (1.21a)
g 9.80665

Doing Calculus
Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change 11

Figure 1.5: Average and instantaneous rate of change. The function f (t) is plotted on the
dependent axis and time on the independent axis. The instantaneous rate of change at any
particular time, such as at the time points A and C (illustrated) is the slope of the tangent line
at that point. The average rate of change is measured over and interval between two points,
and is the slope of the secant line connecting the values of the function at the two endpoints
of the interval [A, B].

Slope=vinstantaneousHAL

Slope=vaverageH@B,CDL
fHtL

Slope=vinstantaneousHCL

A B C
t

Next, we need to figure out the instantaneous velocity at t = 7.95125. The average
velocity between t1 and t2 is

gt22 /2 − gt21 /2 g (t2 − t1 )(t2 + t1 ) g(t2 + t1 )

vaverage = = · = (1.21b)
t2 − t1 2 t2 − t1 2
The instantaneous velocity is

g(t2 + t1 )
v(t1 ) = lim (1.21c)
t2 →t1 2

The instantaneous velocity at t = 7.95125 is then

g(t + 7.95125)
v(7.95125) = lim (1.21d)
t→7.95125 2
Calculating this limit empirically from the left we obtain the following values:

t g(t + 7.95125)/2
7.9 77.7238
7.95 77.9690
7.951 77.9739
7.9512 77.9749
7.95125 77.9751
Here is a table as we approach from the right

t g(t + 7.95125)/2
8 78.2142
7.96 78.018
7.952 77.9788
7.9513 77.9754
7.95126 77.9752

Doing Calculus
12 Chapter 1. Slope and Rate of Change

Truncating to three decimals we estimate that the instantaneous velocity is 77.975 me-
ters/second.

In fact, due to air resistance, the speed would probably only be about half that fast
(because the equation we started with is actually incorrect).

Exercises
Empirically estimate the slope of each of the following 11. Suppose that a ball is thrown straight up into
functions at the specified point. the air with an initial velocity of 50 ft/sec so
that its height in feet after t seconds is given
3
1. y = x − 4 at x = 2 ans: 12 by y = 50t − 16t2 .

π (a) Find the average velocity over the period

2. y = sin x at x = ans: 0.5
3 1 ≤ t ≤ 1.5
(b) Find the average velocity over the period
3. y = x(x − 1) at x = 0.5 ans: 0
1 ≤ t ≤ 1.1
4 2
4. y = x − x at x = 1 ans: 2 (c) Find the average velocity over the period
1 ≤ t ≤ 1.01
√
5. y = x at x = 2 ans: 0.353553 (d) Estimate the instantaneous velocity at
t=1
1
6. y = √ at x = 4 ans: -0.0625
x 12. The position of a particle moving in a straight
line is given by t2 − 4t + 8 meters, where t is
Use an empirical estimate of the slope to find the measured in seconds.
equation of the tangent line to each of the following
functions at the specified point. (a) Estimate the average velocity over the in-
terval [3, 4]
4 2
7. y = x − x at x = 1 ans:y = 2x − 2 (b) Estimate the average velocity over the in-
3
terval [3.5, 4]
8. y = x − x at x = 2 ans: y = 16 − 11x
(c) Estimate the average velocity over the in-
π terval [4, 5]
9. y = tan x at x = ans: y = 2x − 0.571
4 (d) Estimate the average velocity over the in-
Ä1ä terval [4, 4.5]
1
10. y = x sin at x =
x x (e) Estimate the instantaneous velocity at
ans: y = πx − 1 t = 4.

Doing Calculus