Exercise
Find the derivative of the following function:
f(x)=x^{x^2+1}
Final Answer
Solution
We do not have a derivative formula for a function to the power of a function. To work around this, we use a “trick” – we use logarithm rules to get a multiplication of functions instead of a function to the power of a function.
f(x)=x^{x^2+1}
\ln f(x)=\ln x^{x^2+1}
\ln f(x)=(x^2+1)\ln x
Now, we divide both sides by the variable x. In the right side, we use the multiplication rule in Derivative Rules:
\frac{1}{f(x)}f'(x)=2x\cdot \ln x + (x^2+1)\frac{1}{x}
We isolate the derivative on one side:
f'(x)=f(x)(2x\cdot \ln x + (x^2+1)\frac{1}{x})
And set the function:
f'(x)=x^{x^2+1}(2x\ln x + (x^2+1)\frac{1}{x})
One can simplify the derivative:
f'(x)=x^{x^2}\cdot x(2x\ln x + (x^2+1)\frac{1}{x})
f'(x)=x^{x^2}\cdot x(2x\ln x + x+\frac{1}{x})
f'(x)=x^{x^2}(2x^2\ln x + x^2+1)
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