University Calculus: Early Transcendentals (3rd Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321999584
ISBN 13: 978-0-32199-958-0

Chapter 3 - Section 3.8 - Derivatives of Inverse Functions and Logarithms - Exercises - Page 174: 10

Answer

The slope of $g^{-1}$ at the origin is $1/2$.

Work Step by Step

Here we do not know the formula for the function $y=g(x)$. But we know that it is differentiable, it has an inverse and its graph passes through the origin $(0,0)$ and has a slope of $2$ there. Since the value of $dg/dx$ at a point $x=a$ is also the value of the slope at that point, the given information tells us that $$\left.\frac{dg}{dx}\right|_{x=0}=2$$ Now we need to find the slope of $g^{-1}$ at the origin. In other words, we need to find $dg^{-1}/dx$ at $x=0=f(0)$. According to Theorem 3, $$\left.\frac{dg^{-1}}{dx}\right|_{x=0=f(0)}=\frac{1}{\left.\frac{dg}{dx}\right|_{x=0}}=\frac{1}{2}$$ Therefore, the slope of $g^{-1}$ at the origin is $1/2$.
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