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Implicit Differentiation

1. The document discusses implicit differentiation, which is the process of finding the derivative of functions expressed implicitly rather than explicitly. It explains the key differences between implicit and explicit functions. 2. When taking derivatives of implicit functions, dx and dy are used rather than 1. The derivative of y with respect to x is defined as dy/dx. 3. Several examples of using implicit differentiation to find derivatives are worked out step-by-step.

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Anniston Puyot
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93 views2 pages

Implicit Differentiation

1. The document discusses implicit differentiation, which is the process of finding the derivative of functions expressed implicitly rather than explicitly. It explains the key differences between implicit and explicit functions. 2. When taking derivatives of implicit functions, dx and dy are used rather than 1. The derivative of y with respect to x is defined as dy/dx. 3. Several examples of using implicit differentiation to find derivatives are worked out step-by-step.

Uploaded by

Anniston Puyot
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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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Implicit Differentiation

Learning Goals
At the end of the module, the student should be able to:
1. Differentiate implicit differentiation from explicit differentiation.
2. Perform derivatives of functions using implicit differentiation.
3. Apply implicit differentiations in real world problems such as related rates.

Explicit and Implicit Functions

A function is said to be 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡 if the association between its independent and dependent variables is clearly
expressed in the form 𝑦 = 𝑓 (𝑥 ). Thus, a function such as 𝑦 = 3𝑥 2 − 2𝑥 is explicit. On the other hand, when
functions are given in terms of both its independent and dependent variables, the function is said to be 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡.
Thus, the equation 𝑦 − 3𝑥 2 + 2𝑥 = 0 is implicit.

When a function is expressed implicitly, the equation can be solved for its dependent variable, i.e. 𝑦 in terms of
𝑥 . But doing this sometimes results into explicit functions with multiple forms. Take for example the equation
𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 25. This is an equation of a circle expressed implicitly. If we re-express this equation explicitly, the
result is either 𝑦 = +√25 − 𝑥 2 or 𝑦 = −√25 − 𝑥 2 . If we are to find the derivative of the resulting function, then
we encounter a dilemma of choosing which of the two forms will be used.
As a resolution to this, we ought to perform the differentiation of the function directly, even if the function is
expressed implicitly. When performing implicit differentiation, note that we replace 𝐷𝑥 (𝑥) = 1 by 𝐷𝑥 (𝑥) = 𝑑𝑥,
𝐷𝑦 (𝑦) = 1 by 𝑑𝑦, and so on. Thus, whenever we find the derivative of a function such as 𝐷𝑥 (3𝑥 3 ) = 9𝑥 2 is
replaced by 𝐷𝑥 (3𝑥 3 ) = 9𝑥 2 𝑑𝑥. Furthermore, we define 𝐷𝑥 (𝑓(𝑥)) = 𝐷𝑥 (𝑦) = 𝑑𝑦/𝑑𝑥.

Examples
Solve for 𝑑𝑦/𝑑𝑥 of the following function.

1. 𝑦 − 3𝑥 2 + 2𝑥 = 0
2. 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 25
3. 3𝑥 3 − 5𝑥 2 + 4𝑦 = 0
4. −3𝑥 2 𝑦 3 + 13 = 0
5. 𝑥 2 + 4𝑥𝑦 5 + 7𝑥𝑦 + 8 = 0
Solution:

1. 𝑦 − 3𝑥 2 + 2𝑥 = 0

𝑑𝑦 − 6𝑥 𝑑𝑥 + 2 𝑑𝑥 = 0
𝑑𝑦 = 6𝑥 𝑑𝑥 − 2 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 = (6𝑥 − 2)𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦
= 6𝑥 − 2
𝑑𝑥

2. 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 25

2𝑥 𝑑𝑥 + 2𝑦 𝑑𝑦 = 0
2𝑦 𝑑𝑦 = −2𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 2𝑥
=−
𝑑𝑥 2𝑦
𝑑𝑦 𝑥
=−
𝑑𝑥 𝑦

3. 3𝑥 3 − 5𝑥 2 + 4𝑦 = 0

9𝑥 2 𝑑𝑥 − 10𝑥 𝑑𝑥 + 4 𝑑𝑦 = 0
4 𝑑𝑦 = −9𝑥 2 𝑑𝑥 + 10𝑥 𝑑𝑥
4 𝑑𝑦 = (−9𝑥 2 + 10𝑥) 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 −9𝑥 2 + 10𝑥
=
𝑑𝑥 4
𝑑𝑦 9 2 10
=− 𝑥 + 𝑥
𝑑𝑥 4 4
𝑑𝑦 9 2 5
=− 𝑥 + 𝑥
𝑑𝑥 4 2

4. −3𝑥 2 𝑦 3 + 13 = 0

−3(𝑥 2 ∙ 3𝑦 2 𝑑𝑦 + 𝑦 3 ∙ 2𝑥 𝑑𝑥) + 0 = 0
−9𝑥 2 𝑦 2 𝑑𝑦 − 6𝑥𝑦 3 𝑑𝑥 = 0
−9𝑥 2 𝑦 2 𝑑𝑦 = 6𝑥𝑦 3 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 6𝑥𝑦 3
=
𝑑𝑥 −9𝑥 2 𝑦 2
𝑑𝑦 2𝑦
=−
𝑑𝑥 3𝑥

5. 𝑥 2 + 4𝑥𝑦 5 + 7𝑥𝑦 + 8 = 0

2𝑥 𝑑𝑥 + 4(𝑥 ∙ 5𝑦 4 𝑑𝑦 + 𝑦 5 ∙ 𝑑𝑥) + 7(𝑥 𝑑𝑦 + 𝑦 𝑑𝑥) + 0 = 0


2𝑥 𝑑𝑥 + 20𝑥𝑦 4 𝑑𝑦 + 4𝑦 5 𝑑𝑥 + 7𝑥 𝑑𝑦 + 7𝑦 𝑑𝑥 = 0
20𝑥𝑦 4 𝑑𝑦 + 7𝑥 𝑑𝑦 = −2𝑥 𝑑𝑥 − 4𝑦 5 𝑑𝑥 − 7𝑦 𝑑𝑥
(20𝑥𝑦 4 + 7𝑥)𝑑𝑦 = (−2𝑥 − 4𝑦 5 − 7𝑦)𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 −2𝑥 − 4𝑦 5 − 7𝑦
=
𝑑𝑥 20𝑥𝑦 4 + 7𝑥

Test your understanding


Solve for 𝑑𝑦/𝑑𝑥 of the following function.
𝑥+2𝑦
1. 𝑥 2 =
𝑥−2𝑦
2. √𝑥 + √𝑦 = 4
3. 2𝑥 3 𝑦 + 3𝑥𝑦 3 = 5
4. 𝑥2𝑦3 = 𝑥4 − 𝑦4
5. 𝑦 + √𝑥𝑦 = 3𝑥 3

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