Calculating Derivatives of f(x,y) with Respect to x

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the derivative of a function f(x,y) with respect to x, where x is dependent on variables s and t. The correct expression for the derivative is clarified as ∂f/∂x, emphasizing that the dependency of x on s and t does not alter the fundamental definition of the derivative. The participant initially misapplied the chain rule, leading to confusion about the role of partial derivatives in this context. Ultimately, the key takeaway is that the evaluation of df/dx should be based on the partial derivative ∂f/∂x, independent of the functional dependencies of x.

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I am having difficulty trying to figure the following .

What is \frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} x}f(x,y) where x is a function of s and t.

Here is my calculation \frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} x}f(x(s,t),y) = \frac{\partial f}{\partial x}\frac{\partial x}{\partial t}+\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}\frac{\partial x}{\partial s}

Does this seem correct?
 
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That seems wrong. df/dx is just the change of f per unit change of x. It doesn't matter that x is a function of s and t. Once you figure out what df/dx is and you want to evaluate it at some value of x, then you can worry about x being a function of s and t.

PS. f is actually a function of both x and y, so it is a partial derivative on the left ∂f/∂x.
 

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