How do you take the partial derivative of this monster?

In summary, the conversation discusses using the chain and quotient rules to find the first and second partial derivatives of the exponential expression e^{10x -x^2 +4y -y^2}. The suggestion is to rewrite the expression in a more general form and then take the derivative while holding certain variables constant.
  • #1
Raziel2701
128
0
[tex]e^{10x -x^2 +4y -y^2}[/tex]

I don't know where to start. I have a gut feeling this might require the chain rule, but I don't know how to use it on this thing. I tried doing some silly simplification which resulted in a pair of quotients and products of exponentials and tried to derive those using the quotient rule but it didn't work.

In any case, I need to find the first and second partial derivatives. How do I go about finding them?
 
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  • #2
Hey Raziel,

Try rewriting a more general (and less messy expression) like:

[tex]e^{10x -x^2 +4y -y^2} = e^{f(x,y)}[/tex]

Taking the partial derivative (w.l.o.g. with respect to x) of the above expression is just taking the derivative of the expression with respect to x while holding y constant. In other words, what is,

[tex]\frac{d}{dx}e^{f(x)}\mathrm{?}[/tex]

If you know this piece of information, then you should be able to evaluate,

[tex]\frac{\partial}{\partial x}e^{f(x,y)},[/tex]

since they follow the same evaluation process.
 
  • #3
Got it, thanks.
 

1. What is a partial derivative?

A partial derivative is a mathematical concept used in calculus to measure the rate of change of a function with respect to one of its variables while holding other variables constant. It essentially measures how much a function changes when one variable is changed, while keeping all other variables constant.

2. How do you take a partial derivative?

To take a partial derivative, you need to first identify the variable that you want to differentiate with respect to. Then, treat all other variables as constants and use the standard rules of differentiation to find the derivative of the function with respect to that variable. This will result in a new function, where the variable of interest is now the only variable.

3. Can you give an example of taking a partial derivative?

Sure! Let's say we have the function f(x,y) = 2x^2 + 3xy. To find the partial derivative with respect to x, we would treat y as a constant and use the power rule to differentiate 2x^2, resulting in f_x(x,y) = 4x + 3y. Similarly, to find the partial derivative with respect to y, we would treat x as a constant and differentiate 3xy, giving us f_y(x,y) = 3x.

4. Why do we need partial derivatives?

Partial derivatives are important in many fields of science, particularly in physics and engineering, because they allow us to measure how a function changes in multiple directions. This is useful in situations where a function depends on multiple variables, and we want to see how changes in one variable affect the overall function.

5. What is the difference between a partial derivative and a regular derivative?

A regular derivative measures the change of a function with respect to a single variable, while a partial derivative measures the change of a function with respect to one variable while holding all other variables constant. In other words, a regular derivative is a special case of a partial derivative where all other variables are treated as constants.

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