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Section 3.6 Lecture Notes 122B

The document discusses using the chain rule to derive the derivative of x1/2. It shows that applying the chain rule to (f(x))2 = x gives f'(x) = 1/2x1/2, which is the same as the power rule. It then derives the derivative of ln(x) as 1/x. Finally, it lists the derivatives of several inverse functions, and asks to find the derivative of loga(x).

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Shubham Pardeshi
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37 views

Section 3.6 Lecture Notes 122B

The document discusses using the chain rule to derive the derivative of x1/2. It shows that applying the chain rule to (f(x))2 = x gives f'(x) = 1/2x1/2, which is the same as the power rule. It then derives the derivative of ln(x) as 1/x. Finally, it lists the derivatives of several inverse functions, and asks to find the derivative of loga(x).

Uploaded by

Shubham Pardeshi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Section 3.

6: The Chain Rule and Inverse Functions


The Derivative of x1/2

We have already seen how to take the derivative of x1/2 using the power rule. However, now that we
have the chain rule at our disposal, we can take an alternative approach. Notice that if f (x) = x1/2 , we
have
(f (x))2 = x

Next, we will use the chain rule to take the derivative of both sides of the equation and solve for
f 0 (x).

d d
⇒ (f (x))2 = (x)
dx dx

⇒ 2(f (x)) · f 0 (x) = 1

1
⇒ f 0 (x) =
2f (x)

1
⇒ f 0 (x) =
2x1/2

Thus we have shown that we get the same derivative for x1/2 as we would have using the power rule.

d
Problem: Use the relationship eln x = x to derive a formula for (ln x).
dx

DERIVATIVE OF ln x. If x > 0, we have


d 1
(ln x) = .
dx x
2

After completing your worksheet, we have obtained the following formulas for derivatives of specific
types of inverse functions.

DERIVATIVES OF INVERSE FUNCTIONS:

d 1
• (arctan x) =
dx 1 + x2

d 1
• (arcsin x) = √
dx 1 − x2

d −1 1
• (f (x)) = 0 −1
dx f (f (x))

Question: Using the same technique, find the derivative of loga x, where a is any positive number
such that a 6= 1.
3

Examples:
1. Find the derivative.

(a) f (x) = ln(1 − x)

(b) f (x) = arctan(3x)

(c) f (a) = ln(sin a)

(d) f (y) = arcsin(y 2 )


4
 
u
(e) T (u) = arctan
1+u
5

2. Using the figure below, calculate the derivative.

(a) h0 (2) if h(x) = (f (x))3

(b) k 0 (2) if k(x) = (f (x))−1

(c) g 0 (5) if g(x) = f −1 (x)

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