y = 4x^3 - 5/x^2 Easier to differentiate the 2nd term if it isn't written as a fraction so first rewrite y: y = 4x^3 - 5x^(-2) Then differentiate each term by multiplying each term by the current power of x and then decreasing the power of x by 1 to get dy/dx = (4)(3)x^2 + (-5)(-2)x^(-3) = 12x^2 + 10x^(-3)