Partial Derivatives and the Gradient of a Function
Partial Derivatives and the Gradient of a Function
We’ve introduced the differential operator before, during a few of our calculus lessons. But now we will be using this operator more and more over the prime symbol we are used to when describing differentiation, as from now on we will frequently be differentiating with respect to a specific variable, and we will have to keep track of which one it is. This leads us to the concept of partial derivatives. Although partial differential equations sound like extremely advanced math, and they will get pretty hairy a little later in the series, they’re aren’t too daunting when just going over their definitions, so let’s see what they are and also learn about the gradient of a function, which involves partial derivatives.