Exercise 1522Calculus › Single-variable calculus › Differentiation › Differentiable functionsL1Added 2 Nov 2026
Differentiable but not continuously differentiable
#differentiability#continuity of the derivative#counterexamples
Statement
Let for and .
- Show that is differentiable on and compute .
- Show that is not continuous at .
Hint
Away from use the usual rules. At you must use the definition, with the squeeze theorem.
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Solution
1. For , by the product and chain rules,
At , the difference quotient is
and . So and is differentiable everywhere.
2. As , the term , but has no limit: it equals along and along . So has no limit at , and in particular is not continuous at , although exists.
Remark. A derivative can be discontinuous. It cannot however have a jump discontinuity (see the problem on the limit of the derivative): its discontinuities are always of this oscillating kind.