Texas Instruments
9-12
45 Minutes
TI-89 / TI-89 Titanium
Published on 11/30/2012
Students will determine the derivative of the function y = ln(x) and work with the derivative of both y = ln(u) and y = loga(u).
Students begin the activity by finding the derivative of the natural log function at several values using the definition of a derivative. Students should begin seeing a pattern for the derivative of a natural logarithm function.
Next, students will explore logarithmic functions that have a base other than e.
Finally, students will use the Chain Rule to find the derivative of more complex exponential and logarithmic functions.