SOLUTIONS TO DIFFERENTIATION OF INVERSE TRIGONOMETRIC

FUNCTIONS

SOLUTION 1  : Differentiate  . Apply the product rule. Then

(Factor an x from each term.)

 .

SOLUTION 2 : Differentiate   . Apply the quotient rule. Then

 .
SOLUTION 3 : Differentiate  arc arc  . Apply the product rule. Then

arc arc arc arc

arc arc

= ( arc arc  .

SOLUTION 4 : Let  arc  . Solve f'(x) = 0 for x . Begin by

differentiating f . Then

(Get a common denominator and subtract fractions.)

 .
(It is a fact that if   , then A = 0 .) Thus,

2(x - 2)(x+2) = 0 .

(It is a fact that if AB = 0 , then A = 0 or B=0 .) It follows that

x-2 = 0 or x+2 = 0 ,

that is, the only solutions to f'(x) = 0 are

x = 2 or x = -2 .

SOLUTION 5 : Let   . Show that f'(x) = 0 . Conclude

that  . Begin by differentiating f . Then

 .

If f'(x) = 0 for all admissable values of x , then f must be a constant function, i.e.,

 for all admissable values of x ,

i.e.,

 for all admissable values of x .

In particular, if x = 0 , then

i.e.,

 .

Thus,   and   for all admissable values of x .

SOLUTION 6 : Evaluate   . It may not be obvious,
but this problem can be viewed as a derivative problem. Recall that

(Since h approaches 0 from either side of 0, h can be either a positve or a negative

number. In addition,   is equivalent to  . This explains the following
equivalent variations in the limit definition of the derivative.)

 .

If   , then  , and letting  , it follows that

  .

The following problems require use of the chain rule.

SOLUTION 7 : Differentiate   . Use the product rule first. Then

(Apply the chain rule in the first summand.)

(Factor out  . Then get a common denominator and add.)

 .

SOLUTION 8 : Differentiate   . Apply the chain rule twice. Then

(Recall that  .)

 .

SOLUTION 9 : Differentiate   . Apply the chain rule twice. Then

(Recall that  .)

 .

SOLUTION 10 : Determine the equation of the line tangent to the graph

of   at x = e . If x = e , then  , so that
the line passes through the point  . The slope of the tangent line follows from
the derivative (Apply the chain rule.)

 .

The slope of the line tangent to the graph at x = e is

 .

Thus, an equation of the tangent line is

 .

SOLUTION 11 : Differentiate  arc  . What conclusion can be

drawn from your answer about function y ? What conclusion can be drawn about

functions arc  and   ? First, differentiate, applying the chain rule to

the inverse cotangent function. Then
 =0.

If y' = 0 for all admissable values of x , then y must be a constant function, i.e.,

 for all admissable values of x ,

i.e.,

arc  for all admissable values of x .

In particular, if x = 1 , then

arc

i.e.,

 .

Thus, c = 0 and arc  for all admissable values of x . We

conclude that

arc  .

Note that this final conclusion follows even more simply and directly from the
definitions of these two inverse trigonometric functions.

SOLUTION 12 : Differentiate   . Begin by applying the

product rule to the first summand and the chain rule to the second summand. Then
  .

SOLUTION 13 : Find an equation of the line tangent to the graph

of   at x=2 . If x = 2 ,
then  , so that the line passes through the
point  . The slope of the tangent line follows from the derivative

(Recall that when dividing by a fraction, one must invert and multiply by the

reciprocal. That is   .)

 .

The slope of the line tangent to the graph at x = 2 is

  .

Thus, an equation of the tangent line is

or

or

 .

SOLUTION 14 : Evaluate  . Since   and  , it

follows that   takes the indeterminate form `` zero over zero.'' Thus,
we can apply L'H pital's Rule. Begin by differentiating the numerator and
denominator separately. DO NOT apply the quotient rule ! Then

 = 

= 

(Recall that when dividing by a fraction, one must invert and multiply by the

reciprocal. That is   .)

= 
 = 

=   .

SOLUTION 15 : A movie screen on the front wall in your classroom is 16 feet
high and positioned 9 feet above your eye-level. How far away from the front of
the room should you sit in order to have the ``best" view ? Begin by introducing
variables x and  . (See the diagram below.) 

From trigonometry it follows that

so that

 .

In addition,

so that
  .

It follows that

that is, angle   is explicitly represented as a function of distance x . Now find the
value of x which maximizes the value of function  . Begin by differentiating
function   and setting the derivative equal to zero. Then

Now solve this equation for x . Then

if

if

if

if
if

 feet .

(Use the first or second derivative test (The first derivative test is easier.) to verify
that this value of x determines a maximum value for  .)

Thus, the ``best'' view is found x=15 feet from the front of the room.