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NCERT Exemplar · Q75

Q.For the curve x+y=1\sqrt{x} + \sqrt{y} = 1, dydx\dfrac{dy}{dx} at (14,14)\left(\dfrac{1}{4}, \dfrac{1}{4}\right) is __________.

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The curve x+y=1\sqrt{x} + \sqrt{y} = 1 is symmetric and smooth at (14,14)\left(\frac14,\frac14\right). Differentiating implicitly gives dydx=−yx\frac{dy}{dx} = -\sqrt{\frac{y}{x}}, so at the given point the slope is −1\boxed{-1}.


Why this approach works

The equation x+y=1\sqrt{x} + \sqrt{y} = 1 is not written as y=f(x)y = f(x) — it’s an implicit relation between xx and yy. To find dydx\frac{dy}{dx}, we differentiate both sides with respect to xx, treating yy as a function of xx. This is implicit differentiation, and it works perfectly even when solving for yy explicitly would be messy.

A key point: x\sqrt{x} and y\sqrt{y} are only defined for x≥0x \ge 0, y≥0y \ge 0, and the curve is smooth (differentiable) at interior points like (14,14)\left(\frac14,\frac14\right) because both xx and yy are positive there — no corner or cusp issues.


Step-by-step solution

1. Write the given equation clearly.

x+y=1\sqrt{x} + \sqrt{y} = 1

2. Differentiate both sides with respect to xx.

Remember: ddx(x)=12x\frac{d}{dx}(\sqrt{x}) = \frac{1}{2\sqrt{x}}, and for y\sqrt{y}, we use the chain rule: ddx(y)=12y⋅dydx\frac{d}{dx}(\sqrt{y}) = \frac{1}{2\sqrt{y}} \cdot \frac{dy}{dx}.

So:

12x+12y⋅dydx=0\frac{1}{2\sqrt{x}} + \frac{1}{2\sqrt{y}} \cdot \frac{dy}{dx} = 0

3. Solve for dydx\frac{dy}{dx}.

Multiply through by 22 to simplify:

1x+1y⋅dydx=0\frac{1}{\sqrt{x}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{y}} \cdot \frac{dy}{dx} = 0

Isolate the derivative term:

1y⋅dydx=−1x\frac{1}{\sqrt{y}} \cdot \frac{dy}{dx} = -\frac{1}{\sqrt{x}}

Multiply both sides by y\sqrt{y}:

dydx=−yx=−yx\frac{dy}{dx} = -\frac{\sqrt{y}}{\sqrt{x}} = -\sqrt{\frac{y}{x}} …

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