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Derivative of \( \displaystyle - \cos{\left(x - 1 \right)} \)

Problem 2.106 · medium

Differentiate \( \displaystyle f(x) = - \cos{\left(x - 1 \right)} \).
  1. \[ \frac{d}{d x} \left(- \cos{\left(x - 1 \right)}\right) \]
    Start with the derivative of the function.✓ Proved
  2. \[ = - \frac{d}{d x} \cos{\left(x - 1 \right)} \]
    constantPull the constant factor -1 out of the derivative.✓ Proved
  3. \[ = \sin{\left(x - 1 \right)} \frac{d}{d x} \left(x - 1\right) \]
    trig algebraApply the derivative rule for cosine. Simplify the signs.✓ Proved
  4. \[ = \sin{\left(x - 1 \right)} \]
    derivative algebraDifferentiate the inner function x - 1. Simplify the final expression.✓ Proved
Answer \( \sin{\left(x - 1 \right)} \)

Every line of this solution was proved by the computer algebra system SymPy. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt.

The full receipt
LineStatusChecked byDetail
1✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0line 1 is the problem as stated
2✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
3✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
4✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
5✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
6✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
answer✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0final line against the stated answer: simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
answer, a second way✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0SymPy differentiated f directly and got the stated answer

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: fail (style) — Step 1 uses an unlabelled rule; it should be identified as a derivative step. All other steps are correctly labeled and apply only one rule each.
  • deepseek-r1:70b: fail (style) — Step 1 is missing a rule label, which is required by the contract.
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass
Every verdict on record (15)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-20
  • gpt-oss:20b: fail (style) 2026-09-20 — Step 1 uses an unlabelled rule; it should be identified as a derivative step. All other steps are correctly labeled and apply only one rule each.
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-20
  • gpt-oss:20b: fail (error) 2026-09-20 — Step 3 applies two rules at once: it uses the derivative of cosine (trig) and the chain rule for the inner function x‑1. It should be split into separate steps, each labeled with a single rule from the allowed vocabulary.
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-19
  • deepseek-r1:70b: fail (style) 2026-09-19 — Step 1 is missing a rule label, which is required by the contract.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-19
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-19
  • deepseek-r1:70b: fail (style) 2026-09-19 — The first step lacks a rule label, which is required by the contract.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-19
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-18
  • deepseek-r1:70b: fail (error) 2026-09-18 — Step 1 is missing the rule label, which is a defect as per the contract.
  • gpt-oss:20b: fail (error) 2026-09-18 — Step 3 applies the chain rule (derivative of cos(u) = -sin(u)·u') but is labeled as "trig" and combines two rules in one step. This violates the rule that each step must change only one thing and use an appropriate label.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-17
  • deepseek-r1:70b: pass 2026-09-17

Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence, not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by gemma4:26b, checked 2026-09-26 with SymPy 1.14.0.