Q.Differentiate w.r.t. x: tan−1(1+cosx1−cosx), −4π<x<4π.
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Domain of a Composite Function
Picture a building with two doors: the first opens with a blue pass, the second with a red pass. Walking through f(g(x)) means passing the inner door g first, then the outer door f. The domain of the composite is simply: which inputs make it through both doors?
The intuition
Take f(x)=x and g(x)=x−5, so f(g(x))=x−5.
- The inner g(x)=x−5 accepts every real number.
- The outer f accepts only non-negative inputs.
So the real question is: which x make g(x) land inside the domain of f? The domain of the composite is not just the domain of g, nor just the domain of f — it is the overlap seen through g.
The precise statement
Domain(f∘g)={x∈Domain(g)∣g(x)∈Domain(f)}.
Two steps, in order:
- Keep only the x that g can handle.
- Among those, keep only the x for which g(x) is something f can handle.
A frequent mistake is to restrict x using the domain of f directly. The restriction comes from g(x) lying in Domain(f), not from x itself.
A worked check
For f(x)=x, g(x)=x−11:
- Domain of g: x=1.
- Outer condition: g(x)≥0⇒x−11≥0⇒x−1>0⇒x>1.
So Domain(f∘g)=(1,∞) — the condition from f already excludes x=1.
Order matters …
Concept: Chain rule after simplifying the argument.
With the half-angle identities 1−cosx=2sin22x and 1+cosx=2cos22x,
1+cosx1−cosx=tan22x=tan2x.
The absolute value matters: the square root is never negative, but tan2x is negative when x<0. On −4π<x<4π, 2x∈(−8π,8π), where tan2x has the same sign as x. Hence
y=tan−1tan2x=2∣x∣. …
Half-angle identities turn the argument into tan2x, so y=2∣x∣ on the interval; hence dxdy=21 for x>0, −21 for x<0, and it fails to exist at x=0.
Set up
Let
y=tan−1(1+cosx1−cosx),−4π<x<4π.
Direct differentiation would be ugly; simplifying the inside first makes it easy.
Simplify the argument
Using 1−cosx=2sin22x and 1+cosx=2cos22x,
1+cosx1−cosx=tan22x ⇒ 1+cosx1−cosx=tan2x.
The absolute value is essential: a principal square root cannot be negative, but tan2x is negative for x<0.
Resolve the sign
On −4π<x<4π we have 2x∈(−8π,8π), where tan2x has the same sign as x: …
Method: Half-Angle Substitution With Explicit Sign (Absolute Value) Handling
Use this method whenever a square root of a ratio of (1±cosx) appears inside an inverse trig function — the half-angle identities collapse it to a single tangent, but you must track the sign carefully because a square root is never negative while tan(x/2) can be.
Steps
Step 1: Apply the half-angle identities
1−cosx=2sin22x,1+cosx=2cos22x
so the ratio under the root becomes tan22x.
Step 2: Take the square root carefully — introduce the absolute value
tan22x=tan2x
A principal square root is never negative, but tan(x/2) is negative whenever x<0, so this absolute value is not optional.
Step 3: Resolve the sign on the given interval
Determine the sign of tan(x/2) throughout the given domain. Here x/2 stays in a small interval around 0 where tan(x/2) has the same sign as x, so the problem splits into two cases: x>0 and x<0. …
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Writing tan2(x/2)=tan(x/2) without the absolute value
Why it's wrong: a square root is defined to be non-negative, but tan(x/2) is negative for x<0 — skipping the absolute value silently produces the wrong sign (and hence the wrong derivative) on half the domain. Correct approach: always write u2=∣u∣, then resolve the sign using the specific interval given.
Mistake 2: Treating the function as differentiable everywhere on the given interval
Why it's wrong: y=∣x∣/2 has a corner at x=0 — the left- and right-hand derivatives disagree (−21 vs 21), so the derivative genuinely does not exist there, even though x=0 lies inside the stated domain. Correct approach: report the derivative piecewise and explicitly note the point where it fails to exist, rather than quoting a single formula for the whole interval. …
[!FORMULA] The domain of the function f(x)=sin−1(x−1)
- COMEDK 2026Set 2026-A1 markMCQQ.
[!FORMULA] The domain of the function f(x)=sin−1(x−1)
(A) (−∞,1]∪[2,∞) (B) [−1,1] (C) [1,2] (D) [0,1]›Reveal solutionSolution
The domain of f(x)=sin−1(x−1) is found by requiring the argument of the inverse sine to be in [−1,1] and the square root to be defined. This gives x∈[1,2], so the correct option is (C).
The key idea: For a composition like sin−1(x−1), we need both the inner function (x−1) to be defined and its output to lie within the domain of the outer function (sin−1). The inverse sine accepts inputs only between −1 and 1, and the square root requires a non-negative radicand and produces non-negative outputs.
- Domain of the square root x−1 is defined only when the radicand is non-negative:
x−1≥0⇒x≥1.
