Chain Rule and Implicit

differentiation
 The Chain Rule
Consider a function of the form
d
dx

( x  1)
2 200

Two ways we can find this differentiation with what we
know so far are to expand the function by binomial
formula and differentiate term by term or to apply the
derivative definition. Either way will not yield us the
derivative.

This, in fact, leads us to the new approach of derivative

 Understanding the Chain Rule

When Gear X makes 𝑥𝑥 turns,

Gear Y makes 𝑦𝑦 turns and gear U makes 𝑢𝑢 turns

By counting teeth,
𝑢𝑢 𝑦𝑦 1
We can see that 𝑥𝑥 = and 𝑢𝑢 = , so 𝑥𝑥 = 𝑦𝑦.
2 3 6
36 teeth
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Thus, = , = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = = �
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 3 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 6 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

6 teeth Accidently?
Think about the derivative as a rate of change:
18 teeth
If 𝑢𝑢 changes 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 as fast as 𝑥𝑥, and
𝑦𝑦 change 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 times as fast as 𝑢𝑢,
𝑦𝑦 should change 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 times as fast as 𝑥𝑥.
 The Chain Rule
1. Derivative of Compositions (Chain Rule)

Let
h( x)  ( x 2  1) 200
We have that

h( x)  ( f  g )( x)  f ( g ( x))
where
g ( x)  x 2  1, and f ( x)  x 200

We know that
g ( x)  2 x, and f ( x)  200 x199

We need to express h(x) in terms of these known derivatives

 The Chain Rule
1. Derivative of Compositions (Chain Rule) (continue)

Let
u  g ( x)  x 2  1 and y  (x 2  1) 200
Hence,
y  u 200
which follows
dy du
 200 u199 and  2x (1)
du dx
The unknown derivative,
dy d

dx dx

( x 2  1) 200 , (2)

therefore, can be found as by looking at the derivative as the rate

of change
 The Chain Rule
1. Derivative of Compositions (Chain Rule) (continue)

We are interested to know the rate of change between y and x.

dy
We know the rates of change and du in (1),
du dx
intuitively we can see the multiplication between the rates of
change since if the rate of change of y is 2 times as fast
compared with u and the rate of change of u is 3 times as fast
compared with x, then y will change 6 times as fast as x.

This suggests the chain rule:

dy dy du
 
dx du dx
 The Chain Rule
1. Derivative of Compositions (Chain Rule) (continue)

Example 1 h( x)  ( x 2  1) 200. Find h(x)

From (2)
dy dy du
h( x)    (3)
dx du dx
From (1) and (3), we have

h( x)  200 u199  2 x

 400 x(x 2  1 )199
 The Chain Rule
1. Derivative of Compositions (Chain Rule) (continue)

Example 2 y  4t 3  t . Find y(t )

dy du
y(t )  
du dt
where
y u and u  4t 3  t

1 12 1
Hence, y(t )  u (12 t 2  1)
2
1
1 
 (4t 3  t ) 2 (12 t 2  1)
2
(12 t 2  1)

2 4t 3  t
 The Chain Rule
1. Derivative of Compositions (Chain Rule) (continue)

1
Example 3 y . Find y(x)
3
5x  1
2

dy du
From the chain rule y( x)  
du dx
1
1 
where y  3 u 3 and u  5 x 2  1
u

1
1  3 1
Hence, y( x)   u (10 x)
3
4
10 
 x(5 x 2  1) 3
3
 The Chain Rule
Example 4

(a) 𝑦𝑦 = cos(𝑡𝑡 2 + 1)
Let 𝑢𝑢 = 𝑡𝑡 2 + 1.
𝑦𝑦 = cos(𝑢𝑢)
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= − sin 𝑢𝑢 = − sin(𝑡𝑡 2 + 1)
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= 2𝑡𝑡
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= � = − sin(𝑡𝑡 2 + 1) � 2𝑡𝑡
𝑑𝑑𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
 The Chain Rule
Example 4 (continue)

(b) 𝑦𝑦 = sin(𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑥𝑥)

Inside left alone

Derivative of the inside

𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= cos(𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑥𝑥) � 2𝑥𝑥 + 1
𝑑𝑑𝑥𝑥
 The Chain Rule
Example 5 A three link chain
𝑦𝑦 = tan(5 − sin 2𝑡𝑡)

