Differentiating Special Functions

Exam code: 4037

Written by: Ashika|Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll|Updated 2 July 2026

Differentiating Trig Functions

Differentiating trig functions

How do I differentiate trig functions?

For calculus with trigonometric functions, angles must be measured in radians
The derivative of $y = \sin x$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = \cos x$
The derivative of $y = \cos x$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = - \sin x$
The derivative of $y = \tan x$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = \sec^{2} x$
The following two sets of relationships can be derived using the chain rule, but are useful to know!
For the linear function $a x + b$ , where $a$ and $b$ are constants,
- the derivative of $y = \sin (a x + b)$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = a \cos (a x + b)$
- the derivative of $y = \cos (a x + b)$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = - a \sin (a x + b)$
- the derivative of $y = \tan (a x + b)$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = a \sec^{2} (a x + b)$
For the general function $f (x)$ ,
- the derivative of $y = \sin (f (x))$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = f^{'} (x) \cos (f (x))$
- the derivative of $y = \cos (f (x))$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = - f^{'} (x) \sin (f (x))$
- the derivative of $y = \tan (f (x))$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = f^{'} (x) \sec^{2} (f (x))$

Worked example

a) Find $f' (x)$ for the functions

i. $f (x) = \sin x$

ii. $f (x) = \cos 2 x$

ii. $f (x) = 3 \sin 4 x - \cos (2 x - 3)$

$f' (x) = \cos x$

ii. Use the chain rule or remember that when $y = \cos (a x + b)$ , then $\frac{d y}{d x} = - a \sin (a x + b)$

$f' (x) = - 2 \sin (2 x)$

iii. Differentiate 'term by term'

$f' (x) = 3 (4 \cos 4 x) - (- 2 \sin (2 x - 3))$

$f' (x) = 12 \cos 4 x + 2 \sin (2 x - 3)$

b) $\begin{matrix} \end{matrix}$ Find the gradient of the tangent to the curve $y = \sin (2 x + \frac{π}{6})$ at the point where $x = \frac{π}{8}$ .

Gradient of tangent is equal to gradient of curve. To find the gradient, differentiate...

$\frac{d y}{d x} = 2 \cos (2 x + \frac{π}{6})$

... and substitute $x = \frac{π}{8}$ into the derivative

$\frac{d y}{d x} = 2 \cos (2 (\frac{π}{8}) + \frac{π}{6})$

Ensure that your calculator is in radians

$= \frac{\sqrt{6} - \sqrt{2}}{2} = 0.517638090 . . .$

Answer = $\frac{\sqrt{6} - \sqrt{2}}{2}$ , or 0.518 to 3 significant figures

Differentiating e^x & lnx

How do I differentiate exponentials and logarithms?

The derivative of $y = e^{x}$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = e^{x}$ where $x \in ℝ$
The derivative of $y = \ln x$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = \frac{1}{x}$ where $x > 0$
In addition, the results below can all be found using the chain rule but are worthwhile knowing, to save time in an exam
For the linear function $a x + b$ , where $a$ and $b$ are constants,
- the derivative of $y = e^{(a x + b)}$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = a e^{(a x + b)}$
- the derivative of $y = \ln (a x + b)$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = \frac{a}{(a x + b)}$
  - in the special case $b = 0$ , $\frac{d y}{d x} = \frac{1}{x}$ ( $a$ 's cancel)
For the general function $f (x)$ ,
- the derivative of $y = e^{f (x)}$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = f' (x) e^{f (x)}$
- the derivative of $y = \ln (f (x))$ is $\frac{d y}{d x} = \frac{f' (x)}{f (x)}$

Exam tip

Remember to avoid the common mistakes:
- the derivative of $\ln k x$ with respect to $x$ is $\frac{1}{x}$ , NOT $\frac{k}{x}$ !
- the derivative of $e^{k x}$ with respect to $x$ is $k e^{k x}$ , NOT $k x e^{k x - 1}$ !

Worked example

A curve has the equation $y = e^{- 3 x} + 2 \ln x$ .

Find the gradient of the curve at the point where $x = 2$ giving your answer in the form $a + b e^{c}$ , where $a, b$ and $c$ are integers to be found.

Differentiate each term separately.

$\frac{d y}{d x} = - 3 e^{- 3 x} + 2 (\frac{1}{x})$

Substitute $x = 2$ into the derivative.

$\frac{d y}{d x} = - 3 e^{- 3 (2)} + 2 (\frac{1}{2})$

Rearrange to the required form.

$\begin{array}{rcl} \frac{d y}{d x} & = & - 3 e^{- 6} + 1 = 1 - 3 e^{- 6} \end{array}$

Do not use your calculator to evaluate this as the question asks for the answer given in this form.

$1 - 3 e^{- 6}$

Differentiating Trig Functions

Differentiating trig functions

How do I differentiate trig functions?

Differentiating e^x & lnx

Differentiating e^x & lnx

How do I differentiate exponentials and logarithms?

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