How do you take the derivative of -(t + 1)sin(\frac{t^2}{2})?

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SUMMARY

The derivative of the function - (t + 1)sin(½t²) is calculated using the product rule and chain rule of differentiation. The product rule states that the derivative of a product of two functions is the first function multiplied by the derivative of the second plus the second function multiplied by the derivative of the first. The chain rule is applied to differentiate sin(½t²), where the derivative of ½t² is t, leading to the final expression: -[(t + 1)cos(½t²)·t + sin(½t²)]. This solution effectively combines both rules to arrive at the correct derivative.

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[SOLVED] Refresher on Derivatives

I feel rather dumb asking this but I could use a quick refresher on some parts of derivatives since for the past months I have been solely working on integrals and known cross sections so suddenly switching back has left my brain reeling.

The main question I need explained is how do you take a derivative of -(t + 1)sin(\frac{t^2}{2})

I remember a trick my AP teacher told me of 1D2 + 2D1 meaning take the first part muliplied by the derivative of the second plus the second multiplied by the derivative of the first. The problem is, I don't remember how to take the derivatve of (t^2)/2
 
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Power rule. (t^n)'=nt^(n-1). Remember that constants slide out as well.
 
You need to use a combination of the product rule and chain rule to differentiate the whole expression. But for t^2/2, use the power rule.

For a quick refresher of the rules, you can have a look at this thread at the tutorial
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=139690
 
\frac{d}{dt}\left[-(t + 1)sin(\frac{t^2}{2})\right]

= -\left[(t+1)\frac{d}{dt}\left(\sin \frac{t^2}{2}\right) + \left(\sin \frac{t^2}{2}\right)\frac{d}{dt}(t+1)\right]

= -\left[(t+1)\cos \left(\frac{t^2}{2}\right)\frac{d}{dt}\left(\frac{t^2}{2}\right) + \sin \frac{t^2}{2}\right]

= -\left[(t+1)\cos \left(\frac{t^2}{2}\right)\cdot t + \sin \frac{t^2}{2}\right]
 
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