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3.21 Leibniz’s notation for chain rule

Chain rule

Let y=g(f(x))=g(u)y=g(f(x))=g(u), where u=f(x)u=f(x), with ff and gg differentiable functions. Then

dydx=dydududx.{{dy}\over{dx}}={{dy}\over{du}}{{du}\over{dx}}.

Whenever possible, it is best to express the final answer in terms of original variable xx. While each function in the composition is differentiated, the respective points at which the functions are evaluated do not change; so we have s(x)=g(f(x))f(x)s^{\prime}(x)=g^{\prime}(f(x))f^{\prime}(x), not g(x)f(x)g^{\prime}(x)f^{\prime}(x).