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Worked Examples · Example 2

Q.Find dydx\dfrac{dy}{dx} if y=2x+1x2+3y = \dfrac{2x + 1}{x^2 + 3}.

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✓ Free question

Let u=2x+1u = 2x + 1 and v=x2+3v = x^2 + 3, so y=uvy = \dfrac{u}{v} and the quotient rule (§2) applies.

Differentiate each part. dudx=2\dfrac{du}{dx} = 2 and dvdx=2x\dfrac{dv}{dx} = 2x.

Apply the quotient rule dydx=v dudx−u dvdxv2\dfrac{dy}{dx} = \dfrac{v\,\dfrac{du}{dx} - u\,\dfrac{dv}{dx}}{v^2}:

dydx=(x2+3)(2)−(2x+1)(2x)(x2+3)2.\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{(x^2+3)(2) - (2x+1)(2x)}{(x^2+3)^2}.

Simplify the numerator. (x2+3)(2)=2x2+6(x^2+3)(2) = 2x^2 + 6 and (2x+1)(2x)=4x2+2x(2x+1)(2x) = 4x^2 + 2x, so

numerator=2x2+6−(4x2+2x)=2x2+6−4x2−2x=−2x2−2x+6.\text{numerator} = 2x^2 + 6 - (4x^2 + 2x) = 2x^2 + 6 - 4x^2 - 2x = -2x^2 - 2x + 6.

Hence dydx=−2x2−2x+6(x2+3)2\dfrac{dy}{dx} = \dfrac{-2x^2 - 2x + 6}{(x^2+3)^2}, which factors as −2(x2+x−3)(x2+3)2\dfrac{-2(x^2 + x - 3)}{(x^2+3)^2}.

Check (dual-solve): evaluate numerically at x=1x = 1. The formula gives −2−2+6(1+3)2=216=0.125\dfrac{-2 - 2 + 6}{(1+3)^2} = \dfrac{2}{16} = 0.125. Directly, y(1)=34=0.75y(1) = \tfrac{3}{4} = 0.75; taking y(1.01)=3.024.0201≈0.75122y(1.01) = \tfrac{3.02}{4.0201} \approx 0.75122 and y(0.99)=2.983.9801≈0.74872y(0.99) = \tfrac{2.98}{3.9801} \approx 0.74872 gives slope ≈0.75122−0.748720.02=0.125\approx \dfrac{0.75122 - 0.74872}{0.02} = 0.125 — matching the derivative at x=1x=1.

✓Final answer

dydx=−2x2−2x+6(x2+3)2\dfrac{dy}{dx} = \dfrac{-2x^2 - 2x + 6}{(x^2+3)^2}.

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