∫Calc Practice
Home›Calculus 1›Chain rule›Problem 2.285

Derivative of \( \displaystyle - \frac{\ln{\left(\ln{\left(2 x \right)} \right)}}{2} \)

Problem 2.285 · medium

Differentiate \( \displaystyle f(x) = - \frac{\ln{\left(\ln{\left(2 x \right)} \right)}}{2} \).
  1. \[ \frac{d}{d x} \left(- \frac{\ln{\left(\ln{\left(2 x \right)} \right)}}{2}\right) \]
    derivativeStart with the derivative of the function.✓ Proved
  2. \[ = - \frac{\frac{d}{d x} \ln{\left(\ln{\left(2 x \right)} \right)}}{2} \]
    constantPull out the constant factor -1/2.✓ Proved
  3. \[ = - \frac{\frac{d}{d x} \ln{\left(2 x \right)}}{2 \ln{\left(2 x \right)}} \]
    chainApply the chain rule to the outer logarithm.✓ Proved
  4. \[ = - \frac{\frac{d}{d x} 2 x}{4 x \ln{\left(2 x \right)}} \]
    chainApply the chain rule to the inner logarithm.✓ Proved
  5. \[ = - \frac{1}{2 x \ln{\left(2 x \right)}} \]
    derivative simplifyDifferentiate the innermost function 2*x. Simplify the expression by canceling the 2.✓ Proved
Answer \( - \frac{1}{2 x \log{\left(2 x \right)}} \)
Mind the domain. The answer is also defined on (0, 1/2), where f(x) is not. Substituting there gives a number that is not a slope of f.

✓ Nihil obstat 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. Reviewers found nothing wrong with the explanation.

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
log is undefined for non-positive arguments
3✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
log is undefined for non-positive arguments
undefined where log(2*x) = 0
4✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
log is undefined for non-positive arguments
undefined where log(2*x) = 0
undefined where x = 0
5✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
log is undefined for non-positive arguments
undefined where x = 0
undefined where log(2*x) = 0
6✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
log is undefined for non-positive arguments
undefined where x = 0
undefined where log(2*x) = 0
answer✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0final line against the stated answer: simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
log is undefined for non-positive arguments
undefined where x = 0
undefined where log(2*x) = 0
answer, a second way✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0SymPy differentiated f directly and got the stated answer

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: pass
  • deepseek-r1:70b: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass
Every verdict on record (12)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-20
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-20
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-20
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-20
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-19 — The solution correctly applies the constant multiple rule, the chain rule for composite logarithmic functions, and basic differentiation rules. Each step isolates a single transformation, and the labels accurately reflect the operations performed.
  • deepseek-r1:70b: pass 2026-09-19
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-19
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-19
  • deepseek-r1:70b: pass 2026-09-19
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-19
  • gpt-oss:20b: fail 2026-09-17 — The solution omits the domain restriction x>1/2 required for log(log(2*x)), which could mislead a student into applying the derivative outside its valid domain.
  • 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.