What kind of operations are allowed on derivatives?

madah12
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Homework Statement


I just started in calculus ii ,and I remember that most I didn't use specific rules when dealing with derivatives and I sometimes managed to get away with it(especially in physics. now I have been playing with relations and I got unacceptable results so i will post what I did ( even if all of it is wrong)
let y=f(x)
y''=dy'/dx=dy'/dy dy/dx
=y' dy'/dy
y''/y'=dy'/dy
1/y' *dy'/dx = dy'/dy
1/y' dy' = dy'/dy *dx
1/y' dy' = d/dy * dy/dx *dx
and I canceled the dy and the dx
and got
ln(y')=1
I know this is stupid but how many operations I did were wrong?


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madah12 said:

Homework Statement


I just started in calculus ii ,and I remember that most I didn't use specific rules when dealing with derivatives and I sometimes managed to get away with it(especially in physics. now I have been playing with relations and I got unacceptable results so i will post what I did ( even if all of it is wrong)
let y=f(x)
y''=dy'/dx=dy'/dy dy/dx

How did you go from dy'/dx to (dy'/dx)*(dy/dx )
 
I didnt go from dy'/dx to (dy'/dx)*(dy/dx) i went from dy'/dx to dy'/dy dy/dx
 
dy'/dy makes no sense. y' and y are independent <variables> (functions of x).
 
umm what about dv/dx in physics it would be meaningful to say the rate of the change of velocity with respect to the displacement is ... right?
 
No, no, you're using redundant notation and the integration is wrong

Let's use the notations in physics, because they have different letters.

a= \frac{1}{2}\frac{dv^2}{dx} but this happens only through v(t) => v(t(x)). Then

\frac{a}{v} = \frac{dv}{dx} then

\frac{1}{v}\frac{dv}{dt} = \frac{dv}{dt} \frac{1}{\frac{dx}{dt}} = \frac{1}{v}\frac{dv}{dt}

redundancy.

OK, let's choose your expression

\frac{1}{v} \frac{dv}{dt} = \frac{dv}{dx}. Multiply by the 1-form dt and integrate on a path in the v-line (LHS) and in the t-line (RHS)

\ln v(t) + C = \int\left[\left(\frac{dv(x)}{dx}\right)(t)\right] \, dt

There's no 1 in the RHS. First you compute the derivative of v wrt x and consider the result as a function of t.
 
Last edited:
in the last line in the right hand side you wrote
integral dv(x)/dx (t)dt

what does the (t) after /dx indicate?
 
The dependence of t of the function after differentiation. I edited the formula to make it clearer.
 
madah12 said:
...
1/y' dy' = dy'/dy *dx
1/y' dy' = d/dy * dy/dx *dx
and I canceled the dy and the dx
and got
ln(y')=1
I know this is stupid but how many operations I did were wrong?
...


dy'/dy This is the derivative of y' WRT y, where y'=dy/dx In the second line you write it as:
d/dy * dy/dx . However, that's not a multiplication. d/dy is an "operator", so you can't cancel dy. This is the rate of change in y' WRT y.
 
  • #10
SammyS said:
dy'/dy This is the derivative of y' WRT y, where y'=dy/dx In the second line you write it as:
d/dy * dy/dx . However, that's not a multiplication. d/dy is an "operator", so you can't cancel dy. This is the rate of change in y' WRT y.

how do we know when it is a multiplication and when is it an operation I mean when you have
av=vdv/dt
<=> adx/dt = vdv/dt
you can cancel it out to get adx=vdv
which gives you vf^2 - vi^2=2ax
 
  • #11
1. The last integration follows iff the a is a constant.
2. The <dt> doesn't cancel out, because it's not a denominator of a fraction. Instead one has

a \frac{dx}{dt} = v \frac{dv}{dt} \Leftrightarrow a x&#039;(t) = v v&#039;(t)

which is an equality between 0-forms. Multiply by the 1 form dt in both terms and then

a x&#039;(t) dt = v v&#039;(t) dt.

Now use the definition of an exterior differential acting on a 0-form and have

a dx = v dv.

If a is constant (or a known function of <x>), then the integration can be perfomed in both sides of the last equation.
 
  • #12
what is the exterior differential acting on a 0-form ? and what is a 0 form
 
  • #13
That's part of the geometric interpretation of calculus. It's learned in a differential geometry class. For simplicity, you can do without though and assume dy(x) to be the differential of the function y(x) and is defined through

dy(x) = y&#039;(x) dx

where dx is the differential of the variable x.
 
  • #14
madah12 said:

Homework Statement


I just started in calculus ii ,and I remember that most I didn't use specific rules when dealing with derivatives and I sometimes managed to get away with it(especially in physics. now I have been playing with relations and I got unacceptable results so i will post what I did ( even if all of it is wrong)
let y=f(x)
y''=dy'/dx=dy'/dy dy/dx
=y' dy'/dy
y''/y'=dy'/dy
1/y' *dy'/dx = dy'/dy
1/y' dy' = dy'/dy *dx
1/y' dy' = d/dy * dy/dx *dx
You have an error here. You have (1/y')dy= d/dy(dy/dx) dx
That is, the "dy/dx" is inside the "d/dy" not just "multiplied by it".
You cannot cancel the "dx"s here.

and I canceled the dy and the dx
and got
ln(y')=1
I know this is stupid but how many operations I did were wrong?


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution

 
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