Lessons165
Year › Strand › Topic › Lesson

Basic Differentiation | Year 1 Pure | A Level Maths

Differentiation is one of the two great ideas of calculus and underpins enormous parts of A-level maths. In this lesson you will learn how to differentiate x^n for rational n and related sums, differences and constant multiples, use both dy/dx and f'(x) notation, and apply the technique to expressions such as (2x + 5)(x — 1) and (x^2 + 3x^(1/2) — 5) / (4x^2). These foundational rules are needed for tangents, normals, stationary points and optimisation.

Your A Level maths journey

We're with you every step of the way. Click here to find out more about the journey.

Stage 1

Learning

Video lessons

Stage 2

Practice

Worksheets

Stage 4

Past paper revision

Past papers

A* questions

Only follow this arrow when you have covered the whole curriculum.

Lesson Video On Basic Differentiation

Follow the lesson video carefully with a pen and paper. By the end of it you should be comfortable with this topic. If you want a blank copy of this lesson to follow along, scroll down to the PDF viewer below and select “Student Notes Template” and download using the link at the top of the PDF viewer.

Lesson Resources For Basic Differentiation

Here you will find all of the PDF resources for the lesson on Basic Differentiation. Please choose from the dropdown menu below. You are able to download worksheets and notes templates to help you follow the video lesson. Mark schemes and solutions are not downloadable.

Resource: