Worked solution
Compare direct and logarithmic implicit differentiation
(a) Differentiate with respect to . marks
(b) Given that , show that , where is a real constant to be determined. marks
(c) Given that , find in terms of and , simplifying your answer. marks
[2014/MJC/Promo/5]
CJC · Review Problems · Question 12
Answer
(a) ; (b) ; (c) .
(a) Method 1: quotient rule
The derivative is , for , .
(a) Method 2: product rule
Write . Its derivative is . Combining terms gives the same single fraction.
(b)
The chain rule gives . Since is acute, , so the denominator is . Thus the derivative is the constant .
(c) Method 1: direct implicit differentiation
Differentiate to obtain . Rearranging gives . On the curve, substitute and cancel the strictly positive factor to obtain .
(c) Method 2: logarithms first
Both sides are positive, so take logarithms: . Then . Multiply through and collect to get , giving the same simplified fraction where its denominator is nonzero.
Common mistakes
Preserve the product rule on xy and use the original relation only after differentiation.