Derivative of Tan x & Proof in Easy Steps

Derivatives > Derivative of Tan x

What is the Derivative of Tan x?

The derivative of tan x is sec²x:

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How to Take the Derivative of Tan x

You can take the derivative of tan x using the quotient rule. That’s because of a basic trig identity, which is a quotient of the sine function and cosine function:

tan(x) = sin(x) / cos(x).

Step 1: Name the numerator (top term) in the quotient g(x) and the denominator (bottom term) h(x). You could use any names you like, as it won’t make a difference to the algebra. However, g(x) and h(x) are common choices.

g(x) = sin(x)
h(x) = cos(x)

Step 2: Put g(x) and h(x) into the quotient rule formula.

Note that I used d/dx here to denote a derivative (Leibniz Notation) instead of g(x)′ or h(x)′ (Prime Notation (Lagrange), Function & Numbers). You can use either notation: they mean the same thing.

Step 3: Differentiate the functions from Step 2. There are two parts to differentiate:

The derivative of the first part of the function (sin(x)) is cos(x)
The derivative of cos(x) is -sin(x).

Placing those derivatives into the formula from Step 3, we get:

Which we can rewrite as:
f′(x) = cos²(x) + sin²(x) / cos(x)².

Step 4: Use algebra / trig identities to simplify.

Specifically, start by using the identity cos²(x) + sin²(x) = 1
This gives you 1/cos²(x), which is equivalent in trigonometry to sec²(x).

Proof of the Derivative of Tan x

There are a couple of ways to prove the derivative tan x. You could start with the definition of a derivative and prove the rule using trigonometric identities. But there’s actually a much easier way, and is basically the steps you took above to solve for the derivative. As it relies only on trig identities and a little algebra, it is valid as a proof. Plus, it skips the need for using the definition of a derivative at all.