CHAPTER 8 SOLUTIONS TO REINFORCEMENT EXERCISES IN

TECHNIQUESOFDIFFERENTIATION
8.3.1 Geometricalinterpretationofdifferentiation
8.3.1A.
Evaluatetheslopesofthefollowingcurvesatthepointsspecified
3

i)y=x xx=1

ii) y=sinx,x=

iii)y=2e x=0

iv) y=x=1

Solution
3

i) Tofindtheslopeofthecurvey=x xatx=1,weevaluatethe
derivativeatthispoint.
Wehave:
2

=3x 1
2

So,atx=1thisgivesaslopeof3(1) 1=31=2.
ii)Ify=sinxthen
=cosx
andsotheslopeofy=sinxatx=iscos=1.
x

iii)Ify=2e then,remembering=e ,
x

=2e
x

andsotheslopeofy=2e atx=0is2e =2,sincee =1.

iv)y=isoneofthosethingsthatyoumightfindtrickytodifferentiate,
but remember that we first express it in a form more amenable to
1

differentiationnamely,intermsofpowers,y=3x .Then
===3(1)x

=3x

So,atx=1,theslopeofy=isgivenby3(1) =3.
8.3.1B.
3

Determinewheretheslopeofthecurvey=2x +3x 12x+6iszero.

Solution
Firstwemustfindtheslope,bydifferentiating.Weobtain
2

==6x +6x12
Thiswillbezerowhen
2

6x +6x12=6(x +x2)=0
Wecanherecancelthefactorof2,becausethisisanequation(UEM40),
togivethequadraticequation
2

x +x2=(x1)(x+2)=0
2

onfactorizing.Remember,ofcoursethat6x +6x12isnotthesameas
2

x +x2 ingeneral,onlyiftheybothequalzero.Thefactorizedform
givesforthesolutionofthisequation,x=1orx=2.Foreithercasethe
3

derivativeofy=2x +3x 12x+6iszeroandthereforetheslopeofthis

3

functioniszero.Sotheslopeofy=2x +3x 12x+6iszerowhenx=1

orx=2.
8.3.2 Differentiationfromfirstprinciples
Differentiatefromfirstprinciples:
i)3x

ii)x +2x+1

iii)x iv)cosx

Solution
i)Ify=f(x)=3x,then
y+y=f=3
=3x+3 x
So
y=ff(x)=3x+3x3x=3x
and===3
So,inthelimit,as x 0

= =
=3
=3
2

ii)Ify=f(x)=x +2x+1then
2

y+y=f= +2(x+x)+1
2

=x +2x x+ +2x+2x+1
Hence
2

y=ff(x)=2xx+ +2x
and==2x+ x+2

So,inthelimit,as x 0
= =

=2x+2

ii)Ify=f(x)=x then
y+y=f=

3
3

=x +3x x+3x +
bythebinomialtheorem(UEM71).
Hence
2

y=ff(x)=3x x+3x +
2

and==3x +3x+

So,inthelimit,as x 0
= =

=3x +3x+

=3x

iv)Ify=f(x)=cosxthenwehavetobemoreimaginative,andwill
need to remember our trig identities and other properties of trig
functions.Wehave
y+y=f=cos(x+x)
Thisisthecosineofasum,whichsuggestsusingthe compoundangle
formula(UEM187)
cos(A+B)=cosAcosBsinAsinB
toget
cos(x+x)=cosxcos(x)sinxsin(x)
Things such ascos (x)andsin (x)arenotvery welcome,but ifwe
rememberthatxcanbeassmallaswewish,thenwecanusethesmall
angleformulaetowrite
cos(x) 1andsin(x) x
Wehavenotcoveredtheseresultsbefore,butthefirstcanbeunderstood
fromtheseriesforcosx(UEM434)andthesecondfromthelimitforsin
x/xasxtendstozero(UEM416).
So,usingthesesmallangleresults,weobtain
y+y=f=cos(x+x) cosxsinx(x)
Thisapproximationgetsbetterandbetterasxgetssmallerandsmaller.
Hence
y=ff(x)=sinx(x)

and==sinx

So,inthelimit,as x 0
= =

=sinx
=sinx
8.3.3 Standardderivatives
8.3.3A.
Differentiatewithoutreferencetoastandardderivativestable
i)
v)

e
sinx

ii) cosx
vi) x

iii)
vii)

