Derivatives of Exponential Functions and the Natural Logarith

Guided Notes for this lecture

In this section we add to our list of formulas by considering what exponential and the natural logarthim functions have as derivatives We start with exponential functions.

Now we consider the derivative of the natural logarithm.

Finally, we consider some applications of these derivative formulas.

At the end of this section you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How can we look at any function and determine which formula to apply?
2. How is the derivative of e^x related to the general formula for a^x?
3. How does the constant multiple rule impact the derivative of ln(x)?

Check Your Understanding
You should try these problems before reviewing the solutions to to these non-graded practice problems.