10. (a) Given that $y = (|x|^2 + 7)^{\frac{1}{2}}$, find $\frac{dy}{dx}$ - Scottish Highers Maths - Question 10 - 2016

Question 10

10. (a) Given that $y = (|x|^2 + 7)^{\frac{1}{2}}$, find $\frac{dy}{dx}$.
(b) Hence find $\int \frac{4x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 7}} \, dx$.
Worked Solution & Example Answer:10. (a) Given that $y = (|x|^2 + 7)^{\frac{1}{2}}$, find $\frac{dy}{dx}$ - Scottish Highers Maths - Question 10 - 2016
Given that $y = (|x|^2 + 7)^{\frac{1}{2}}$, find $\frac{dy}{dx}$.

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We start by applying the chain rule to differentiate the function.
First, we differentiate y with respect to x:
dxdy=21(∣x∣2+7)−21⋅dxd(∣x∣2+7).
Now, we know that the derivative of ∣x∣2 is 2x, therefore:
dxdy=21(∣x∣2+7)−21⋅2x=∣x∣2+7x.
Hence find $\int \frac{4x}{\sqrt{x^2 + 7}} \, dx$.

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Using the result from part (a), we can now evaluate the integral.
We have:
∫x2+74xdx=4∫x2+7xdx.
Substituting y=x2+7 gives:
=4⋅21(x2+7)21+C=4x2+7+C.
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