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triden
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Homework Statement
I am doing some gradient questions and having a little trouble understanding the partial derivatives to obtain the gradient. Most particularly in this question:
f(x,y) = [tex]\frac{1}{3}[/tex][tex](x^{2}+y^{2})^{2}[/tex]
Homework Equations
So to find the gradient we take the partial derivative with respect to x and then y.
The Attempt at a Solution
I know the answer is
[tex]\nu[/tex](x,y) = [tex]\frac{4}{3}x[/tex][tex](x^{2}+y^{2})[/tex]
but my brain says it should be
[tex]\nu[/tex](x,y) = [tex]\frac{4}{3}x[/tex]
why does the (x^2 + y^2) term still stick around? When I do the partial derivative of the x term, do I not treat the Y term as constant? If so, shouldt it disappear?
Thanks