Differentiation is a big thing in fact major chapter for all Secondary 4 ‘O’ level students.

Read all about the basics Differentiation techniques here. (Examples included) I would like to share one question from my A-Math Ultimate Leap Programme (weekly coaching class) which has 2 different approaches to solve it.

Example:

Very often, I notice students will jump into Quotient rule whenever a fraction is given. Just like this student here:

May I suggest that you pause for 3 seconds to think about the approach. Ask yourself ‘Is there anything I can simplify?’

Here’s another student who pauses:

Notice this student spends his time simplifying before applying chain rule in differentiation.

I hope you enjoy this example. Both students are correct in their answers, which one do you prefer more? A or B?

chain rule · differentiation · quotient rule · shortcut