Euler-Lagrange Equation for a Stationary Action

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Homework Statement



If L(y, y', x) = y^{2} + y'^{2} then find the appropriate Euler Lagrange Equation. I have absolutely no idea how to solve this. I used the differential form of the Euler Lagrange equations for a stationary action but the answer i got was nothing like the answer in the book so could anyone show me how to find the equation using the differential form?
 
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This is perfectly straightforward. Can you show us what you got and what the books answer is?
 
Dick said:
This is perfectly straightforward. Can you show us what you got and what the books answer is?

Never mind I got it I keep forgetting the dynamical variables are actually functions and I keep treating them like variables in the equation. Stupid mistakes on my part. Sorry.
 
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There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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