CHAPTER IV

SUCCESSIVE DIFFERENTIATION; LEIBNIZ THEOREM

1. Given y  x n . Find y n .
Solution: y1  nx n 1 , y 2  n(n  1) x n 2 , y3  n(n  1)(n  2) x n 3 ,
y n  n(n  1)(n  2)  3.2.1x n n  n!

2. Given y  (ax  b) m . Find y n .

Solution: y1  m(ax  b) m1 a , y 2  m(m  1)(ax  b) m 2 a 2 , y3  m(m  1)(m  2)(ax  b) m3 a 3 ,
y n  m(m  1)(m  n  1)(ax  b) m n a n

3. Given y  log e (ax  b). Find y n .

1
Solution: y1  a  (ax  b) 1 a , y 2  (1)(ax  b) 2 a 2 ,
ax  b
y3  (1)(2)(ax  b) 3 a 3  (1) 2 2!(ax  b) 3 a 3  (1) 31 (3  1)!(ax  b) 3 a 3
y n  (1) n1 (n  1)!(ax  b)  n a n

4. Given y  sin( ax  b). Find y n .


Solution: y1  a cos(ax  b)  a sin(  ax  b)
2
   
y 2  a 2 cos(  ax  b)  a 2 sin(   ax  b)  a 2 sin(2  ax  b)
2 2 2 2
 
y3  a 3 cos(2  ax  b)  a 3 sin(3  ax  b)
2 2

y n  a n sin(n  ax  b)
2

Exercises
Find the n-th derivative of the following functions:
1
1. y  (ax  b)  m 2. y  3. y  e ax 4. y  cos(ax  b)
xa

Application of partial fraction for determining the n-th differentiation

Examples
2x  3
1. Given y  2 . Find y n .
x  3x  2
2x  3 2x  3 1 1
Solution: We can write y  2     ( x  1) 1  ( x  2) 1
x  3x  2 ( x  1)( x  2) x  1 x  2
y1  (1)( x  1) 2  (1)( x  2) 2
y 2  (1)(2)( x  1) 3  (1)(2)( x  2) 3  (1) 2 2!( x  1)  ( 21)  (1) 2 2!( x  2)  ( 21)
y3  (1) 3 3!( x  1)  ( 31)  (1) 3 3!( x  2) ( 31)
y n  (1) n n!( x  1)  ( n 1)  (1) n n!( x  2)  ( n 1)  (1) n n![( x  1)  ( n 1)  ( x  2)  ( n 1) ]

De Moivre’s Theorem
[Abraham De Moivre (1667-1754), a French Mathematician]
For all real values of n, (cos   i sin  ) n  cos n  i sin n

1
1. Given y  . Find y n .
x  a2
2

1 1 1 1  1 1 
Solution: We can write y  2 2
 2 2 2     
x a x i a ( x  ia )( x  ia ) 2ia  x  ia x  ia 
1
 [( x  ia ) 1  ( x  ia ) 1 ]
2ia
1
y1  [(1)( x  ia )  2  (1)( x  ia )  2 ]
2ia
1
y2  [(1)(2)( x  ia ) 3  (1)(2)( x  ia ) 3 ]
2ia
1
 [(1) 2 2!( x  1) ( 21)  (1) 2 2!( x  2) ( 21) ]
2ia
1
y3  [(1) 3 3!( x  1) ( 31)  (1) 3 3!( x  2) ( 31) ]
2ia
1
y n  (1) n n![( x  ia ) ( n1)  ( x  ia ) ( n 1) ]
2ia
Let x  r cos  and a  r sin  .
a a
Then x 2  a 2  r 2 (cos 2   sin 2  )  r 2 and   tan 1 and r  .
x sin 
1
Therefore, y n  (1) n n![(r cos   ir sin  ) ( n 1)  (r cos   ir sin  ) ( n 1) ]
2ia
n
(1) n!
yn  [{cos(n  1)  i sin(n  1) }  {cos(n  1)  i sin(n  1) ]
2iar n 1
(1) n n! (1) n n!
yn  n 1
[ 2i sin( n  1) ]  n 1
[sin n 1  sin(n  1) ]
2iar aa
n
(1) n! n 1 a
Hence, y n  n2
sin  sin(n  1) , where   tan 1 .
a x

