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MTH 251 Lab 40.1: Justin Drawbert May 24, 2010

This lab document discusses functions f(x) = x^2 and g(x) = √x. It shows that if x is assumed to be non-negative, then f(x) and g(x) are the same function. It derives the derivatives of f(x) and g(x) both by first simplifying algebraically and by using the chain rule directly. The document emphasizes the usefulness of algebraic simplification for differentiation.

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Justin Drawbert
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52 views2 pages

MTH 251 Lab 40.1: Justin Drawbert May 24, 2010

This lab document discusses functions f(x) = x^2 and g(x) = √x. It shows that if x is assumed to be non-negative, then f(x) and g(x) are the same function. It derives the derivatives of f(x) and g(x) both by first simplifying algebraically and by using the chain rule directly. The document emphasizes the usefulness of algebraic simplification for differentiation.

Uploaded by

Justin Drawbert
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MTH 251

Lab 40.1
Justin Drawbert
May 24, 2010

In lab 40.1 we are asked to consider the functions


√ √ 2
f (x) = x2 and g(x) = x

If we assume that x is non-negative we then we can simplifiy each funtion like so:
√ √ 2 √ √
f (x) = x2 = x g(x) = x = x · x = x, if x ≥ 0

We can then use the simplified formulas of f and g to find their derivatives (we’ll use the power
rule here):

f 0 (x) = 1 · x1−1 = 1 · x0 = 1 · 1 = 1
if x ≥ 0, g 0 (x) = 1 · x1−1 = 1 · x0 = 1 · 1 = 1

Again, assuming x is positive, we can use the chain rule to find f 0 (x) and g 0 (x) without first
simplyfying:
d √ 2
f 0 (x) = x
dx
d 1/2
= x2
dx
1 2 −1/2 d 2
= x · x
2 dx
1 2 −1/2
= x · 2x
2
2x
= √
2 x2
2x
=
2x
=1

d √ 2
if x ≥ 0, g 0 (x) = x
dx
d  2
= x1/2
dx
  d
= 2 x1/2 · x1/2
dx
  1
= 2 x1/2 · x−1/2
√ 2
2 x
= √
2 x
=1

1
We can see that, given that x is positive, f and g are indeed the same funtion. If x was negative,
however, this would not be true. f would have a domain of R, since it is squared under the radical
and g would have a domain of W, since the square root of x is taken first, and then squared.

Once again we’ve illustrated the usefullness of algebra (who would’ve thought?). It makes it
alot easier to differentiate by first simplyfying algebraically, rather than just pushing it all through
the chain rule. And since we’ve yet to learn how to deal with imaginary numbers in Calculus, we’d
have to assume x was non-negative in order to differentiate for g(x), anyways. This will no doubt
be handy to remember when equations become more complex.

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