Calculus AB : Differentiating Functions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus AB

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Differentiate Inverse Trig Functions

Let . What is ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This is an example of when product rule must be used to find the derivative, because there are two functions ( and  being multiplied together within .

Example Question #3 : Differentiate Inverse Trig Functions

Evaluate the following derivative: 

Chain rule must be used to properly find the derivative, because there is an outer function of  and an inner function of  present.

To simplify further, the 10 in the numerator cancels out the 10 in the denominator. 

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

 

Example Question #1 : Differentiate Inverse Trig Functions

Which derivative would produce the same expression as ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By examining the inverse trigonometric function derivatives, it can be shown that . The derivatives of these two inverse functions are negatives of one another.

Example Question #3 : Differentiate Inverse Trig Functions

Let . Find .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This question invokes the use of chain rule.

Example Question #1 : Differentiate Inverse Trig Functions

Let . Find .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This question requires the use of chain rule. In this case, there are three functions to consider: first, ; second, the square root; and third, . In order to evaluate, the derivative of each of the three functions must be found and multiplied together.

Example Question #1 : Differentiate Inverse Trig Functions

Evaluate the following derivative:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This problem requires use of the chain rule twice; the first time addresses the inner function of  while the second accounts for the function

Example Question #1 : Implicit Differentiation And Chain Rule

.  Find the derivative.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When the function is a constant to the power of a function of x, the first step in chain rule is to rewrite f(x).  So, the first factor of f(x) will be .  Next, we have to take the derivative of the function that is the exponent, or .  Its derivative is 10x-7, so that is the next factor of our derivative.  Last, when a constant is the base of an exponential function, we must always take the natural log of that number in our derivative.  So, our final factor will be .  Thus, the derivative of the entire function will be all these factors multiplied together: .

Example Question #2 : Implicit Differentiation And Chain Rule

Find the derivative of the function  using implicit differentiation.

Possible Answers:

Cannot be solved

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the derivative through implicit differentiation, we have to take the derivative of every term with respect to x.  Don't forget that each time you take the derivative of a term containing y, you must multiply its derivative by y'.  So, when we take the derivative of each term, we get .  The next step is to solve for y', so we put all terms containing y' on the left side of the equation: .  To get y' alone, divide both sides by -3 to get .  To simplify even further, we can factor a -2 out of the numerator and denominator and cancel them.  So, the final answer is .

Example Question #2 : Implicit Differentiation And Chain Rule

.  Find .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To take the derivative, you must first take the derivative of the outside function, which is sine.  However, the , or the angle of the function, remains the same until we take its derivative later.  The derivative of sinx is cosx, so you the first part of  will be .  Next, take the derivative of the inside function, .  Its derivative is , so by the chain rule, we multiply the derivatives of the inside and outside functions together to get .

Example Question #1 : Implicit Differentiation And Chain Rule

Find the derivative of the function of the circle 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the derivative through implicit differentiation, we have to take the derivative of every term with respect to x.  Don't forget that each time you take the derivative of a term containing y, you must multiply its derivative by y'.  So, when we take the derivative of each term, we get   The next step is to solve for y', so we put all terms containing y' on the left side of the equation: .  To get y' alone, divide both sides by  to get .  To simplify even further, we can factor a 2 out of the numerator and denominator and cancel them.  So, the final answer is .

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