Exercises
Find the n-th derivative of the following functions:
1 1 x2
1. y  2
2. y  2  cos x cos 2 x 3. y 
1  5x  6x x  5x  6 ( x  1) 2 ( x  2)
1
4. y  2
x  16
Problems
1. Find the n-th derivative of y  cos x cos 2 x cos 3 x .
1 1
Solution: y  cos x cos 2 x cos 3 x  (2 cos 3 x cos 2 x) cos x  (cos 5 x  cos x) cos x
2 2
1 1 1 1
 (cos 5 x cos x)  cos 2 x  (2 cos 5 x cos x)  (2 cos 2 x)
2 2 4 4
1 1 1
 (cos 6 x  cos 4 x)  (1  cos 2 x)  (cos 6 x  cos 4 x  cos 2 x  1)
4 4 4
1
So that y1  (6 sin 6 x  4 sin 4 x  2 sin 2 x)
4
1   
 [6 cos(  6 x)  4 cos(  4 x)  2 cos(  2 x)]
4 2 2 2
1   
y 2  [6 2 sin(  6 x)  4 2 sin(  4 x)  2 2 sin(  2 x)]
4 2 2 2
1   
 [6 2 cos(2  6 x)  4 2 cos(2  4 x)  2 2 cos(2  2 x)]
4 2 2 2

1   
y n  [6 n cos(n  6 x)  4 n cos(n  4 x)  2 n cos(n  2 x)]
4 2 2 2

2. Find the n-th derivative of y  e ax sin bx .

Solution: Given y  e ax sin bx . So that y1  ae ax sin bx  be ax cos bx .
b
Let a  r cos  and b  r sin  . Then a 2  b 2  r 2 (cos 2   sin 2  )  r 2 and   tan 1 .
a
ax ax ax
Therefore, y1  re sin bx cos   re cos bx sin   re [sin(bx   )]
y 2  r 2 e ax [sin(bx  2 )], y3  r 3 e ax [sin(bx  3 )].
n
b
Hence, y n  r e [sin(bx  n )]  (a  b ) e ax [sin(bx  n tan 1 )].
n ax 2 2 2
a
4
3. Given y  cos x . Find y n .
1
Solution: Let z  cos x  i sin x so that z 1   cos x  i sin x .
z
1 1
Therefore, z   2 cos x and so z n  n  2 cos nx
z z
1 1 1 1 1
Now 2 4 cos 4 x  ( z  ) 4  z 4  4C1 z 41 ( )1  4C 2 z 42 ( ) 2  4C 3 z 43 ( ) 3  ( ) 4
z z z z z
1 1 1 1
 z 4  4 z 2  6  4( ) 2  ( ) 4  ( z 4  4 )  4( z 2  2 )  6
z z z z
 2 cos 4 x  4(2 cos 2 x)  6
1
 cos 4 x  [cos 4 x  4 cos 2 x  3]  y
8
 1 1  
So, y1  [4 sin 4 x  4.2 sin 2 x]  [4 cos(  4 x)  4.2 cos(  2 x)]
8 8 2 2
1   1  
y 2  [4 2 sin(  4 x)  4.2 2 sin(  2 x)]  [4 2 cos(2  4 x)  4.2 2 cos(2  2 x)]
8 2 2 8 2 2

1    
y n  [4 n cos(n  4 x)  4.2 n cos(n  2 x)]  2 2 n3 cos(n  4 x)  2 n 1 cos(n  2 x)
8 2 2 2 2

4. Given y  cos 5 x . Find y n .

1
Solution: Let z  cos x  i sin x so that z 1   cos x  i sin x .
z
1 1
Therefore, z   2 cos x and so z n  n  2 cos nx
z z
1
Now 2 5 cos 5 x  ( z  ) 5
z
1 1 1 1 1
 z 5  5C1 z 51 ( )1  5C2 z 5 2 ( ) 2  5C3 z 53 ( ) 3  5C4 z 54 ( ) 4  ( )5
z z z z z
1 1 1
 z 5  5 z 3  10 z  10( )  5( ) 4  ( ) 5
z z z
1 1 1
 ( z 5  5 )  5( z 3  3 )  10( z  )
z z z
 2 cos 5 x  5(2 cos 3 x)  10(2 cos x)
1
 cos 5 x  [cos 5 x  5 cos 3x  10 cos x]  y
32
1
So, y1  [5 sin 5 x  5.3 sin 3x  10 sin x]
32
1   
 [5 cos(  5 x)  5.3 cos(  3 x)  10 cos(  x)]
32 2 2 2
1   
y 2  [5 2 sin(  5 x)  5.3 2 sin(  3 x)  10 sin(  x)]
32 2 2 2
1   
 [5 2 cos(2  5 x)  5.3 2 cos(2  3x)  10 cos(2  x)]
32 2 2 2