31

x
tanx

iv) lnx
viii)

Solution
Thisexercisejuststestshowwellyouhaverememberedyourstandard
derivatives (or not!). Only vi) and viii) require anything more than
checkingwiththeanswers.Forthesewehave
1

vi)=x =x
2

viii)==3x =

Onepointtonoteisthatitisusualtopresenttheanswerinthesameform
asthegivenquestion.
8.3.3B.
Whatarethemostgeneralfunctionsthatyouneedtodifferentiatetoobtainthe
followingfunctions
i)
v)
ix)

ii) cosx
vi)

iii)
vii)

iv) sinx
viii) 0

Solution
Thisquestionisarelativelygentlelookaheadatintegration(Chapter9).
Ineachcasetheideaistofindorguessthefunctionthatyouneedto
differentiatetoobtainthegivenresult.Youhavetorememberofcourse
thatifyoudifferentiateanyconstant,thenyouwillgetzeroandsoyou
willneedtoaddanarbitraryconstanttoeveryanswer.Ineachquestion

youarenotexpectedtointegratethefunctionrather,youhavetothink
ofwhatyoumighthavedifferentiatedtoobtainthegivenfunctionthis
mayrequireabitoftrialanderrorbeforeyougetitright.
i)Remembering
=nx

n1

tellsusthatdifferentiatingx willgiveus5x ,whichisalmostwhatwe

4

wanttogetx weonlyneedtodividebythe5.Sodifferentiating
5

x
4

willgiveusx asrequiredbutthensoofcoursewill
5

x +C
whereCisanarbitraryconstant,whichisourfinalanswer.Noticethatwe
havenotreallyusedasetroutineprocedurehereallwehavedoneis
n

relyonknowingsomethingsowell(thederivativeofx )thatwecan
actuallyreverseit.
ii) Rememberingthat=cosxgives,inthiscase, sinx+C asthemost
generalfunctionwecandifferentiatetogetcosx.
x

iii)=e ,sotheanswerinthiscaseise +C
iv) = sin x and so to get sin x we differentiate cos x, or more
generally,cosx+C
4

v)Inthecaseofitiseasiertowriteitinpowerformx .Itisnoweasier
torecogniseitasanotherexampleof
=nx

n1

Togetanx wewouldneedtodifferentiateanx .But

4

==3x =

So,toobtainwemustdifferentiate,ormoregenerally
+C
1/2

vi) isanotherexamplethatisbestputinpowerform,x .Togetthe

poweronusingdifferentiationofapower,wewouldhavetodifferentiate
3/2

. But this would differentiate to x

3/2

differentiatex

3/2

1/2

and so we must in fact

,ormoregenerallyx +C.Anotherwaytothinkofthis

is that we need the factor to cancel out the that we bring down on
differentiation.
1

vii) Facedwithmanybeginners thinkofitspowerformx andthen

proceedtothinkthatthiscomesfromdifferentiatingx

1+1

=x ,whichis

of course wrong! = x is the one exception to the power rule of

differentiation.Itis not obtainedbydifferentiatingapowerbutitisthe
standardderivativeofthenaturallogfunction,lnx.
(lnx)=
So the most general function that we can differentiate to obtain the
reciprocalfunctionis
lnx+C
viii) The only way we can obtain zero as a derivative is by
differentiatingaconstant,C,sointhiscasetheanswerissimplyC.
2

ix)No,differentiatingln(cos x)won'tgiveus!Instead,wenotethat=
2

sec xandthen(hopefully)rememberthatthisisthestandardderivative
oftanx
2

=sec x
So,theanswerinthiscaseistanx+C.Againnoticethatthisreliesonus
knowing the standard derivative of tan x so well that it immediately
2

