function of several variables

Partial Derivatives

Let F be a function of several variables, say x, y, and z. In symbols,

$F = f(x, \, y, \, z)$.

The partial derivative of F with respect to x is denoted by

$\dfrac{\partial F}{\partial x}$

and can be found by differentiating f(x, y, z) in terms of x and treating the variables y and z as constants.