This applet demonstrates the graph of [math]y=a^x[/math] and its gradient function. It can be used to introduce the derivative of exponential functions in general and to show how the exponential function [math]e^x[/math] is special. It can be used to guide students to the form of the derivative and the integral of [math]e^x[/math]. This is appropriate for the A-level OCR Core 3 module. NB For this module, only the derivative and integral of the exponential function [math]e^x[/math] are required, not the derivative of exponential functions [math]a^x[/math] in general.
