Q.Find the second order derivative of the function: logx
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🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Concept understanding — Successive Differentiation
Successive Differentiation — Repeated Slopes
Differentiate a function, then differentiate the result, then differentiate that, and so on. Each pass produces a new function describing a deeper layer of change. The physics picture makes it concrete: position → velocity (1st derivative) → acceleration (2nd) → jerk (3rd). Every step asks the same question: "how does the previous rate of change itself change?"
The definition and notation
If y=f(x), its successive derivatives are written y1,y2,…,yn, equivalently f′(x),f′′(x),…,f(n)(x) or dxdy,dx2d2y,…,dxndny. Each one is the derivative of the previous:
dxndny=dxd(dxn−1dn−1y).
| Order | Leibniz | Lagrange | Newton |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | dxdy | f′(x) | y˙ |
| 2nd | dx2d2y | f′′(x) | y¨ |
| nth | dxndny | f(n)(x) | — |
Seeing the pattern
Take y=x4: y1=4x3,y2=12x2,y3=24x,y4=24,y5=0. Each differentiation drops the degree by one, so a degree-n polynomial has a constant nth derivative and vanishing higher ones. Other families behave differently: eax never dies out (dxndneax=aneax), and sinx cycles every four steps (sin→cos→−sin→−cos).
Power rule applied n times: dxndn(xm)=m(m−1)⋯(m−n+1)xm−n for n≤m.
dx2d2y is not (dxdy)2 — a second derivative is not the square of the first derivative. …
The key idea is that the second derivative of logx is found by differentiating the first derivative, using the standard derivative of the natural logarithm.
Step 1: Let y=logx (natural logarithm). The first derivative is:
dxdy=x1
Step 2: Differentiate dxdy with respect to x to get the second derivative:
dx2d2y=dxd(x1) …
The second derivative of logx is found by differentiating twice using the standard derivative of the natural logarithm. The result is −x21.
We are asked for the second order derivative of logx. In calculus, when the base of the logarithm is not specified, and the context is standard differentiation, logx almost always means the natural logarithm, lnx. This is the convention in most Indian exam syllabi (CBSE, JEE, etc.). If the base were 10, it would usually be written as log10x or explicitly stated.
The core idea is straightforward: the second derivative is simply the derivative of the first derivative. So we differentiate once, then differentiate that result.
1. First derivative of logx
The derivative of lnx with respect to x is a fundamental result:
dxd(logx)=x1
This comes from the definition of the natural logarithm as the inverse of the exponential function. If y=lnx, then ey=x, and differentiating implicitly gives eydxdy=1, so dxdy=ey1=x1.
A quick way to remember: the derivative of ln(function) is function1×derivative of function. Here the function is just x, so it's x1⋅1=x1.
2. Second derivative
Now we differentiate x1 with respect to x. It is often easier to rewrite x1 as x−1 before differentiating.
dxd(x1)=dxd(x−1)
Using the power rule dxd(xn)=nxn−1:
dxd(x−1)=(−1)x−1−1=−x−2 …
Method: Successive Differentiation of a Logarithmic Function
This method finds a higher-order derivative of a natural-logarithm expression by first reducing it to its known first-derivative form, then differentiating that result using the power rule.
Steps
Step 1: Recall the standard derivative of the logarithm
For the natural logarithm, memorise the base result:
dxd(logx)=x1,x>0
This single fact converts a logarithmic differentiation problem into an ordinary power-rule problem after the first step.
Step 2: Rewrite the first derivative as a power of x
Express x1 as x−1 so that the power rule can be applied directly for the next differentiation. …
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Dropping the negative sign when differentiating x1
Why it's wrong: rewriting x1 as x−1 and applying the power rule gives (−1)x−2=−x21 — the negative sign comes directly from the negative exponent and is easy to drop by accident. Correct approach: always carry the exponent's sign through explicitly, and sanity-check that 1/x has negative slope for x>0, so its derivative must be negative.
Mistake 2: Ignoring the domain restriction x>0
Why it's wrong: logx (natural log) is only defined for positive x, so both its first and second derivatives inherit that same restriction — stating the answer as valid "for all x" is technically incorrect. Correct approach: report dx2d2y=−x21 as valid for x>0 only. …
- COMEDK 2026Set 2026-A1 markMCQQ.
[!FORMULA] The second derivative of sin3xcos5x is:
(A) 2sin2x+32sin8x (B) 2sin2x+16sin8x (C) 2sin2x−16sin8x (D) 2sin2x−32sin8x›Reveal solutionSolution
The key idea is to rewrite the product sin3xcos5x as a sum using a product-to-sum identity, then differentiate twice. The second derivative simplifies to 2sin2x−32sin8x, which matches option (D).
