To find the first partial derivatives of the function f(x, y) = x²y, we need to take the derivative with respect to each variable while treating the other variable as a constant.
1. Partial derivative with respect to x:
We denote this as ∂f/∂x. Here, we differentiate the function with respect to x:
∂f/∂x = ∂(x²y)/∂x
Since y is treated as a constant, we use the power rule:
∂f/∂x = 2xy
2. Partial derivative with respect to y:
We denote this as ∂f/∂y. Now, we differentiate the function with respect to y:
∂f/∂y = ∂(x²y)/∂y
Since x is treated as a constant, the derivative is:
∂f/∂y = x²
In summary:
The first partial derivatives of the function f(x, y) = x²y are:
- ∂f/∂x = 2xy
- ∂f/∂y = x²