springstomindwhenweuse=sec x.
8.3.4 Rulesofdifferentiation
8.3.4A.
Usingthedefinitionofthefunctionsandappropriaterulesofdifferentiation
obtainthederivativesofthefollowingelementaryfunctions(SeeChapter4for
hyperbolicfunctionsUEM138).
7

i)
v)
ix)

secx
sinh
cothx

ii)
vi)

cosecx
tanhx

iii)
vii)

cotx
cosechx

iv) coshx
viii) sechx

Solution
i)Ineach ofthesequestionstheideaistoputthegiven functioninto
1

termswithwhichwearemorefamiliar.Thus,secx=1/cosx=(cosx) .
We know that the derivative of cos x is sinx, and here we have a
function(reciprocal)ofthisfunction.Sowehaveafunctionofafunction
1

y=(cosx) todifferentiate.Theappropriateruleistherefore
=
1

whereu=cosxandy=u .Wehave
==sinx
and
2

==u =(cosx)
So
2

==(cosx) (sinx)=
Fortidinesswenowwanttoputthisbackintotheoriginaltermswehad,
andforthiswenoticethat
==secxtanx
Sofinallywehave
=secxtanx
Thisisinfactaverysophisticatedproblem,andifyouhavenotseenit
beforeitwillprobablyrequirequitealotofhelpyoumightliketocome
backtoitlater!
ii)Fromthepreviousquestionyoucanseethaty=cosecxcanbetreated
in just the same way, and this time we will be a little more concise,
leavingyoutofillinthegaps.
==

=(sinx) (cosx)
==cosecxcotx
So=cosecxcotx
Note that in this solution I have not used u = sin x explicitly in the
functionofafunctionrule.Youmayfinditinstructivetodothisandfill
inthedetailsyourself.However,ideally,youshouldaimtodevelop,after
anumberofexamples,sufficientfacilitythatyoucanavoidthis,working
throughasshownabove.
iii)Werememberthatcotx=andsointhiscasethequotientruleismore
appropriate:
=/v

whereu=cosxandv=sinx.Wehave
==sinx
and
==cosx
So

=/sin x
2

=/sin x
2

=/sin x
2

=1/sin x=cosec x
2

So,finally,

=cosec x

iv)

FromChapter4(UEM138)weknowthatcoshx=.Also,weknowthat=
x

e .Todifferentiatee weusethefunctionofafunctionrule:
x

=e =e (1)=e
So,puttingallthistogether,wehave
==
=+=+
==sinhx
So
=sinhx
v)

Wecandifferentiatesinhxexactlyaswedidcoshx:
==
==
==coshx

So
=coshx
vi)tanhx=so,followingthesameapproachasforcotxiniii)wehave
=
=/cosh x
2

=/cosh x
2

=/cosh x
2

=1/cosh x=sech x
2

wherewehaveusedthehyperbolicidentity(UEM138)

10

cosh xsinh x=1

So

=sech x
vii)cosechxcanbedealtwithjustlikecosecxinii).Thus
==
2

=(sinhx) (coshx)
==cosechxcothx
So=cosechxcothx
viii) Youshouldnowbegettingthehangofit!
==
2

=(coshx) (sinhx)
==sechxtanhx
So=sechxtanhx
ix)Usingthequotientrulewehave
==/sinh x
2

=/sinh x
2

=/sinh x
2

=1/sinh x=cosech x
2

(Againusingcosh xsinh x=1)

11

So,finally,

=cosech x
8.3.4B.
Differentiate
i) ln(secx) ii) ln(sinx)
iv) ln(cosecx+cotx)
vi) ln(sinhx)

iii)
v)

ln(secx+tanx)
ln(coshx)

Solution
Inthisquestionyouaremeanttousetheresults of A,alongwiththe
differentiationofthelogfunction,lnx,andthefunctionofafunctionrule.
Iftheyseemstrangethingstodifferentiate,bearwithusyouwillseethat
infacttheyallessentially'standardderivatives'.
i) Todifferentiatey=ln(secx)putu=secx,soy=lnuandusethe
functionofafunctionrule:
=
So,===and==secxtanxfromA.i)andtherefore
=secxtanx=tanx
So
=tanx
ii)Again,youcanfillinthedetailsyourselfhere.Wehave

