Derivative of a Power of a Function

To find a derivative of a function, consider the following examples to expand on the concept of a derivative of a given function.

1. Consider the following function:
\[y = {\left( {2{x^2} + 4x + 10} \right)^2}\]

Differentiating with respect to variable $$x$$, we get
\[\frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = \frac{d}{{dx}}{\left( {2{x^2} + 4x + 10} \right)^2}\]

First we take the derivative of a power of a function, and then differentiate the inner function
\[\begin{gathered}\frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = 2{\left( {2{x^2} + 4x + 10} \right)^{2 – 1}}\frac{d}{{dx}}\left( {2{x^2} + 4x + 10} \right) \\ \frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = 2\left( {2{x^2} + 4x + 10} \right)\left( {2{x^2} + 4} \right) \\ \end{gathered} \]

2. Consider the following function:
\[y = {\left( {5x + 8} \right)^4}\]

Differentiating with respect to variable $$x$$, we get
\[\frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = \frac{d}{{dx}}{\left( {5x + 8} \right)^4}\]

First we take the derivative of a power of a function, and then differentiate the inner function
\[\begin{gathered}\frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = 4{\left( {5x + 8} \right)^{4 – 1}}\frac{d}{{dx}}\left( {5x + 8} \right) \\ \frac{{dy}}{{dx}} = 20{\left( {5x + 8} \right)^3} \\ \end{gathered} \]