𝑦𝑦 ′ = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 2 5 − sin 2𝑡𝑡 � 0 − cos 2𝑡𝑡 � (2)

Example 6 Differentiating with Parameter

Find the tangent line to the right hand hyperbola branch defined parametrically by
𝜋𝜋 𝜋𝜋 𝜋𝜋
𝑥𝑥 = sec 𝑡𝑡 , 𝑦𝑦 = tan 𝑡𝑡, − < 𝑡𝑡 < at the point 2, 1 where 𝑡𝑡 =
2 2 4
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 𝑡𝑡
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 sec sec 𝑡𝑡
= = = = = csc 𝑡𝑡
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 sec 𝑡𝑡 tan 𝑡𝑡 tan 𝑡𝑡
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
 The Chain Rule
Example 6 (continue)
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝜋𝜋
� = csc = 2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑡𝑡=𝜋𝜋 4
4

The equation to the tangent line is

𝑦𝑦 − 1 = 2(𝑥𝑥 − 2)
 The Chain Rule
𝑑𝑑 2 𝑦𝑦
Example 7 Find 2 as a function of 𝑡𝑡 if 𝑥𝑥 = 𝑡𝑡 − 𝑡𝑡 2 , 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑡𝑡 − 𝑡𝑡 3
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 − 3𝑡𝑡
𝑦𝑦 ′ = = 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 =
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 − 2𝑡𝑡
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑 1 − 3𝑡𝑡 2 2 − 6𝑡𝑡 + 6𝑡𝑡 2
= =
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 − 2𝑡𝑡 (1 − 2𝑡𝑡)2
2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 − 6𝑡𝑡 + 6𝑡𝑡
2
𝑑𝑑 𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 2 − 6𝑡𝑡 + 6𝑡𝑡 2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = (1 − 2𝑡𝑡)
= = =
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 − 2𝑡𝑡 (1 − 2𝑡𝑡)3
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
 The Chain Rule
Example 8
𝜋𝜋
(a) Find the slope of the tangent line to the curve 𝑦𝑦 = sin5 𝑥𝑥 at the point 𝑥𝑥 =
3

𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 4 𝑑𝑑
= 5sin 𝑥𝑥 (sin 𝑥𝑥)= 5sin4 𝑥𝑥 cos 𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

The tangent has the slope

4
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝜋𝜋 𝜋𝜋
4 cos = 5
3 1 15
� = 5sin =
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑥𝑥=𝜋𝜋 3 3 2 2 32
3
 The Chain Rule
Example 8 (continue)
(b) Show that the slope of every line tangent to the curve 𝑦𝑦 = 1/(1 − 2𝑥𝑥)3 is positive

𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 −4 6
= −3 1 − 2𝑥𝑥 −2 = 4
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 − 2𝑥𝑥

1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
So long as 𝑥𝑥 ≠ , we can see that >0
2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

1
But 𝑥𝑥 = is not in the domain…
2
 Higher Derivative
The derivative f of a function f is a function and may have
its own derivative if f is differentiable.

Call the derivative of f , the second derivative, denoted

f 
We can continue the process and find the derivative of higher
order of f so long as we have differentiability. The
successive derivatives are denoted by

f , f   ( f ), f   ( f ), f ( 4)  ( f ),, f ( n )  ( f ( n1) )

The number of times that f is differentiated is called the order

of the derivative
 Higher Derivative

If y  f (x) , then the successive derivatives can be denoted by

y, y, y, y ( 4) ,, y ( n ) ,

Other common notations are

dy d
y   [ f ( x)]
dx dx
d2y d d  d 2

y    [ f ( x)]  [ f ( x)]
dx 2
dx  dx  dx
2

d3y d  d2  d3
y  3
  2 [ f ( x)]  3
[ f ( x)]
dx dx  dx  dx

 Higher Derivative

Example 1 If f ( x)  5x 4  4 x3  3x 2  2 x  1 , then

f   20 x 3  12 x 2  6 x  2
f   60 x 2  24 x  6
f   120 x  24
f ( 4)
 120
f (5)
0

f (n)
0 ( n  5)
 Implicit differentiation

𝑦𝑦 = 𝑓𝑓2 (𝑥𝑥)
A The curve 𝑥𝑥 3 + 𝑦𝑦 3 − 9𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0 is not
a function of 𝑥𝑥. The curve can be
divided into separate arcs that are
B 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑓𝑓1 (𝑥𝑥) functions of 𝑥𝑥.

