1.

Find 𝑦′ by implicit differentiation for 2𝑦 3 + 4𝑥 2 − 𝑦 = 𝑥 6

Solution:
First, we just need to take the derivative of everything with respect to x and we’ll need to recall that y is
really y(x) and so we’ll need to use the Chain Rule when taking the derivative of terms involving y.

6𝑦 2 𝑦 ′ + 8𝑥 − 𝑦 ′ = 6𝑥 5
Finally, all we need to do is solve this for y′.

(6𝑦 2 − 1)𝑦 ′ = 6𝑥 5 − 8𝑥

6𝑥 5 − 8𝑥
𝑦′ =
6𝑦 2 − 1

2. Find the equation of the tangent line that passes through point (1,2) to the graph of 8𝑦 3 +
𝑥 2 𝑦 − 𝑥 = 3.
Solution:
First, we need to use implicit differentiation to find dy/dx and then substitute the point (1,2) into the
derivative to find slope. Then we will use the equation of the line (either the slope-intercept form or the
point-intercept form) to find the equation of the tangent line. Using implicit differentiation,
𝑑 𝑑
[8𝑦 3 + 𝑥 2 𝑦 − 𝑥] = [3]
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑 𝑑
24𝑦 2 + [(𝑥 2 )(1) + 𝑦(2𝑥)] − 1 = 0
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑦
24𝑦 2 + 𝑥2 + 2𝑥𝑦 − 1 = 0
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦
[24𝑦 2 + 𝑥 2 ] = 1 − 2𝑥𝑦
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 1 − 2𝑥𝑦
=
𝑑𝑥 24𝑦 2 + 𝑥 2
Now, substituting point (1,2) into the derivative to find the slope,
𝑑𝑦 1 − 2(1)(2)
=
𝑑𝑥 24(2)2 + (1)2
−3
=
97
So, the slope of the tangent line is -3/97 which is a very small value. (What does this tell us about the
orientation of the tangent line?)
Next, we need to find the equation of the tangent line. The slope-intercept form is

y=mx+b

where m=-3/97 and b is the y- intercept. To find it, simply substitute point (1,2) into the line equation
and solve for b to find the y- intercept.
 −3
2=( ) (1) + 𝑏
97
197
𝑏=
97
Thus, the equation of the tangent line is
3 197
𝑦=− 𝑥+
97 97
Remark: we could have used the point-slope form 𝑦 − 𝑦1 = 𝑚(𝑥 − 𝑥1) and obtained the same equation.

3
3. Find the derivative of 𝑦 = √𝑥 + 8 √𝑥 − 2 4√𝑥

Solution:

There isn’t much to do here other than take the derivative using the rules we discussed in this
section.

Remember that you’ll need to convert the roots to fractional exponents before you start taking
the derivative. Here is the rewritten function.

1 1 1
𝑦 = 𝑥 2 + 8𝑥 3 − 2𝑥 4
The derivative is,
𝑑𝑦 1 −1 8 −2 1 −3
= 𝑥 2+ 𝑥 3− 𝑥 4
𝑑𝑥 2 3 2

𝑦 5 −5𝑦 3 +2𝑦
4. Find the derivative of 𝑓(𝑦) = 𝑦3

𝑦 5 5𝑦 3 2𝑦
𝑓(𝑦) = − 3 + 3 = 𝑦 2 − 5 + 2𝑦 −2
𝑦3 𝑦 𝑦
The derivative is,
𝑓 ′ (𝑦) = 2𝑦 − 4𝑦 −3