===cotx
So
=cotx
iii)=
=
=secx
So
=secx

12

iv)

=
==cosecx

So
=cosecx
v)
So

==
=tanhx

vi)==
So
=cothx
8.3.4C.
Differentiate
i)

x 2x +x4x +2

iii)

iv)

ii) tanx

exp v)

vi)

ln(cosx+1)

vii) sin viii)

secxtanx

ix)

6x

x) xe

xi) ex

xii)

ln5x

xiii) e lnx

xiv) lne

2x

Solution
Lotsofpracticeinalltherulesofdifferentiationhere!
7

i) Todifferentiatex 2x +x4 x +2wedifferentiateeachterm,

usingthesumanddifferencerulefordifferentiation
6

=7x 10x +4x32x

ii)

Fortanxweusetheproductrule
=tanx+
2

=tanx(2x)+sec x

So

=2xtanx+sec x
13

iii) Fory= wecanusethequotientrule,ortheproduct rule and

functionofafunction.
Bythequotientrule

=/(x +1)

=/(x +1)

=
Bytheproductrule
=+lnx
=+lnx
=+lnx2x
=
onputtingoveracommondenominator.So
=
iv) Inthiscasewesimplyneedthefunctionofafunctionrule
=exp=exp
2

=(3x 2)exp
So
2

=(3x 2)exp=(3x 2)e

x32x

v)Squarerootsalwaysrequirecarewhenitcomestodifferentiation.We
coulddifferentiateusing the quotient rule, but since we are going to
havetoconverttheroottoapoweranyway,wemightaswellusethe
productrule.Wehave
=

14

1/2

=(x 1)
2

1/2

=(x 1)

+x

+xbytheproductrule

3/2

=(x 1)
2

=(x 1)

byfunctionofafunction

1/2

x(x 1)

1/2

3/2

3/2

x (x 1)

2x

Wenowputthisoveracommondenominator,noticingthat
2

3/2

(x 1)

=(x 1)

1/2

(x 1)

togive
=
=
So,finally
=
vi)

Bythefunctionofafunctionrule
=
=
=

So
=
vii)

Again,bythefunctionofafunctionrule
=cos
=cos
15

wherewehavechosentousetheproductratherthanthequotientrule
=cos
So
=cos

viii)

Bytheproductrule
=tanx+secx
2

=tanx(secxtanx)+secx(sec x)
2

=secx(tan x+sec x)
2

Since1+tan x=sec x(UEM185),wecanexpressthisas,forexample,

2

=secx(1+2tan x)
ix)

Thisisaratherstraightforwardfunctionofafunctionrulejob
6x

=e =6e
So
=6e
x)

6x

6x

Bytheproductrule
x

=e +xe =(x+1)e

So
=(x+1)e
xi)

Bythefunctionofafunctionrulewehave
2

=ex =ex (2x)

So

=2xex

16

xii)

Wecaneitherusethefunctionofafunctionrule:
==5=

orusethelogofaproductproperty:
==+0=
Eitherway,wehave
=
ratherthanthe""wemightincorrectlyexpect.

xiii)

Bytheproductrule
x

=lnx+e
x

=e lnx+e =e
So

=e
xiv) Wereyoufooledbythisone? Youmightbetemptedtousethe
functionofafunctionrule(twice!).But,ifyouareonyourtoesthenyou
2x

willnoticethatlne =2x,so

==2
andtherefore
=2
8.3.5 Implicitdifferentiation
8.3.5A.
Useimplicitdifferentiationtodifferentiatethefunctions
i)

cos x

ii) tan x

iii)

