Derivación implícita

3.5
IMPLICIT FUNCTIONS
AND FRACTIONAL
EXPONENTS
Most of the functions we have met so far have been of the form y = /(x), in which
y is expressed directly— or explicitly— in terms of x. In contrast to this, it often
happens that y is defined as a function of x by means of an equation
F(x, y) = 0, (1)
which is not solved for y but in which x and y are more or less entangled with
each other. When x is given a suitable numerical value, the resulting equation
usually determines one or more corresponding values of y. In such a case we say
that equation ( 1) determines y as one or more implicit functions of x.
Example 1 (a) The very simple equation Jty = 1 determines one implicit function
of x, which can be written explicitly as
Figure 3.2
y=7’
(b) The equation x 2 + y2 = 25 determines two implicit functions of x, which
can be written explicitly as
y = V25 - x2 and y = -V 2 5
As we know, the graphs of these two functions are the upper and lower halves
of the circle of radius 5 shown in Fig. 3.2.
(c) The equation 2x2 — 2xy = 5 — y2 also determines two implicit functions.
If we use the quadratic formula to solve for y, we find that these functions are
y = jc -(- V 5 — jc2 and y = x — V 5 — jc2 .
(d) The equation x3 + y3 = 3axy (a > 0) determines several implicit functions,
but the problem of solving this equation for y is so forbidding that we might
as well forget it.
It is rather surprising that we can often calculate the derivative dy/dx of an implicit
function without first solving the given equation for y. We start the process
by differentiating the given equation through with respect to x, using the chain
rule (or power rule) and consciously thinking of y as a function of x wherever it
appears. Thus, for example, y3 is treated as the cube of a function of x and its
derivative is
3.5 IMPLICIT FUNCTIONS AND FRACTIONAL EXPONENTS
J*-y. = 3y2 i&.
dx • • dx'
and x 3y4 is thought of as the product of two functions of x and its derivative is
-7- (x3y4) = x3 • 4y3 + y4 ' 3x2.
dx dx
To complete the process, we solve the resulting equation for dy/dx as the unknown.
This method is called implicit differentiation. We show how it works by
applying it to the equations in Example 1.
Example 2 (a) We can think of the equation xy = 1 as stating that two functions
of x (namely, xy and 1) are equal. It follows that the derivatives of these
functions are equal, so
dy „ dy x -d7x- + y = 0 or -d7xy- = xy .
In this case it is possible to solve the original equation for y and check our result:
Since y = 1/x, the formula we have just obtained becomes
dy_ = _ y _ = _ J _ . = _ 1 . 1 _ __L.
dx x x x x x2 ’
and differentiating y = 1/x directly also yields
dy _ __1_
dx x2'
(b) From the equation x2 + y2 - 25 we get
2x + 2„ y -dd7yx- = 0 or —ddyx = —xy .
This gives the correct result whichever of the two implicit functions we are thinking
about. Thus, at the point (4, 3) on the upper curve in Fig. 3.2, the value of
dy/dx is —7, and at (4, - 3 ) on the lower curve, its value is 7.
(c) If we apply this process of implicit differentiation to the equation 2x2 —
2xy = 5 — y2, we obtain
4x — „2 x -ddpyx — 2y = -2~ y -ddjyx- or ddxy = -2-x-x - —-—- - yy“ •
(d) In Example 1(d) the derivative dy/dx is clearly beyond direct calculation.
However, it is easily found by our present method: Since x3 + y3 = 3axy, we
have
3x2 + 3^ - 7- = 3ax + 3ay ~
dx dx dx y 2 —
It is apparent that implicit differentiation usually gives an expression for dy/dx
in terms of both x and y, instead of in terms of x alone. However, in many cases
this is not a real disadvantage. For instance, if we want the slope of the tangent
to the graph of the equation at a point (xo, yo). all we have to do is substitute xo
and y0 for x and y in the formula for dy/dx. This is illustrated in Example 2(b)
for the points (4, 3) and (4, —3).
THE COMPUTATION OF DERIVATIVES
We now use implicit differentiation to show that the vital formula
-7 - x n = nxn~ l (2)
ax
is valid for all fractional exponents n = p!q*
For the sake of convenience, we begin the proof of (2) for fractional exponents
by introducing y as the dependent variable,
y = xp'v.
Raising both sides of this to the q\h power yields
y? = XP\
and by differentiating implicitly with respect to jc and using the known validity
of the power rule for integral exponents, we obtain
qyq- 1 — pXP~^
dx
or
dv _ p x p~ x
dx q y q 1'
But y q~ x — y q/y = x p/x p/q, so
dy_= p_ xP^_ = P xP~l xp/q = p
dx q y q~ x q x p q
and the proof is complete.
Example 3 We immediately have
_ v-l/2 _ J _ Y-l/2 A . r —2/3 = _ 2 . - 5 /3 _ d _ 5/4 5_ 1/4
dx 2 ’ dx 3 ’ dx 4
The first of these derivatives is often used in the form
—\T-^
dx X 2 Vx"
This formula was established directly from the definition of the derivative in Example
