Back when I was in high school the usage of the word derive to mean take the derivative of was really widespread. How to use derive in a sentence. That is the amount by which a function is changing at one given point.
Derivative Formula Derivatives are the fundamental tool used in calculus.
A Quadratic Equation looks like this. Derivation of Quadratic Formula. Frequently in mathematics classes -- and I assume this is true in engineering classes -- a derivation of a formula or a proof of the theorem is an example. For functions that act on the real numbers it is the slope of the tangent line at a point on a graph.