Using the Chain Rule to Differentiate f(g(x^2))

jesuslovesu
Messages
185
Reaction score
0
I'm a little confused as to when to stop taking the derivative of the inside function when using the chain rule...

Lets say I have f( g(x^2) )

Would this be correct?
f`( g(x^2) ) * g`(x^2) * 2x ?

Or do I keep on going until the x is completely gone from the equation?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
nope, you're done. The idea here is that you only differentiate the functions given. You can't assume that there are still more. All this is is a double composite. It could have been written as F(g(h(x)), which is the same as before except with replcing th x^2 with h(x). Just do the setup and don't second guess yourself.
 
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...
Back
Top