3 of Section 2.3.
Example 4 By the chain rule, the power rule of Section 3.3 is now known to be
valid for all fractional exponents. Accordingly,
-7- (4 — jc2r 5/2 - (4 - jc2r 7/2 -7 - (4 - x 2)
dx 2 dx
= - - ( 4 - x 2) 7/2( - 2 x) = (4 — jc2)7/2 '
‘Students who are comfortable with fractional exponents should ignore this footnote. However, for
those who have forgotten the meaning of these exponents, we offer a brief review. We begin by recalling
that the square root Vjt, the cube root 'Vx, and more generally the gth root ~^/x, where q is
any positive integer, are all defined for x > 0; if q is odd, '^/x is also defined for x < 0. The definition
of fractional exponents now proceeds in two stages: First, xxlq is defined for q > 0 by xUq =
'Vx', and second, if p/q is in lowest terms and q > 0, xp,q is defined by xplq = (x l,q)p. It is sometimes
3.5 IMPLICIT FUNCTIONS AND FRACTIONAL EXPONENTS 105
Example 5 In differentiating expressions containing radicals, it is necessary to
begin by replacing all radical signs by fractional exponents. Thus,
— £ ---- = ~ X ( X 2 ~ = 1) - 3/2( 2 ^ ) + (x 2 _ 1) - 1/2
- x 2 + (x2 - \ ) - 1
dx \ / x2 _ i dx \ 2
(x2 — 1)3/2 (X2 — 1)1/2 (x2 — 1 )3/2 (x2 — 1)3/2’
For convenience of reference, we list together all the differentiation rules developed
in this chapter.
1 c = dx °-
2 -7 - x n = nxn~ x (n any integer or fraction).
dx
d du
3 — (cu) = c —
dx dx
. du dv
4 — (u + v) = — + — .
dx dx dx
5 The product rule: — (uv) = u ~ +
dx dx dx
, . d ( u \ v du/dx — u dvldx
6 1 he quotient rule: — — = -------------5----------- .
dx \ v ) vA
7 The chain rule: - j - = -j~ •
ax du dx
8 77ie power rule: -7- = -7^- (n any integer or fraction).
ax dx
n d . du
9 — sin u = cos w — .
dx dx
, n d du
10 — cos u = —sin u
dx dx
These rules will be used in many ways in almost everything we do from this
point on. We therefore urge students who have not already done so to commit
them to memory and practice them until their use becomes almost automatic. The
eminent philosopher A. N. Whitehead might well have had these rules in mind
when he said, “Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations
which we can perform without thinking about them.”
It is worth pointing out that most mistakes in differentiation come from misusing
the power rule or the quotient rule. For instance, in applying the power rule
it is easy to forget the essential final factor du/dx:
Common mistake Right answer
-d7x- (1 + 6x2)4 = 4(1 + 6x2)3 4(1 + 6x2)3 • 12x
(1 + 2x)1/3 = j( l + 2x)-2/3 j( l + 2x)~2/3 ■ 2
useful to know (and it is not difficult to prove) that (xp)Ucl = (xl/q)p if x > 0. For example, 82/3 is
easy to evaluate both ways, since 82/3 = (82)1/3 = 64l/3 = 4 and 82/3 = (81/3)2 = 22 = 4; but 323/5 =
(323)i/5 js harcj, while 323/5 = (321/5)3 = 23 = 8 is easy.
106 THE COMPUTATION OF DERIVATIVES
The difficulty with the quotient rule lies in remembering the order of subtraction
in the numerator. If we forget, one way of quickly recalling the correct order is
to use the product rule as follows:
d ( u \ d _2 dv —dx \ —v ) = —dx (uv ») = u ■ ( - l ) v 2 —dx + V 1 —ddux
1 du u dv_ _ v du/dx - u du/dx
v dx v2 dx v2
Remark The equation in Example 1(d) has a long history and deserves a bit of
further comment. Its graph is called the folium o f Descartes and is shown in Fig.
3.3. If we consider the simplest case by putting a = 1, the equation becomes
x + y — 3 xy, (3)
and the problem of solving this for y in terms of x—which we airily dismissed
above— is not absolutely out of the question. And thereby hangs a tale of considerable
historical interest.
In 1545 the boisterous Italian physician-mathematician-astrologer Girolamo
Cardano (1501-1576) discovered a formula for solving any cubic equation by
means of radicals.* This formula resembles the familiar quadratic formula but is
much more complicated. If Cardano’s formula is used to solve equation (3) for
y, the three solution functions that arise areT
y\
ixj
- T + -4-.
and
The method of implicit differentiation as carried out in Example 2(d) is clearly
preferable to the task of directly differentiating horrors like these. Furthermore,
implicit differentiation works just as easily for equations such as
jc5 + 5xAy2 + 3xy3 + y5 = 1,

which are actually impossible to solve for y in terms of x.?

*At one point in his turbulent life Cardano was imprisoned for heresy: his offense was that he published
a horoscope for Jesus.
TThese formulas can be obtained from the ideas in Chapter X of H. Tietze, Famous Problems of
Mathematics (Graylock Press, 1965).
^In 1824 the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) proved that no general formula
exists for solving a fifth-degree equation by means of radicals, as is possible