Precalculus Examples

$f (x) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$

Step 1

Consider the difference quotient formula.

$\frac{f (x + h) - f (x)}{h}$

Step 2

Find the components of the definition.

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Step 2.1

Evaluate the function at $x = x + h$ .

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Step 2.1.1

Replace the variable $x$ with $x + h$ in the expression.

$f (x + h) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 (x + h)}}$

Step 2.1.2

Simplify the result.

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Step 2.1.2.1

Apply the distributive property.

$f (x + h) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$

Step 2.1.2.2

The final answer is $\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$ .

$\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$

Step 2.2

Find the components of the definition.

$f (x + h) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$

$f (x) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$

$f (x + h) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$

$f (x) = \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$

Step 3

Plug in the components.

$\frac{f (x + h) - f (x)}{h} = \frac{\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}} - (\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}})}{h}$

Step 4

Simplify.

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Step 4.1

Simplify the numerator.

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Step 4.1.1

To write $\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}} \cdot \frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}} - \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}}{h}$

Step 4.1.2

To write $- \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}} \cdot \frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}} - \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}} \cdot \frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}}{h}$

Step 4.1.3

Write each expression with a common denominator of $(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})$ , by multiplying each by an appropriate factor of $1$ .

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Step 4.1.3.1

Multiply $\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$ by $\frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})} - \frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}} \cdot \frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}}{h}$

Step 4.1.3.2

Multiply $\frac{20}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}}$ by $\frac{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}{1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})} - \frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.3.3

Reorder the factors of $(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})} - \frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.4

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) - 20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5

Rewrite $\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) - 20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}$ in a factored form.

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Step 4.1.5.1

Factor $20$ out of $20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) - 20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})$ .

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Step 4.1.5.1.1

Factor $20$ out of $- 20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) + 20 (- (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.1.2

Factor $20$ out of $20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) + 20 (- (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x} - (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x} - 1 \cdot 1 - (9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.3

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x} - 1 - (9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.4

Multiply $9$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x} - 1 - 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.5

Subtract $1$ from $1$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 e^{- 3 x} + 0 - 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.6

Add $9 e^{- 3 x}$ and $0$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 e^{- 3 x} - 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7

Rewrite $9 e^{- 3 x} - 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}$ in a factored form.

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Step 4.1.5.7.1

Factor $9$ out of $9 e^{- 3 x} - 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}$ .

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Step 4.1.5.7.1.1

Factor $9$ out of $9 e^{- 3 x}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 (e^{- 3 x}) - 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.1.2

Factor $9$ out of $- 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 (e^{- 3 x}) + 9 (- e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.1.3

Factor $9$ out of $9 (e^{- 3 x}) + 9 (- e^{- 3 x - 3 h})$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 (e^{- 3 x} - e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.2

Rewrite $e^{- 3 x}$ as ${(e^{- x})}^{3}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ({(e^{- x})}^{3} - e^{- 3 x - 3 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.3

Rewrite $e^{- 3 x - 3 h}$ as ${(e^{- x - h})}^{3}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ({(e^{- x})}^{3} - {(e^{- x - h})}^{3}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.4

Since both terms are perfect cubes, factor using the difference of cubes formula, $a^{3} - b^{3} = (a - b) (a^{2} + a b + b^{2})$ where $a = e^{- x}$ and $b = e^{- x - h}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) ({(e^{- x})}^{2} + e^{- x} e^{- x - h} + {(e^{- x - h})}^{2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5

Simplify.

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Step 4.1.5.7.5.1

Multiply the exponents in ${(e^{- x})}^{2}$ .

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Step 4.1.5.7.5.1.1

Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, ${(a^{m})}^{n} = a^{m n}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- x \cdot 2} + e^{- x} e^{- x - h} + {(e^{- x - h})}^{2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.1.2

Multiply $2$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- x} e^{- x - h} + {(e^{- x - h})}^{2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.2

Multiply $e^{- x}$ by $e^{- x - h}$ by adding the exponents.

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Step 4.1.5.7.5.2.1

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- x - x - h} + {(e^{- x - h})}^{2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.2.2

Subtract $x$ from $- x$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + {(e^{- x - h})}^{2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.3

Multiply the exponents in ${(e^{- x - h})}^{2}$ .

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Step 4.1.5.7.5.3.1

Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, ${(a^{m})}^{n} = a^{m n}$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{(- x - h) \cdot 2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.3.2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- x \cdot 2 - h \cdot 2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.3.3

Multiply $2$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - h \cdot 2})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.7.5.3.4

Multiply $2$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 ((e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

$\frac{\frac{20 (9 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h}))}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

$\frac{\frac{20 \cdot 9 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.1.5.8

Multiply $20$ by $9$ .

$\frac{\frac{180 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}}{h}$

Step 4.2

Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.

$\frac{180 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})} \cdot \frac{1}{h}$

Step 4.3

Combine.

$\frac{180 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h}) \cdot 1}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) h}$

Step 4.4

Simplify the expression.

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Step 4.4.1

Multiply $180$ by $1$ .

$\frac{180 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) h}$

Step 4.4.2

Reorder factors in $\frac{180 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})}{(1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x}) h}$ .

$\frac{180 (e^{- x} - e^{- x - h}) (e^{- 2 x} + e^{- 2 x - h} + e^{- 2 x - 2 h})}{h (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x - 3 h}) (1 + 9 e^{- 3 x})}$

Step 5