B1: The Derivative as Slope

Drag the Blue Dot along the curve. The line represents the slope at that exact point.

💡 Try this: Drag to x ≈ 0. Notice the slope is nearly zero—this is the minimum of x²!

x value 0.00
f(x) 0.00
Slope f'(x) 0.00
Increasing

The derivative is the "steepness" of the curve at a single point. Watch how the color changes:

● Positive (Rising) ● Negative (Falling) ● Zero (Flat)