Concept understanding — Derivatives of Inverse Trigonometric Functions
Inverse trigonometric functions (sin−1x,cos−1x,tan−1x,cot−1x,sec−1x,cosec−1x) are multi-valued in general, so a principal branch (a restricted domain and range) is fixed for each before differentiating. Each derivative is found by treating y= (inverse trig function of x) as x= (trig function of y), differentiating implicitly with respect to y, and using a Pythagorean identity to express the result back in terms of x. The six standard results are: dxdsin−1x=1−x21, dxdcos−1x=−1−x21, dxdtan−1x=1+x21, dxdcot−1x=−1+x21, dxdsec−1x=xx2−11 (for x>1; sign flips for x<−1), and dxdcosec−1x=−xx2−11 (for x>1; sign flips for x<−1). When the argument is a function f(x) rather than pla …
Since the argument is positive, cot−1(2x1+35x2)=tan−1(1+35x22x). Look for A,B with A−B=2x and 1+AB=1+35x2, i.e. AB=35x2; trying A=7x,B=5x gives A−B=2x and AB=35x2 — both match. So 1+35x22x=1+(7x)(5x)7x−5x=tan[tan−1(7x)−tan−1(5x)]. Hence $y=\tan …