Introduction to Derivatives
![Introduction to Derivatives](/content/images/size/w960/2024/07/Derivatives-Cover-Cropped.png)
Prerequisites Required- Basic Mathematics
Suppose we have a basic linear function, $f(x) = 4x + 2$
![](https://mechatronics.studio/content/images/2024/07/Plot-of-4x-2.png)
The slope of this function is $4$ (if the input $x$ increases by 1, the output increases by $4$).
The derivative of a function is its slope (change in output per change in input). This calculation is very easy for linear functions because the slope is the same everywhere.
For the function $f(x) = 4x + 2$, its slope with respect to $x$ is 4.
![](https://mechatronics.studio/content/images/2024/07/Diagram-of-Slope-for-4x-2.png)