Question

What is the purpose of a derivative?

Answer 1

A derivative is a slope function. If you want to find the slope anywhere along the function, you can.

Explanation:

Given: What is the purpose of a derivative?

A derivative is a slope function: `m = f'(x = value)`. If you want to find the slope anywhere along the function, you can.

If you want to find a tangent line at a specific point along the function you can, using the slope and the point: `y - y_1 = m (x - x_1)`