1 Functions of Several Variables

Chain Rule

 Recall that for functions of a single variable, if y  f ( x ) and x  g (t ) , where f and g

are differentiable functions, by using the Chain Rule, y is indirectly a differentiable
function of t, where
dy dy dx

dt dx dt
 For functions with several variables, we have
Chain Rule (Case 1)
Suppose that z  f ( x, y ) is a differentiable function of x and y, where x  g (t )
and y  h(t ) are both differentiable functions of t. Then z is a differentiable
function of t and
z
dz z dx z dy
  x y
dt x dt y dt

t t

Chain Rule (Case 2)

Suppose that z  f ( x, y ) is a differentiable function of x and y, where
x  g ( s, t ) and y  h( s, t ) are both differentiable functions of s and t. Then
z z x z y z z x z y z
   
s x s y s t x t y t
x y

s t s t

Example 1

dz
If z  x 2 y  3xy 4 , where x  sin 2t and y  cos t , find when t = 0.
dt

Solution z
dz z dx z dy
  x y
dt x dt y dt
t t
 (2 xy  3 y 4 )(2cos2t )  ( x 2  12 xy 3 )(  sin t )

When t  0, x  sin 0  0
 2 Functions of Several Variables

When t  0, y  cos0  1

dz
 (0  3)(2cos0)  (0  0)(  sin 0)  6
dt t 0

Example 2

1 dz
Given that z  x 2  y 2 , where x  2
and y  2t 3. Find by:
t dt

1
a. Substituting x  2
and y  2t 3 into z  x 2  y 2 .
t
b. Using Chain Rule.

Solution

a. z  x2  y 2
2
1
  2   (2t 3 )2
t 
1
 4  4t 6
t

dz 4
  5  24t 5
dt t

dz z dx z dy
b.   z
dt x dt y dt
 2 x y
 2 x   3   2 y (6t 2 )
 t 
t t
 1  2 
 2  2    3   2(2t 3 )(6t 2 )
 t  t 
4
  5  24t 5
t
 3 Functions of Several Variables

Example 3

w w
Given that w  x 2  y 2  z 2 , where x  st, y  s cos t and z  s sin t . Find and .
s t

Solution

w w x w y w z
   w
s x s y s z s
x y z
 2 xt  2 y cos t  2 z sin t
 2( st )(t )  2( s cos t ) cos t  2( s sin t ) sin t s t s t s t
 2st 2  2s cos 2t  2s sin 2 t
 2s(t 2  cos 2t  sin 2 t )
 2s(t 2  1)

w w x w y w z
  
t x t y t z t

 2 xs  2 y ( s sin t )  2 z ( s cos t )
 2 xs  2 ys sin t  2 zs cos t
 2( st )( s)  2( s cos t ) s sin t  2( s sin t ) s cos t
 2s 2t  2s 2 cos t sin t  2s 2 cos t sin t
 2 s 2t

Example 4

f
Given that f ( x, y, z )  sin( x 2 y  z ) , where x  sr, y  r 3  3s and z  r 2 . Find .
s

Solution f

f f x f y x y z
 
s x s y s
s r s r r
 2 xy cos( x 2 y  z )(r )  x 2 cos( x 2 y  z )(3)

 2rxy cos( x 2 y  z )  3x 2 cos( x 2 y  z )

 cos( x 2 y  z )(2rxy  3x 2 )

 cos[( sr)2 (r 3  3s)  r 2 ][2r( sr )(r 3  3s)  3( sr )2 ]

 cos( s 2r5  3s3r 2  r 2 )(2sr 5  9s 2r 2 )