What is wrong with this differentiation?

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SUMMARY

The discussion revolves around finding the derivative dy/dt using the chain rule for the functions y, x, and s defined in terms of t. The user initially calculates dy/dt as (2x-5)(3s^2-2)(t/\sqrt{t^2+1}), leading to an incorrect result. However, after further manipulation, they discover that their result is equivalent to the correct answer, confirming that both expressions yield the same outcome through algebraic simplification.

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Homework Statement


Find dy/dt, given:
[tex]y=x^2-5x+1[/tex]
[tex]x=s^3-2s+1[/tex]
[tex]s=\sqrt{t^2+1}[/tex]

2. The attempt at a solution
I am trying to use the chain rule for the case where y is a function of x, x is a function of s and s is a function of t, like below:
[tex]\frac{dy}{dt}=\frac{dy}{dx}\frac{dx}{ds}\frac{ds}{dt}[/tex]
So:
[tex]\frac{dy}{dt}=(2x-5)(3s^2-2)(\frac{t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}})[/tex]
But this gives (substituting x and s for their values as functions of t)
[tex]6t^5-4t^3-\frac{3t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}-\frac{9t^3}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}-2t[/tex]
which is not the correct result. The correct result is:
[tex]6t^5-4t^3-9t\sqrt{t^2+1}+\frac{6t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}-2t[/tex]
What is wrong?

Thank you in advance.
 
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Never mind. After doing some manipulations I found that apparently both results are equal, because these two terms of the answer given as correct:
[tex]-9t\sqrt{t^2+1}+\frac{6t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}[/tex]
after some manipulation:
[tex]-9t\sqrt{t^2+1}+\frac{6t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}=\frac{-9t(t^2+1)+6t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}=\frac{-9t^3-3t}{\sqrt{t^2+1}}[/tex]
become the two terms of the answer I found.
 
Last edited:

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