Calculus Examples

$\frac{\sqrt{x + 1} - 1}{x}$

Step 1

Use $\sqrt[n]{a^{x}} = a^{\frac{x}{n}}$ to rewrite $\sqrt{x + 1}$ as ${(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ .

$\frac{d}{d x} [\frac{{(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1}{x}]$

Step 2

Differentiate using the Quotient Rule which states that $\frac{d}{d x} [\frac{f (x)}{g (x)}]$ is $\frac{g (x) \frac{d}{d x} [f (x)] - f (x) \frac{d}{d x} [g (x)]}{{g (x)}^{2}}$ where $f (x) = {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1$ and $g (x) = x$ .

$\frac{x \frac{d}{d x} [{(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1] - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 3

By the Sum Rule, the derivative of ${(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1$ with respect to $x$ is $\frac{d}{d x} [{(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{d}{d x} [{(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 4

Differentiate using the chain rule, which states that $\frac{d}{d x} [f (g (x))]$ is $f' (g (x)) g' (x)$ where $f (x) = x^{\frac{1}{2}}$ and $g (x) = x + 1$ .

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Step 4.1

To apply the Chain Rule, set $u$ as $x + 1$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{d}{d u} [u^{\frac{1}{2}}] \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 4.2

Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that $\frac{d}{d u} [u^{n}]$ is $n u^{n - 1}$ where $n = \frac{1}{2}$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} u^{\frac{1}{2} - 1} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 4.3

Replace all occurrences of $u$ with $x + 1$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2} - 1} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 5

To write $- 1$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{2}{2}$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2} - 1 \cdot \frac{2}{2}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 6

Combine $- 1$ and $\frac{2}{2}$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2} + \frac{- 1 \cdot 2}{2}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 7

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1 - 1 \cdot 2}{2}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 8

Simplify the numerator.

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Step 8.1

Multiply $- 1$ by $2$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1 - 2}{2}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 8.2

Subtract $2$ from $1$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{- 1}{2}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 9

Combine fractions.

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Step 9.1

Move the negative in front of the fraction.

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2} {(x + 1)}^{- \frac{1}{2}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 9.2

Combine $\frac{1}{2}$ and ${(x + 1)}^{- \frac{1}{2}}$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{{(x + 1)}^{- \frac{1}{2}}}{2} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 9.3

Move ${(x + 1)}^{- \frac{1}{2}}$ to the denominator using the negative exponent rule $b^{- n} = \frac{1}{b^{n}}$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} \frac{d}{d x} [x + 1] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 10

By the Sum Rule, the derivative of $x + 1$ with respect to $x$ is $\frac{d}{d x} [x] + \frac{d}{d x} [1]$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} (\frac{d}{d x} [x] + \frac{d}{d x} [1]) + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 11

Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that $\frac{d}{d x} [x^{n}]$ is $n x^{n - 1}$ where $n = 1$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} (1 + \frac{d}{d x} [1]) + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 12

Since $1$ is constant with respect to $x$ , the derivative of $1$ with respect to $x$ is $0$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} (1 + 0) + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 13

Simplify the expression.

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Step 13.1

Add $1$ and $0$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} \cdot 1 + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 13.2

Multiply $\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$ by $1$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} + \frac{d}{d x} [- 1]) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 14

Since $- 1$ is constant with respect to $x$ , the derivative of $- 1$ with respect to $x$ is $0$ .

$\frac{x (\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} + 0) - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 15

Combine fractions.

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Step 15.1

Add $\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$ and $0$ .

$\frac{x \frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 15.2

Combine $x$ and $\frac{1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$ .

$\frac{\frac{x}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 16

Multiply $\frac{\frac{x}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$ by $\frac{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$ .

$\frac{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} \cdot \frac{\frac{x}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x]}{x^{2}}$

Step 17

Simplify terms.

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Step 17.1

Combine.

$\frac{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} (\frac{x}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} - ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x])}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 17.2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \frac{x}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} (- ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x])}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 17.3

Cancel the common factor of $2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ .

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Step 17.3.1

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \frac{x}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}} + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} (- ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x])}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 17.3.2

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{x + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} (- ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x])}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 17.4

Multiply $- 1$ by $2$ .

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} (({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \frac{d}{d x} [x])}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 18

Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that $\frac{d}{d x} [x^{n}]$ is $n x^{n - 1}$ where $n = 1$ .

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} (({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1) \cdot 1)}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 19

Multiply ${(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 1)}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20

Simplify.

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Step 20.1

Simplify the numerator.

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Step 20.1.1

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.2

Multiply ${(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ by ${(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ by adding the exponents.

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Step 20.1.2.1

Move ${(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ .

$\frac{x - 2 ({(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}) - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.2.2

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{2}} - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.2.3

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1 + 1}{2}} - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.2.4

Add $1$ and $1$ .

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{2}{2}} - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.2.5

Divide $2$ by $2$ .

$\frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{1} - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.3

Simplify $- 2 {(x + 1)}^{1}$ .

$\frac{x - 2 (x + 1) - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} \cdot - 1}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.4

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 2$ .

$\frac{x - 2 (x + 1) + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.5

Simplify each term.

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Step 20.1.5.1

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 2 x - 2 \cdot 1 + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.5.2

Multiply $- 2$ by $1$ .

$\frac{x - 2 x - 2 + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.6

Subtract $2 x$ from $x$ .

$\frac{- x - 2 + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.1.7

Reorder terms.

$\frac{- x + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 2}{2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} x^{2}}$

Step 20.2

Reorder terms.

$\frac{- x + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 2}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.3

Factor $- 1$ out of $- x$ .

$\frac{- (x) + 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} - 2}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.4

Factor $- 1$ out of $2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ .

$\frac{- (x) - (- 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}) - 2}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.5

Factor $- 1$ out of $- (x) - (- 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}})$ .

$\frac{- (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}) - 2}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.6

Rewrite $- 2$ as $- 1 (2)$ .

$\frac{- (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}) - 1 (2)}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.7

Factor $- 1$ out of $- (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}) - 1 (2)$ .

$\frac{- (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} + 2)}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.8

Rewrite $- (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} + 2)$ as $- 1 (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} + 2)$ .

$\frac{- 1 (x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} + 2)}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$

Step 20.9

Move the negative in front of the fraction.

$- \frac{x - 2 {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}} + 2}{2 x^{2} {(x + 1)}^{\frac{1}{2}}}$