D/dx 6x^(3/2)tan(x) = 3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x))? ?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around differentiating the function 6x^(3/2)tan(x) using the product rule in calculus. The original poster expresses confusion regarding the correctness of a solution they found online, which presents a factored form of the derivative.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply the product rule and arrives at a derivative expression, but questions the validity of a factored form provided by an external source. Some participants clarify the factoring process and address the original poster's concerns about a potential mistake in their reasoning.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the original poster's confusion, providing clarifications on the factoring of the derivative. There is an acknowledgment of the original poster's misunderstanding, but no explicit consensus is reached regarding the correctness of the solution.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions being new to calculus and expresses uncertainty about their understanding of the product rule and factoring, which may influence their interpretation of the problem.

zketrouble
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d/dx 6x^(3/2)tan(x) = 3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x))?!?

Hi all,

I've been officially bored to death with my College Algebra class so I just started teaching myself Calculus about two months ago. I found a list of problems using the product rule http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/CalcOneDIRECTORY/productruledirectory/ProductRule.html#PROBLEM 4". Problem 4 is as follows:

Differentiate 6x^(3/2)tan(x)

Doesn't look too hard, I start by remembering that (fg)' = f'g +fg'.

d/dx f(x) = d/dx[6x^(3/2)]tan(x) + 6x^(3/2)d/dx[tan(x)]
d/dx f(x) = 9x^(1/2)tan(x) + 6x^(3/2)sec^2(x)

So I clicked the link on that site to view the detailed solution, which says the answer is 3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x)). I hate to make the assumption that it is incorrect being a calculus noob and all, but it appears that 3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x)) is incorrectly factored, because 3x^(1/2) times 3tan(x) does not equal 6x^(3/4)tan(x). The websites solution says that my answer is the step before they arrive at this solution which I assume to be false, am I missing something here?


Thanks!
 
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3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x)) is correctly factored. Work it out: 3^(1/2)*3=9^(1/2) and 2x*3x^(1/2)=6x^(3/2) I'm not sure where you're getting 6x^(3/4)tan(x). But other than that you did everything correctly.
 


zketrouble said:
Hi all,

I've been officially bored to death with my College Algebra class so I just started teaching myself Calculus about two months ago. I found a list of problems using the product rule http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/CalcOneDIRECTORY/productruledirectory/ProductRule.html#PROBLEM 4". Problem 4 is as follows:

Differentiate 6x^(3/2)tan(x)

Doesn't look too hard, I start by remembering that (fg)' = f'g +fg'.

d/dx f(x) = d/dx[6x^(3/2)]tan(x) + 6x^(3/2)d/dx[tan(x)]
d/dx f(x) = 9x^(1/2)tan(x) + 6x^(3/2)sec^2(x)

So I clicked the link on that site to view the detailed solution, which says the answer is 3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x)). I hate to make the assumption that it is incorrect being a calculus noob and all, but it appears that 3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x)) is incorrectly factored, because 3x^(1/2) times 3tan(x) does not equal 6x^(3/4)tan(x). The websites solution says that my answer is the step before they arrive at this solution which I assume to be false, am I missing something here?Thanks!

3x^{\frac{1}{2}} \left( 2x\sec ^ 2 (x) + 3 \tan x \right) = 3x^{\frac{1}{2}} 2x\sec ^ 2 (x) + 3 \times 3x^{\frac{1}{2}} \tan x
= 6x^{\frac{1}{2} + 1}\sec ^ 2 (x) + 9x^{\frac{1}{2}} \tan x = 6x^{\frac{3}{2}}\sec ^ 2 (x) + 9x^{\frac{1}{2}} \tan x

Looks good to me. :) And it looks exactly as what you've got, too.
 
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armolinasf said:
3x^(1/2)(2xsec^2(x)+3tan(x)) is correctly factored. Work it out: 3^(1/2)*3=9^(1/2) and 2x*3x^(1/2)=6x^(3/2) I'm not sure where you're getting 6x^(3/4)tan(x). But other than that you did everything correctly.

Ok silly mistake on my part...just like nearly all of my mistakes. Thanks.
 

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