1 n   
yn  [5 cos(n  5 x)  5.3 n cos(n  3 x)  10 cos(n  x)]
32 2 2 2

5. Given y  sin 6 x . Find y n .

1
Solution: Let z  cos x  i sin x so that z 1   cos x  i sin x .
z
1 1
Therefore, z   2i sin x and so z n  n  2 cos nx
z z
1
Now 2 6 i 6 sin 6 x  ( z  ) 6
z
 1 1 1 1 1 1
 z 6  6 C1 z 61 ( )1  6C 2 z 6 2 ( ) 2  6 C 3 z 63 ( ) 3  6C 4 z 64 ( ) 4  6 C 5 z 65 ( ) 5  ( ) 6
z z z z z z
1 1 1
 z 6  6 z 4  15 z 2  20  15( ) 2  6( ) 4  ( ) 6
z z z
1 1 1
 ( z 6  6 )  6( z 4  4 )  15( z 2  2 )  20
z z z
 2 cos 6 x  6(2 cos 4 x)  15(2 cos 2 x)  20
1
 sin 6 x   [cos 6 x  6. cos 4 x  15 cos 2 x  10]  y
32
1
So, y1   [6 sin 6 x  6.4 sin 4 x  15.2 sin 2 x]
32
1   
  [6 cos(  6 x)  6.4 cos(  4 x)  15.2 cos(  2 x)]
32 2 2 2
1   
y 2   [6 2 sin(  6 x)  6.4 2 sin(  4 x)  15.2 2 sin(  2 x)]
32 2 2 2
1 2   
  [6 cos(2  6 x)  6.4 2 cos(2  4 x)  15.2 2 cos(2  2 x)]
32 2 2 2

1 n   
yn   [6 cos(n  6 x)  6.4 n cos(n  4 x)  15.2 n cos(n  2 x)]
32 2 2 2

Problems
1. Find y 2 , where x  a (cos    sin  ) and y  a (sin    cos  ) .
d2y dy
2. If y  sin(sin x), then prove that 2
 tan x  y cos x  0 .
dx dx
d2y dy
3. If y  x ln[(ax) 1  a 1 ], then prove that x( x  1) 2  x  1  y .
dx dx
4
d y
4. If y  e  x sin x, then prove that  4 y  0.
dx 4
Leibniz Theorem
Statement: If u (x) and v(x) are two functions of x, then the n-th derivative of their product is
dn
denoted by (uv) n or (uv) and is defined by
dx n
(uv) n  u n v  n C1u n 1v1  n C 2 u n 2 v 2   n C r u n r v r    uv n
where the suffixes of u and v denote the differentiation of u and v with respect to x.

Solved Problems
m
 y x
1. Given cos 1    ln  . Prove that x 2 y n  2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (m 2  n 2 ) y n  0.
b m
m
 y x
Solution: We have cos 1    ln  . We can write
b m
m
y  x  y  x  x
 cos ln     cos m ln   y  b cos  m ln 
b   m   b  m  m
 x m 1 bm  x
So that y1  b sin  m ln   m     sin  m ln 
 m x m x  m
 x
 xy1  bm sin  m ln 
 m
 x m 1 m2
 xy 2  y1  bm cos m ln   m     y
 m x m x
 x 2 y 2  xy1  m 2 y  0
Applying Leibniz’s theorem, we get
n(n  1)
x 2 y n  2  ny n 1  2 x  y n  2  xy n1  ny n  m 2 y n  0
2
 x 2 y n  2  2nxy n 1  (n 2  n) y n  xy n 1  ny n  m 2 y n  0
Hence x 2 y n  2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (m 2  n 2 ) y n  0.

