Exercise · ZW-DIFFERENTIABILITY-SEVERAL-VARIABLES-005 · ★★☆ Intermediate

Which condition guarantees that \(f\) is differentiable at \((a,b)\)?

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • C. That \(f_x\) and \(f_y\) exist and are continuous near \((a,b)\)

Explanation

Continuous partials on a neighborhood suffice. Existence of the partials, or continuity of \(f\), is not enough on its own.

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Review the concept: Differentiability in several variables

A function \(f(x,y)\) is differentiable at a point \((a,b)\) if its graph has a tangent plane there: the error of the linear approximation is negligible compared with the distance to the point.

\[\lim_{(h,k)\to(0,0)}\frac{f(a+h,b+k)-f(a,b)-f_x(a,b)\,h-f_y(a,b)\,k}{\sqrt{h^2+k^2}}=0\]

More practice problems: differentiability in several variables

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