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3.27 Logarithmic differentiation

Logarithmic differentiation

For any positive and differentiable function ff we have

ddxlogf(x)=f(x)f(x).{{d}\over{dx}}\log f(x)={{f^{\prime}(x)}\over{f(x)}}.

Often it is easier to differentiate the logarithm of a function than the original function. This technique is especially useful for dealing with powers or products of functions.