After completing this section, students should be able to do the following.

  • Determine when a function is differentiable.
  • Compute partial derivatives.
  • Compute gradients.
  • Recognize that the gradient points in the initial direction of greatest increase of the functions value.
  • Reconize that the gradient is normal to level sets.
  • Compute directional derivatives.
  • Find a tangent plane via the gradient.