We start with the function f(x)=sin3xcos5x. Differentiating a product of trig functions directly would involve the product rule twice, which is messy. Instead, we use a trigonometric identity to turn the product into a sum — this makes differentiation straightforward.
Concept & Intuition:
The product-to-sum identity for sine and cosine is:
sinAcosB=21[sin(A+B)+sin(A−B)].
This converts a product into a sum of two sine functions, each of which is easy to differentiate. After that, we just take the second derivative term by term.
Step-by-step solution:
- Rewrite the product as a sum. Let A=3x and B=5x. Then:
sin3xcos5x=21[sin(3x+5x)+sin(3x−5x)]=21[sin8x+sin(−2x)].
Since sin(−θ)=−sinθ, we have:
sin3xcos5x=21(sin8x−sin2x).
- Find the first derivative. Differentiate term by term:
f′(x)=21(8cos8x−2cos2x)=4cos8x−cos2x.
- Find the second derivative. Differentiate f′(x):
f′′(x)=4⋅(−8sin8x)−(−2sin2x)=−32sin8x+2sin2x.
Rearranging:
- COMEDK 2026Set 2026-A1 markMCQQ.If logy=log(sinx)−x2, then dx2d2y+4xdxdy+4x2y= (A) −2y (B) −3y (C) 3y (D) 0
›Reveal solutionSolution
The key is to first solve for y explicitly, then compute its first and second derivatives, and substitute into the given expression. The result simplifies to −3y, so the correct option is (B).
We start with
logy=log(sinx)−x2.
Exponentiating both sides (using base e) gives
y=elog(sinx)−x2=elog(sinx)⋅e−x2=sinx⋅e−x2.
So y=e−x2sinx. This is a product of an exponential decay and a sine wave — a classic damped oscillation.
Now we need dx2d2y+4xdxdy+4x2y.
- First derivative Using the product rule:
dxdy=e−x2cosx+sinx⋅(−2xe−x2)=e−x2(cosx−2xsinx).
- Second derivative Differentiate dxdy again, again using product rule on e−x2 times (cosx−2xsinx):
dx2d2y=e−x2⋅dxd(cosx−2xsinx)+(cosx−2xsinx)⋅(−2xe−x2).
Compute the derivative inside:
dxd(cosx)=−sinx,
dxd(−2xsinx)=−2sinx−2xcosx.
So together:
dxd(cosx−2xsinx)=−sinx−2sinx−2xcosx=−3sinx−2xcosx.
Thus
dx2d2y=e−x2(−3sinx−2xcosx)−2xe−x2(cosx−2xsinx).
Factor e−x2:
dx2d2y=e−x2[−3sinx−2xcosx−2xcosx+4x2sinx].
Simplify:
dx2d2y=e−x2(−3sinx−4xcosx+4x2sinx).
- Now form the expression We have:
dx2d2y+4xdxdy+4x2y.
Substitute each term:
- dx2d2y=e−x2(−3sinx−4xcosx+4x2sinx)
- 4xdxdy=4x⋅e−x2(cosx−2xsinx)=e−x2(4xcosx−8x2sinx)
- 4x2y=4x2⋅e−x2sinx=e−x2(4x2sinx)
Add them:
- COMEDK 2025Set 2025-A1 markMCQQ.If y=(sin−1x)2+(cos−1x)2, then (1−x2)dx2d2y−xdxdy= (A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 0 (D) 4
›Reveal solutionSolution
Differentiating twice gives the identity (1−x2)y′′−xy′=4.
Let y=(sin−1x)2+(cos−1x)2. Then
y′=1−x22sin−1x−1−x22cos−1x=1−x22(sin−1x−cos−1x).
Multiply through by 1−x2:
1−x2y′=2(sin−1x−cos−1x). …
- COMEDK 2025Set 2025-E1 markMCQQ.If y=x+ex then dy2d2x= (A) ex (B) (1+ex)2−ex (C) (1+ex)3−ex (D) (1+ex)3−1
›Reveal solutionSolution
We need the second derivative of x with respect to y, given y=x+ex. The key is to invert the relationship using implicit differentiation: dydx=dy/dx1, then differentiate again with respect to y. The final result is (1+ex)3−ex, which corresponds to option (C).
Concept & Intuition
When a function is given as y in terms of x, but we need derivatives of x with respect to y, we can’t just “flip” the derivative naively. Instead, we use the fact that
dydx=dxdy1
provided dxdy=0. For the second derivative, we differentiate dydx with respect to y, which requires the chain rule because dydx is expressed in terms of x, and x itself depends on y. This avoids solving for x explicitly (which is impossible here anyway).
