Differentiating an Integral: Proving the Chain Rule for Derivatives

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving a derivative relationship involving an integral of a smooth function, specifically focusing on differentiating an integral without using Leibniz's rule. The problem is situated within the context of calculus and the chain rule for derivatives.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore how to express the integral as a composition of functions suitable for differentiation. Questions arise regarding the conditions on the function f and the implications of continuity for the derivatives involved. There is also discussion about the necessity of Leibniz's rule and its relationship to the problem.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants sharing insights and clarifications. Some have suggested potential setups for applying the chain rule, while others express skepticism about proceeding without Leibniz's rule. A participant indicates they have found a way to express the problem that aligns with the requirements of the question.

Contextual Notes

There are concerns regarding the continuity of the first partial derivative of f, which may affect the validity of the approaches discussed. The original poster is also constrained by the instruction to avoid using Leibniz's rule explicitly.

mathboy
Messages
182
Reaction score
0
Notation: I^x means the integral sign from 0 to x

Question: Let f be a smooth function. Prove that
d/dx [I^x f(x,y)dy] = f(x,x) + I^x (d/dx)f(x,y)dy
using the chain rule for derivatives (do NOT use Leibnitz's rule for differentiating an integral).

I don't know how to express I^x f(x,y)dy as a composition of two functions. I've tried defining F(x,z) = I^x f(z,y)dy and then compute d/dx[F(x,x)] but I can't get anywhere. I do know that by the fundamental theorem of calculus that
d/dy [I^x f(x,y)dy] = f(x,y)
but I can't seem to incorporate it here.

Please someone tell me what composition I'm supposed to take the derivative of.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
What are the conditions on f? For instance the right hand side won't make sense if the first partial (i.e. wrt x) of f isn't continuous almost everywhere. Even assuming this, I don't see how we can proceed without using Leibniz, or at least implicitly using the proof of Leibniz. How else are we going to get the partial under the integral sign?

See this thread for more information. Most of the methods there can be suitably adapted to solve your problem.
 
f is a smooth function. And the question can be done using the chain rule according to the question (the question comes from a section devoted to the chain rule), and the fundamental theorem of calculus will have to be used.

I'm looking over the thread you pointed out and some chain rules are being used there.
 
Last edited:
Yup - but notice that the basic version of Leibniz is also used. I suppose you can also incorporate its proof (see homology's post at the end of the first page) into your solution.
 
Ok, I got it now. The set up is:

h(x) = (z(x),x)
F(h(x)) = I^z(x) f(x,y)dy

Then the chain rule gives the answer exactly upon using z(x) = x. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
3K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
2K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
2K
Replies
21
Views
2K