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Show that the derivative of cot(x) is -csc2(x) using the quotient rule.

Mathematics

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Answer

ddx(cot⁡x)=−csc⁡2x\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = -\csc^2 x

Step-by-step solution

6 steps

To show that ddx(cot⁡x)=−csc⁡2x\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = -\csc^2 x using the quotient rule, we start with cot⁡x=cos⁡xsin⁡x\cot x = \frac{\cos x}{\sin x}.

Let u=cos⁡xu = \cos x and v=sin⁡xv = \sin x.

  1. Find the derivatives of uu and vv.

    dudx=ddx(cos⁡x)=−sin⁡x\frac{du}{dx} = \frac{d}{dx}(\cos x) = -\sin x dvdx=ddx(sin⁡x)=cos⁡x\frac{dv}{dx} = \frac{d}{dx}(\sin x) = \cos x
  2. Apply the quotient rule, which states that if y=uvy = \frac{u}{v}, then dydx=vdudx−udvdxv2\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{v \frac{du}{dx} - u \frac{dv}{dx}}{v^2}.

    ddx(cot⁡x)=(sin⁡x)(−sin⁡x)−(cos⁡x)(cos⁡x)(sin⁡x)2\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = \frac{(\sin x)(-\sin x) - (\cos x)(\cos x)}{(\sin x)^2}
  3. Simplify the numerator.

    ddx(cot⁡x)=−sin⁡2x−cos⁡2xsin⁡2x\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = \frac{-\sin^2 x - \cos^2 x}{\sin^2 x}
  4. Factor out −1-1 from the numerator.

    ddx(cot⁡x)=−(sin⁡2x+cos⁡2x)sin⁡2x\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = \frac{-(\sin^2 x + \cos^2 x)}{\sin^2 x}
  5. Use the Pythagorean identity sin⁡2x+cos⁡2x=1\sin^2 x + \cos^2 x = 1.

    ddx(cot⁡x)=−1sin⁡2x\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = \frac{-1}{\sin^2 x}
  6. Express the result in terms of csc⁡x\csc x, where csc⁡x=1sin⁡x\csc x = \frac{1}{\sin x}.

    ddx(cot⁡x)=−(1sin⁡x)2=−csc⁡2x\frac{d}{dx}(\cot x) = -\left(\frac{1}{\sin x}\right)^2 = -\csc^2 x
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