𝑦𝑦 = 𝑓𝑓3 (𝑥𝑥)
 Implicit differentiation
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Example 1 Find if 𝑦𝑦 2 = 𝑥𝑥.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
How to do?
2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1
1. Since 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 = ± 𝑥𝑥. Then = for 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1
and =− for 𝑦𝑦 = − 𝑥𝑥 .
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 𝑥𝑥
What if it is not so obvious to explicitly write down 𝑦𝑦 as a function of 𝑥𝑥, we
can try differentiate the equation in stead.
2 𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑
2. From 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥 ; By using Chain Rule
𝑑𝑑𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
2𝑦𝑦 = 1.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1
Therefore, = for 𝑦𝑦 = ± 𝑥𝑥.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2𝑦𝑦
 Implicit differentiation
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Example 2 Find if 𝑦𝑦 2 = 𝑥𝑥 2 + sin 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
From 𝑦𝑦 2 = 𝑥𝑥 2 + sin 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,
𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
𝑦𝑦 2 = 𝑥𝑥 2 + sin 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 2
𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥 2 + sin 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 ,
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑
𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥 + sin 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
2𝑦𝑦 = 2𝑥𝑥 + cos 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
2𝑦𝑦 = 2𝑥𝑥 + cos 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥 𝑦𝑦 + 𝑦𝑦 𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
2𝑦𝑦 = 2𝑥𝑥 + cos 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥 𝑦𝑦 + 𝑦𝑦
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
2𝑦𝑦 − cos 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 2𝑥𝑥 + 𝑦𝑦 cos 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2𝑥𝑥+𝑦𝑦 cos 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
Therefore, = .
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2𝑦𝑦−cos(𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥)
 Implicit differentiation
Example 3 Find the tangent and normal line to the curve 𝑥𝑥 3 +𝑦𝑦 3 − 9𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0
at the point (2,4).
From 𝑥𝑥 3 +𝑦𝑦 3 − 9𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0,
𝑑𝑑 3 3 𝑑𝑑
𝑥𝑥 +𝑦𝑦 − 9𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0 ,
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑥𝑥 3 + 𝑦𝑦 3 − 9𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0 2,4 𝑑𝑑 3 𝑑𝑑 3 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
𝑥𝑥 + 𝑦𝑦 − 9𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
2 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
3𝑥𝑥 + 3𝑦𝑦 − 9 𝑥𝑥 𝑦𝑦 + 𝑦𝑦 𝑥𝑥 = 0
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
3𝑦𝑦 − 9𝑥𝑥 = 9𝑦𝑦 − 3𝑥𝑥 2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 9𝑦𝑦 − 3𝑥𝑥 2 3𝑦𝑦 − 𝑥𝑥 2
= 2 = 2
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 3𝑦𝑦 − 9𝑥𝑥 𝑦𝑦 − 3𝑥𝑥
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 4 4
At 2,4 , = . The tangent line is 𝑦𝑦 − 4 = 𝑥𝑥 − 2 .
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 5 5
5
Therefore, the normal line is 𝑦𝑦 − 4 = − 𝑥𝑥 − 2 .
4
 Implicit differentiation
𝑑𝑑 2 𝑦𝑦
Example 4 Find 2 if 2𝑥𝑥 3 −3𝑦𝑦 2 = 8.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
From 2𝑥𝑥 3 −3𝑦𝑦 2 = 8,
𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
2𝑥𝑥 3 −3𝑦𝑦 2 = 8 ,
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑 3
𝑑𝑑 2
2𝑥𝑥 − 3 𝑦𝑦 = 0
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑦𝑦
2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
6𝑥𝑥 − 6𝑦𝑦 = 0
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑥𝑥 2
= 𝑦𝑦 ′ = when 𝑦𝑦 ≠ 0.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑦𝑦
𝑑𝑑𝑥𝑥 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 − 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑥𝑥 2
𝑑𝑑2 𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑′ 𝑦𝑦 − 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑦𝑦 2𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥 4
= = 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = = − 3
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑦𝑦 2 𝑦𝑦 2 𝑦𝑦 𝑦𝑦