Partial Derivatives
We can have a function of more than one variable, like this:
z = f(x, y) = 2xy + 3x2 ?10
The partial derivative of the function z with respect to x is written as:
This means the derivative of the function z with respect to x, holding y constant.
The partial derivative of z with respect to y is written as:
This means the derivative of the function z with respect to y, holding x constant.
Here’s an example of how it works. For the above function,
The key is learning to treat the appropriate variable, x or y, as a constant.
