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Say you have a function of a single variable, f(x). Then there is no ambiguity about what you are taking the derivative with respect to (it is always with respect to x).

But what if I have a function of a few variables, f(x,y,z)? Now, I can take the derivative with respect to x, y, or z. These are "partial" derivatives, because we are only interested in how the function varies w.r.t. a single variable, assuming that the other variables are independent and "frozen".

e.g., Question: how does f vary with respect to y? Answer: (partial f/partial y)

Now, what if our function again depends on a few variables, but these variables themselves depend on time: x(t), y(t), z(t) --> f(x(t),y(t),z(t))? Again, we might ask how f varies w.r.t. one of the variables x,y,z, in which case we would use partial derivatives. If we ask how f varies with respect to t, we would do the following:

df/dt = (partial f/partial x)*dx/dt + (partial f/partial y)*dy/dt + (partial f/partial z)*dz/dt

df/dt is known as the "total" derivative, which essentially uses the chain rule to drop the assumption that the other variables are "frozen" while taking the derivative.

This framework is especially useful in physical problems where I might want to consider spatial variations of a function (partial derivatives), as well as the total variation in time (total derivative).

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12y ago
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5mo ago

A partial derivative is taken with respect to one variable while holding all other variables constant, whereas a derivative is taken with respect to one variable in general. Partial derivatives are used in multivariable calculus to analyze functions of multiple variables.

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Q: What is the difference between partial derivative and derivative?
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Related questions

What is the difference between total differentiation and partial differentiation?

Suppose, Z is a function of X and Y. In case of Partial Differentiation of Z with respect to X, all other variables, except X are treated as constants. But, total derivative pf z is given by, dz=(partial derivative of z w.r.t x)dx + (partial derivative of z w.r.t y)dy


Why do you need total derivative and partial derivative?

The partial derivative only acts on one the variables on the equations and treats the others as constant.


The difference between differential and derivative?

They are the same thing.


What is the difference between a definition and derivative?

a definition is what it means, a derivative is what it derives from, like a root word


What is the difference between anti-derivative and integral?

there is no diffference, i think...


What are spacial derivatives?

The spacial derivative is the measure of a quantity as and how it is being changed in space. This is different from a temporal derivative and partial derivative.


What is a partial derivative?

A partial derivative is the derivative of a function of more than one variable with respect to only one variable. When taking a partial derivative, the other variables are treated as constants. For example, the partial derivative of the function f(x,y)=2x2 + 3xy + y2 with respect to x is:?f/?x = 4x + 3yhere we can see that y terms have been treated as constants when differentiating.The partial derivative of f(x,y) with respect to y is:?f/?y = 3x + 2yand here, x terms have been treated as constants.


What are the applications of partial derivatives in real analysis?

what are the applications of partial derivative in real analysis.


What is difference between anti integration and derivative?

In all but very exceptional cases there is no difference.


What is the derivative of x-y?

The partial derivative in relation to x: dz/dx=-y The partial derivative in relation to y: dz/dy= x If its a equation where a constant 'c' is set equal to the equation c = x - y, the derivative is 0 = 1 - dy/dx, so dy/dx = 1


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What is the difference between the differentiation of the function and the partial differentiation of the function?

You can differentiate a function when it only contains one changing variable, like f(x) = x2. It's derivative is f'(x) = 2x. If a function contains more than one variable, like f(x,y) = x2 + y2, you can't just "find the derivative" generically because that doesn't specify what variable to take the derivative with respect to. Instead, you might "take the derivative with respect to x (treating y as a constant)" and get fx(x,y) = 2x or "take the derivative with respect to y (treating x as a constant)" and get fy(x,y) = 2y. This is a partial derivative--when you take the derivative of a function with many variable with respect to one of the variables while treating the rest as constants.