I seem not to be grasping the concept of "implicit differentiation". I already know the power rule, product rule, quotient rule, and chain rule.
For example, a problem in my calculus book asks me to find the derivative of x * y + 2x + 3x^2 = 4 by (a) setting the equation equal to "y", and (b) using implicit differentiation.
I already can solve part a of this problem, but i don't know how to do part b. Here's what I've got:
x * y + 2x + 3x^2 = 4
(d/dx)(x) * (d/dx)(y) + (d/dx)(2x) + (d/dx)(3x^2) = (d/dx)(4)
1 * (d/dx)(y) + 2 + 6x = 0
Then I tried to follow the book's example, and did:
(d/dx)(y) = (d/dy)(y) * (d/dx) = 1 * (d/dx)
So, how does this implicit differentiation work and what do I do now, considering I'm correct?
2006-10-10
12:42:30
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3 answers
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asked by
Derek
4
in
Mathematics