Solution

17

i) Ify=cos x,thencosy=x.Ifwenowdifferentiatethroughwith
respecttoxwehave,usingfunctionofafunctionrule:
=siny==1
So
=
Butsiny==andso
=
1

ii)Morebrieflythistime,y=tan xconvertstox=tany.Wecannow
differentiatethroughwithrespecttoxaswedidini),orwecansimply
evaluateandinvert:
2

==sec y=1+tan y=1+x

So
=
x

iii)Perhapsitisnotsoimmediatelyobviouswhattodowith .What
youmustnotdoistreatitasapowerandwrite
x1

"=x "
Thisisacommonerrorwithbeginners.Wecantakeacluefromi)andii)
whereweessentiallyinvertedtheinversefunction.Inthiscasewehave
anexponentialfunction,andtheinverseoftheexponentialfunctionis
thelogfunction,solet'strytakinglogsandseewhathappens.Asitis
x

easytodifferentiateweusethenaturallog,ofcourse.So,ify= then
x

lny=ln( )=xln
So,differentiatingthroughwithrespecttoxweget
===ln
(rememberthatlnisjustanumber).So
x

=yln= ln

18

Sofinally
x

= ln
8.3.5B.
Evaluatedy/dxatthepointsindicated.
i)

x +y =1(0,1)

ii) x 2x y+y =1(1,2)

Solution
i)MostofthisquestionisalreadydoneforusinSection8.2.5(UEM238).
Wedifferentiatethroughwithrespecttoxtoobtainanimplicitequation
for.Inthisweusethefunctionofafunctionrule:
==0
So
=2x+=2x+2y=0
Solvingthisforgives
=
So,atthepoint(0,1)wehave

==0
Theansweristherefore
=0at(0,1)
Notethatthisisobviousalsofromthegraphofthefunction.
ii)

Wehave
2

=3x 2+
2

=3x 2+2y
onusingtheproductandfunctionofafunctionrules
2

=3x 4xy2(x y)==0

Takecarewith signs and brackets in this sort of rearrangement. We
couldnowsolveforingeneraltermsandsubstituteforthevaluesofx
19

andyaswedidini).However,youmayfinditeasiertosubstitutefirst
toget,withx=1andy=2:
2

3(1) 4(1)(2)2((1) 2)=382(1)=5+2=0

So,finally
=at(1,2)
8.3.5C.
Iff(x)=,evaluatef(0)
Solution
Wecouldeasilyuseeitherthequotientorproductrulesandevaluatethe
derivative directly, of course. But this is more an exercise in
discriminationdeterminingthemosteffectiveandquickestapproach.
Trythedirectapproachbyallmeans,butanotherwaytogoistorewrite
thefunctionanduseimplicitdifferentiation
Ify=f(x)=then(x3)y=x+1.Alsonotethatatx=0,y=.Now
differentiatethroughusingimplicitdifferentiationandtheproductrule
toget:
=y+(x3)==1
Atx=0,withy=,thisgives
+(03)=1
fromwhich
=f(0)=
8.3.6 Parametricdifferentiation
8.3.6A.
2t

If x = e ,y = e +1,evaluate and asfunctionsof t bytwodifferent

methodsandcompareyourresults.
Solution

20

2t

2t

Withx=e ,y=e +1wehave=e and=2e ,so:

t2t

===e
So

=e

=e
Now(UEM242)==

=
So:

=/2e

2t

t 2t

=e e

3t

=e

So,finally

3t

=e

Anothermethodistoeliminatetheparameteratthebeginninganduse
implicitdifferentiation.Tothisendwehave
t

y=e +1=+1=x1/2+1
So
t

=x=e asabove
Further
3t

=x3/2=e
asabove.
8.3.6B.

