Regarding logarithmic differentiation

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the process of logarithmic differentiation, specifically the steps involved in differentiating equations of the form y = f(x). The established method includes taking the natural logarithm of both sides, simplifying using the Laws of Logarithms, and then performing implicit differentiation to find y'. An alternative approach suggested involves exponentiating the simplified logarithmic form, but this does not simplify the differentiation process as it ultimately leads back to the original function f(x). The primary advantage of logarithmic differentiation is its effectiveness in simplifying the differentiation of complex functions like (x+2)^x.

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Thank you for viewing my thread. I have been given the following steps for logarithmic differentiation:
1. Take natural logarithms of both sides of an equation y = f(x) and use the Laws of Logarithms to simplify.
2. Differentiate implicitly with respect to x.
3. Solve the resulting equation for y'.

I was wondering if I could go about this in another way.
1. Take natural logarithms of both sides of an equation y = f(x) and use the Laws of Logarithms to simplify.
2. At this point I would have something like:
ln(y) = a+b+c
Instead of doing implicit differentiation , could I do this:
e^[ln(y)] = e^(a+b+c)
y = e^(a+b+c)

Thanks.
 
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The problem with this is that ##e^{a+b+c}## is just equal to ##f(x)##. The laws of logarithms that you use to simplify ##\ln f(x)## don't make ##f(x)## any simpler than using the rules for simplifying exponents and products. The reason to take the log is to make differentiating things like ##(x+2)^x## a bit simpler, since it is easier to differentiate ##x \ln (x+2)##.
 
fzero said:
The problem with this is that ##e^{a+b+c}## is just equal to ##f(x)##. The laws of logarithms that you use to simplify ##\ln f(x)## don't make ##f(x)## any simpler than using the rules for simplifying exponents and products. The reason to take the log is to make differentiating things like ##(x+2)^x## a bit simpler, since it is easier to differentiate ##x \ln (x+2)##.

Yeah I get what you're saying now. I completely forgot a step lol. For some reason the first time I looked at it I forgot that I was doing differentiation. In my mind I had it as:
y' = e^(a+b+c)

Thank you!
 

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