 ln y 
2. Given x  sin  . By applying Leibniz’s theorem prove that
 m 
(1  x 2 ) y n 2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  m 2 ) y n  0.
 ln y 
Solution: We have x  sin  . We can write
 m 
1
sin 1 x  ln y  ln y  m sin 1 x (1)
m
Differentiating (1) with respect to x, we get
y1 m
  1  x 2 y1  my  (1  x 2 ) y12  m 2 y 2 (2)
y 1 x 2

Again, differentiating (2) with respect to x, we get

2(1  x 2 ) y1 y 2  y12 (2 x)  m 2 (2 yy1 )
 (1  x 2 ) y 2  x y1  m 2 y  0 (3)
Applying Leibniz’s theorem, we get
n(n  1)
(1  x 2 ) y n 2  ny n 1  (2 x)  y n  (2)  ( xy n 1  ny n )  m 2 y n  0
2
 (1  x ) y n 2  2nxy n 1  (n  n  n  m 2 ) y n  xy n1  0
2 2

Hence (1  x 2 ) y n 2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  m 2 ) y n  0.

3. If y  ( x 2  1) n , then show that

( x 2  1) y n 2  2 xy n 1  n(n  1) y n  0.
Solution: We have y  ( x 2  1) n (1)
Differentiating (1) with respect to x, we get
2nx( x 2  1) n
y1  n ( x 2  1) n 1 (2 x) 
x2 1
 ( x 2  1) y1  2nx( x 2  1) n  2nxy , by (1) (2)
Again, differentiating (2) with respect to x, we get
( x 2  1) y 2  2 xy1  2ny  2nxy1
 ( x 2  1) y 2  2(1  n) xy1  2ny  0 (3)
Applying Leibniz’s theorem, we get
n(n  1)
( x 2  1) y n 2  ny n 1  (2 x)  y n  (2)  2(n  1)( xy n 1  ny n )  2ny n  0
2
 ( x 2  1) y n 2  2(n  n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  n  2n 2  2n  2n) y n  0
Hence ( x 2  1) y n 2  2 xy n 1  n(n  1) y n  0.

4. If y  [ x  1  x 2 ]m , then show that

(1  x 2 ) y n  2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  m 2 ) y n  0.
Solution: We have y  [ x  1  x 2 ]m (1)
Differentiating (1) with respect to x, we get
2x m[ x  1  x 2 ] m  x  1  x 2 

y1  m[ x  1  x 2 ] m1 [1  ]
2 1 x2 x  1  x 2  1 x2 

 1  x 2 y1  my  (1  x 2 ) y12  m 2 y 2 , by (1) (2)
Again, differentiating (2) with respect to x, we get
2(1  x 2 ) y1 y 2  y12 (2 x)  m 2 (2 yy1 )
 (1  x 2 ) y 2  xy1  m 2 y  0 (3)
Applying Leibniz’s theorem, we get
n(n  1)
(1  x 2 ) y n  2  ny n 1  (2 x)  y n  (2)  ( xy n 1  ny n )  m 2 y n  0
2
  (1  x 2 ) y n  2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  n  n  m 2 ) y n  0
Hence (1  x 2 ) y n  2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  m 2 ) y n  0.

Exercises
1
1. If y  e m cos x , then by applying Leibniz’s theorem show that
(1  x 2 ) y n 2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (m 2  n 2 ) y n  0.
1 
2. If x  sin  sin 1 y , then by applying Leibniz’s theorem prove that
m 
(1  x ) y n 2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (m 2  n 2 ) y n  0.
2

3. If y  sin(m sin 1 x), then by applying Leibniz’s theorem show that

(1  x 2 ) y n 2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (m 2  n 2 ) y n  0.
n
 y  x
4. If cos 1    ln  then prove that
b n
x y n  2  (2n  1) xy n1  2n 2 y n  0.
2

5. If y  A cos{m sin 1 (ax  b)}, then show that

{1  (ax  b) 2 } y n 2  (2n  1)a (ax  b) y n 1  (m 2  n 2 )a 2 y n  0.
1 1

6. If y m  y m
 2 x, then show that
( x 2  1) y n 2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  m 2 ) y n  0.

7. If y  a cos(ln x)  b sin(ln x), then by applying Leibniz’s theorem show that

(i) x 2 y 2  xy1  y  0.
(ii) x 2 y n  2  (2n  1) xy n 1  (n 2  1) y n  0.