Differentiate y = 3x^4 + 6x^3

There are two really simple steps we can use to be able to differentiate in a question like this. The first step is to multiply the number in the power by the number in front of the variable - in this case the 'x'. Looking at the first term we would multiply the '4' (in the power) by the '3' (in front of the x) to get 12. The second step is to subtract one from the number in the power to get the new power. So again, looking at the first term, we would subtract 1 from '4' to get the new power which is 3. Therefore, differentiating the first term gives us 12x3. We can then repeat these two steps for the next term in the equation (6x3) to give us 18x2. We use the notation dy/dx to indicate that we have differentiated the equation so our final answer is dy/dx = 12x3 + 18x2

Answered by Amrita B. Maths tutor

3492 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Simplify 7h + 5k + h - 7k


Simplify (14y^2)/y + 5y x 2


Factorise x^2-7x+12


Factorise and solve x^2 - 8x + 15 = 0


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences