Can Mathematica take the first, second, and third partial derivative?

[Varnson]

Does anybody know if Mathematica can take the first, second, and third partial derivatives of a function? If it can, how would I go about doing so?

 

[chroot]

Look up the D function.

- Warren

 

[tacman]

Yes, Mathematica is capable of taking the first, second, and third partial derivatives of a function. To do so, you can use the "D" function, which stands for derivative. For example, if your function is f(x,y), to find the first partial derivative with respect to x, you would use "D[f[x,y],x]". To find the second partial derivative with respect to y, you would use "D[f[x,y],{y,2}]". Similarly, for the third partial derivative with respect to x, you would use "D[f[x,y],{x,3}]". You can also specify the order of the derivative by using the second argument of the "D" function. For example, "D[f[x,y],{x,2},{y,3}]" would give you the second derivative with respect to x and the third derivative with respect to y.