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Derivative of a sum with a square root and linear term

Let y=9x+5x−1y = 9\sqrt{x} + 5x - 1. Find dydx\dfrac{dy}{dx}.

Hint

Rewrite x\sqrt{x} as x1/2x^{1/2}, then differentiate each term separately using the power rule, applying the constant multiple rule to the coefficients and the sum/difference rule across terms. Remember the derivative of a constant is 0.

Step-by-step solution

Rewrite y=9x1/2+5x−1y = 9x^{1/2} + 5x - 1. Differentiate term by term using the sum/difference rule: dydx=ddx[9x1/2]+ddx[5x]−ddx[1]\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{d}{dx}[9x^{1/2}] + \frac{d}{dx}[5x] - \frac{d}{dx}[1].

For the first term, apply the constant multiple rule and power rule: ddx[9x1/2]=9⋅12x−1/2=92x−1/2\frac{d}{dx}[9x^{1/2}] = 9 \cdot \frac{1}{2}x^{-1/2} = \frac{9}{2}x^{-1/2}. For the second term, ddx[5x]=5\frac{d}{dx}[5x] = 5, and the derivative of the constant −1-1 is 00. Combining these gives dydx=92x+5\frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{9}{2\sqrt{x}} + 5.

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