Exercise · ZW-MULTIVARIABLE-CHAIN-RULE-007 · ★★☆ Intermediate

With \(z=x^2+xy\), \(x=s+t\), \(y=st\), compute \(\dfrac{\partial z}{\partial t}\) at \((s,t)=(1,2)\).

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  • D. \(11\)

Explanation

\(z_t=(2x+y)\cdot1+x\cdot s=8+3=11\). The factor \(s\) comes from \(\partial y/\partial t\), not from \(\partial y/\partial s=t\).

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Review the concept: Chain rule in several variables

The chain rule for \(z=f(x,y)\), with \(x=x(t)\) and \(y=y(t)\), gives the derivative of the composition as the sum of what each intermediate variable contributes: its partial of \(f\) times its own derivative.

\[\frac{dz}{dt}=\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}\frac{dx}{dt}+\frac{\partial f}{\partial y}\frac{dy}{dt}\]

More practice problems: chain rule in several variables

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