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Exercise 5.4 · Q8

Q.Find dydx\frac{dy}{dx} in the following: log⁡(log⁡x),x>1\log (\log x), x > 1

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Use the chain rule twice: differentiate the outer log, then the inner log, then multiply by the derivative of xx. The result is dydx=1xlog⁡x\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{1}{x \log x}.

We have y=log⁡(log⁡x)y = \log(\log x), with x>1x > 1 so that log⁡x>0\log x > 0 and the expression is defined. The function is a composition: the outermost function is log⁡(⋅)\log(\cdot), applied to log⁡x\log x, which itself is a function of xx. To differentiate a composition, we use the chain rule.

The chain rule says: if y=f(g(x))y = f(g(x)), then dydx=f′(g(x))⋅g′(x)\frac{dy}{dx} = f'(g(x)) \cdot g'(x). Here, f(u)=log⁡uf(u) = \log u and g(x)=log⁡xg(x) = \log x. So we differentiate the outer log first, leaving the inner function untouched, then multiply by the derivative of the inner function.

Let’s walk through it step by step.

  1. Identify the outer and inner functions.

    Outer: f(u)=log⁡uf(u) = \log u, where u=log⁡xu = \log x.

    Inner: g(x)=log⁡xg(x) = \log x.

  2. Differentiate the outer function with respect to its argument.

    The derivative of log⁡u\log u is 1u\frac{1}{u}. So f′(u)=1log⁡xf'(u) = \frac{1}{\log x}.

  3. Differentiate the inner function with respect to xx.

    The derivative of log⁡x\log x is 1x\frac{1}{x}.

  4. Apply the chain rule.

    Multiply the two derivatives:

dydx=1log⁡x⋅1x.\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{1}{\log x} \cdot \frac{1}{x}.

  1. Simplify. The product is simply 1xlog⁡x\frac{1}{x \log x}. …

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