009A Sample Midterm 3, Problem 3

Use the definition of the derivative to compute   ${\frac {dy}{dx}}$   for $y=3{\sqrt {-2x+5}}.$

Foundations:
Limit Definition of Derivative
$f'(x)=\lim _{h\rightarrow 0}{\frac {f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}}$

Solution:

Step 1:
Let Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x)=3\sqrt{-2x+5}.}
Using the limit definition of the derivative, we have
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{array}{rcl} \displaystyle{f'(x)} & = & \displaystyle{\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{3\sqrt{-2(x+h)+5}-3\sqrt{-2x+5}}{h}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{3\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}-3\sqrt{-2x+5}}{h}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{3\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}-\sqrt{-2x+5}}{h}.} \end{array}}

Step 2:
Now, we multiply the numerator and denominator by the conjugate of the numerator.
Hence, we have
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \begin{array}{rcl} \displaystyle{f'(x)} & = & \displaystyle{3\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{(\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}-\sqrt{-2x+5})}{h} \frac{(\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}+\sqrt{-2x+5})}{(\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}+\sqrt{-2x+5})}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{3\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{(-2x+-2h+5)-(-2x+5)}{h(\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}+\sqrt{-2x+5})}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{3\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{-2h}{h(\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}+\sqrt{-2x+5})}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{3\lim_{h\rightarrow 0} \frac{-2}{\sqrt{-2x+-2h+5}+\sqrt{-2x+5}}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{3\frac{-2}{\sqrt{-2x+5}+\sqrt{-2x+5}}}\\ &&\\ & = & \displaystyle{\frac{-3}{\sqrt{-2x+5}}.} \end{array}}

Final Answer:
Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{-3}{\sqrt{-2x+5}}}

Return to Sample Exam