Obtainandforeachofthefollowingparametricforms
2

i)x=3cost,y=3sint
ii)x=t +3,y=2t+1 iii)x=e sint,y=e
iv) x=2cosht,y=2sinht
Solution
i)Withx=3cost,y=3sintwehave

=3costand=3sint
so:

21

====cott
So
=cott
Then,asinA
=

=/(3sint) =cosect

So,finally

=cosec t
2

ii)Ifx=t +3,y=2t+1,then

=2and=2t
so:
===
So
=
Then
=

=/(2t) =/(2t)=

So
=
t

iii)Ifx=e sint,y=e then

t

=e and=e (sint+cost)
so:
===
So
=

22

Then
=

=/(e (sint+cost))
t

=/(e (sint+cost))
t

(wherewehaveusedthefunctionofafunctionruletodifferentiate)
=
So
=
iv)Withx=2cosht,y=2sinhtwehave

=2coshtand=2sinht
so:
====cotht
So
=cotht
Then,
=

=/(2sinht) =cosecht

So,finally

=cosech t

8.3.7 Higherderivatives
8.3.7A.
Evaluatethesecondderivativesofeachofthefunctions

23

i)

ii) ex

x +2x+1

iii) e sinx

iv)
Solution
2

i) Ify=x +2x+1then
=2x+2
=2
ii)

Ify=ex then
2

=ex =2xex

usingfunctionofafunction,andthen

=2ex +2xex (2x)=2(1+2x )ex

iii)

Ify=e sinxthen
=ex+sinx
=excosx+exsinx=ex(cosx+sinx)

usingtheproductrule.Then
=
=ex(cosx+sinx)+ex(sinx+cosx)
againusingtheproductrule

=2excosx

iv)Inthecaseofyouwillsoongetinamessifyoutrytodifferentiateit
asitistimeforabitofcunning!Webreakitintopartialfractions(UEM
62)oftenagoodploywhenyouhavetoactually do somethingtoan
algebraic fraction, integrate it or differentiate it for example. As an
exerciseyoucancheckthat

24

y==
Nowweonlyneedtodifferentiatesomethinglike.So,forexample
2

==3(x+2) =
andsimilarly
2

==2(x+1) =
So
=+
Nowtofindthesecondderivativethedifferentiationisactuallyjustas
straightforward
=
=+
=+
3

=6(x+2) 4(x+1)

8.3.7B.
Evaluatethe20thderivativeofeachofthefollowingfunctions
i)
iii)

17

15

x1

x +3x +2x +3x x+1

ii) e

3x

iv)

v)
Solutions
i) Don'tstartdifferentiatingrightawayyouwillhavealongwayto
gotodotwentydifferentiations,andthissuggestsabitofcunningis
25

needed! Think about what happens when you differentiate a

polynomial its degree gets reduced by at least one each time you
17

15

differentiate.Thus,ify=x +3x +2x +3x x+1then

=
16

14

=17x +45x +10x +6x1

=
15

13

17 16x +45 14x +40x +6

andsoon.Eventually,afterdifferentiating17timeswearegoingtobe
leftwithsimplyaconstant,andonthe18thdifferentiationthiswillgive
zero. Thereafter all differentiations, including the 20th, will also give
zeroandso
=0
ii) Fory=e

x1

justrememberwhathappenswhenyoudifferentiatee
x

x1

oranymultipleofe suchase

=e e itjuststaysthesame!So

x1

=e

3x

iii) For y = e we just have to remember that by the function of a

functionrule,
3x

==3e
andeachtimewedifferentiateanother3willcomedown,so
20 3x

=3 e

iv) Inthecaseofy=it pays to do a couple of differentiations to see

what'sgoingon.Wehave
26

===1(x1) =
3

===(2)(x1) =
4

==2=2(3)(x1) =
andsoon.Youmaynowbeabletospotthepatterns.Thesignsalternate,
++....Thenumeratordevelopslikeafactorial,1!,2!,3!, etc.The
denominatorsareincreasingpowersof(x1).Wenowhaveonlytolink
allthesetotheorderofthederivativeonthelefthandside.Whenthe
orderisoddthesignisnegative.Iftheorderisn,thefactorialisn!,and
the power in the denominator is n + 1. Putting all this together we
thereforehave
n

=(1)
andinparticular
20

=(1)
or
=
v)Withy=weusepartialfractionsagain.Youcancheckthat
y=+
andso
=
=+
=+
onusingtheresultofiv).So
=+
27

 28