Step-by-step solution
- Find dxdy Given y=x+ex, differentiate with respect to x:
dxdy=1+ex
- Find dydx Using the reciprocal relation:
dydx=dxdy1=1+ex1
- Set up for dy2d2x The second derivative is the derivative of dydx with respect to y:
dy2d2x=dyd(1+ex1)
Since the expression is in terms of x, we use the chain rule:
dyd=dxd⋅dydx
- Differentiate with respect to x Let u=1+ex. Then u1 differentiates to −u21⋅dxdu: dxd(1+ex1)=−(1+ex)2ex …
- COMEDK 2024Set 2024-M1 markMCQQ.
[!FORMULA] If y=loge(e2x2), then dx2d2y is equal to
(A) −x22 (B) −x1 (C) −x21 (D) x22›Reveal solutionSolution
Simplify the logarithmic expression using logarithm rules before differentiating; the second derivative is −x22, so the correct option is (A).
Concept & Intuition
When a function involves a logarithm of a quotient or power, it’s almost always easier to expand it using properties of logs before differentiating. Here, y=log(e2x2) can be rewritten as log(x2)−log(e2)=2logx−2. That turns a messy quotient into a simple difference, making differentiation straightforward. The first derivative will be a simple rational function, and the second derivative follows directly.
Step-by-step solution
- Simplify the expression Use the logarithm rules:
y=log(e2x2)=log(x2)−log(e2)=2logx−2.
(Recall log(e2)=2.) This is much cleaner.
- First derivative Differentiate term by term:
dxdy=2⋅x1−0=x2.
- Second derivative Differentiate x2 (which is 2x−1): dx2d2y=2⋅(−1)x−2=−x22.…
- KCET 2022Set C-41 markMCQQ.If θ+xy=e the ordered pair (dxdy,dx2d2y) at x=0 is equal to (A) (e−1,e2−1) (B) (e1,e2−1) (C) (e−1,e21) (D) (e1,e21)
›Reveal solutionSolution
Differentiate the implicit relation ey+xy=e twice, then substitute the point x=0,y=1 found from the curve itself.
(Note: the first term of the printed stem is a corrupted glyph; the relation is the standard implicit curve ey+xy=e, which is the only reading consistent with the four printed options.)
Step 1 — Find y at x=0.
Put x=0 in ey+xy=e:
ey=e⟹y=1.
So the point of interest is (0,1).
Step 2 — First derivative (implicit differentiation).
Differentiate both sides w.r.t. x, using the chain rule on ey and the product rule on xy:
eydxdy+(y+xdxdy)=0.
At (0,1): e1y′+1+0=0, so
y′(0)=−e1
Step 3 — Second derivative.
Differentiate the equation of Step 2 again w.r.t. x:
ey(dxdy)2+eydx2d2y+dxdy+dxdy+xdx2d2y=0.
(The first two terms come from differentiating eyy′ as a product; the last two from differentiating y+xy′.) …
- KCET 2021Set A-11 markMCQQ.If y=(x−1)2(x−2)3(x−3)5 then dxdy at x=4 is equal to (A) 108 (B) 54 (C) 36 (D) 516
›Reveal solutionSolution
Take logs to turn the triple product into a sum, differentiate term by term, then evaluate at x=4.
Step 1 — Why logarithmic differentiation.
y is a product of three powers. Using the product rule directly on three factors is messy and error-prone. Taking log converts products into sums and powers into multipliers, which is far cleaner:
logy=2log(x−1)+3log(x−2)+5log(x−3).
Step 2 — Differentiate implicitly.
Using dxdlog(u)=uu′ on both sides:
y1⋅dxdy=x−12+x−23+x−35
⟹dxdy=y[x−12+x−23+x−35].
Step 3 — Evaluate y at x=4.
y(4)=(4−1)2(4−2)3(4−3)5=32⋅23⋅15=9⋅8⋅1=72.
Step 4 — Evaluate the bracket at x=4. …
- COMEDK 2021Set 2021-B1 markMCQQ.If y=e2x, then dx2d2ydy2d2x= (A) e2x2 (B) 1 (C) −2e−2x (D) −2/y
›Reveal solutionSolution
[!TLDR]
Computing both second derivatives and multiplying gives −2/y=−2e−2x, i.e. option (C).
Concept
For a function and its inverse you differentiate each in its own variable; a second derivative with respect to the other variable is found from x=x(y) (CBSE/NCERT Class 12 Continuity and Differentiability).
Solution
With y=e2x:
dxdy=2e2x,dx2d2y=4e2x=4y.
Inverting, x=21lny, so
dydx=2y1,dy2d2x=−2y21.
Multiplying the two second derivatives:
dx2d2y⋅dy2d2x=4y⋅(−2y21)=−y2=−2e−2x. …
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