- Range of the square root For x≥1, x−1 takes values from 0 to ∞. But the outer function sin−1(t) is defined only for t∈[−1,1]. Since x−1≥0, we only need to ensure
0≤x−1≤1.
- Solve the inequality Square both sides (both sides are non-negative, so squaring preserves the inequality):
0≤x−1≤1.
Adding 1 throughout:
1≤x≤2.
- Combine with step 1 …
- KCET 2025Set A-11 markMCQQ.Domain of the function f, given by f(x)=(x−2)(x−5)1 is (A) (−∞,2]∪[5,∞) (B) (−∞,2)∪(5,∞) (C) (−∞,3)∪[5,∞) (D) (−∞,3]∪(5,∞)
›Reveal solutionSolution
A square root in a denominator forces its argument to be strictly positive, so solve the strict inequality (x−2)(x−5)>0.
Step 1 — Identify the two constraints.
f(x)=(x−2)(x−5)1
- For ⋅ to be real: (x−2)(x−5)≥0.
- For the fraction to be defined (no division by zero): (x−2)(x−5)=0, i.e. (x−2)(x−5)=0.
Combining, the single condition is the strict inequality:
(x−2)(x−5)>0
This is the whole point of the question — the endpoints x=2 and x=5 are excluded precisely because the root sits downstairs.
Step 2 — Solve by sign analysis.
Critical points: x=2 and x=5. Test each interval:
Interval (x−2) (x−5) Product x<2 (say x=0) − − + ✓ 2<x<5 (say x=3) + − − × x>5 (say x=6) + + + ✓ - COMEDK 2025Set 2025-A1 markMCQQ.Domain of the function f(x)=sin−1(2x)+6π for real valued of x is (A) [−41,21] (B) [−21,21] (C) [−41,41] (D) (−21,91)
›Reveal solutionSolution
The domain is found by requiring the expression inside the square root to be non‑negative and the argument of sin−1(2x) to be within [−1,1]. Solving these gives x∈[−41,21], which corresponds to option (A).
We need the set of real x for which f(x)=sin−1(2x)+6π is defined. Two conditions must hold simultaneously:
- The argument of sin−1(2x) must lie in [−1,1], because sin−1(t) is only defined for t∈[−1,1].
- The quantity under the square root must be non‑negative: sin−1(2x)+6π≥0.
Let’s work through these step by step.
- Domain of sin−1(2x) Since sin−1(u) is defined for u∈[−1,1], we require
−1≤2x≤1⇒−21≤x≤21.
So the “outer” bounds are x∈[−21,21].
- Square‑root condition We need sin−1(2x)+6π≥0, i.e.
sin−1(2x)≥−6π.
The inverse sine function sin−1(t) is increasing on [−1,1], with range [−2π,2π].
The inequality sin−1(2x)≥−6π means 2x must be at least the value whose sine is −6π.
Since sin(−6π)=−21, we have
2x≥−21⇒x≥−41.
- Combine both conditions …
- KCET 2023Set A-21 markMCQQ.Let f(x)=sin2x+cos2x and g(x)=x2−1, then g(f(x)) is invertible in the domain (A) x∈[−8π,8π] (B) x∈[−2π,2π] (C) x∈[0,4π] (D) x∈[−4π,4π]
›Reveal solutionSolution
The composition g(f(x))=(sin2x+cos2x)2−1 simplifies to sin4x. For invertibility, we need sin4x to be one-to-one, which occurs on intervals of length 4π. The only option that fits is x∈[−8π,8π], so the answer is (A).
The key here is to see what g(f(x)) actually looks like. When you have a composition like this, don't just leave it as a mess — simplify it. The function f(x)=sin2x+cos2x can be rewritten as 2sin(2x+4π), but even more useful is to square it when plugging into g.
Since g(x)=x2−1, we get g(f(x))=(sin2x+cos2x)2−1. Expand that square: sin22x+cos22x+2sin2xcos2x−1. The sin2+cos2 gives 1, so 1+sin4x−1=sin4x. That's a huge simplification.
So the problem reduces to: for which domain is sin4x invertible? A function is invertible only if it is one-to-one (bijective) on that domain. For a sine function, that means the domain must be contained within an interval of length 2π where sine is strictly monotonic — but here the argument is 4x, so the period is compressed.
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Understand the period and monotonicity of sin4x
The function sin4x has period 42π=2π. It is one-to-one on any interval of length 4π where it is strictly increasing or strictly decreasing. For example, sinθ is one-to-one on [−2π,2π], so sin4x is one-to-one when 4x∈[−2π,2π], i.e., x∈[−8π,8π].
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Check each option
- Option (A): [−8π,8π] — length 4π, exactly the interval where sin4x goes from −1 to 1 monotonically. This works.
- Option (B): [−2π,2π] — length π, which is 4 times the monotonic interval. sin4x will go through multiple cycles here, so it's not one-to-one. …
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