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Derivative of \( \displaystyle \frac{x}{2} - \frac{\sin{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{8} \)

Problem 2.469 · hard

Differentiate \( \displaystyle f(x) = \frac{x}{2} - \frac{\sin{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{8} \).
  1. \[ \frac{d}{d x} \left(\frac{x}{2} - \frac{\sin{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{8}\right) \]
    sumStart with the derivative of the entire function.✓ Proved
  2. \[ = \frac{d}{d x} \frac{x}{2} - \frac{d}{d x} \frac{\sin{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{8} \]
    sumApply the sum rule.✓ Proved
  3. \[ = \frac{d}{d x} \frac{x}{2} - \frac{\frac{d}{d x} \sin{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{8} \]
    constantPull out the constant factor 1/8.✓ Proved
  4. \[ = - \frac{\cos{\left(4 x - 6 \right)} \frac{d}{d x} \left(4 x - 6\right)}{8} + \frac{d}{d x} \frac{x}{2} \]
    chainApply the chain rule to the sine term.✓ Proved
  5. \[ = - \frac{\cos{\left(4 x - 6 \right)} \frac{d}{d x} 4 x}{8} + \frac{d}{d x} \frac{x}{2} \]
    sumApply the sum rule to the inner function.✓ Proved
  6. \[ = - \frac{\cos{\left(4 x - 6 \right)} \frac{d}{d x} x}{2} + \frac{d}{d x} \frac{x}{2} \]
    constant algebra algebraPull out the constant factor 4. Simplify the constant coefficients. Simplify 4/8 to 1/2.✓ Proved
  7. \[ = - \frac{\cos{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{2} + \frac{d}{d x} \frac{x}{2} \]
    derivativeEvaluate the derivative of x.✓ Proved
  8. \[ = \frac{1}{2} - \frac{\cos{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{2} \]
    simplifyFinal simplification.✓ Proved
Answer \( \frac{1}{2} - \frac{\cos{\left(4 x - 6 \right)}}{2} \)

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
7✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
8✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
9✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(a - b) reduced to 0
10✓ 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: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass
Every verdict on record (6)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-09-21
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-21
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (style) 2026-09-20 — Step 3 is labeled 'constant' but performs a constant-multiple extraction; the vocabulary requires 'constant-multiple' for this operation. Step 6 is labeled 'constant' but performs a constant-multiple extraction from the derivative of 4x, which should also be 'constant-multiple'.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-20
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-20 — Step 3 incorrectly labels the extraction of the constant factor 1/8 as 'constant'; the correct label is 'constant-multiple'. Step 5 incorrectly labels the differentiation of the inner linear term (4*x - 6) as 'sum'; it should be 'derivative' or 'sum' applied to the derivative operator, but the step actually performs the differentiation of 4x and -6, which is a mix of rules or simply 'derivative' if viewed as a whole, but primarily the label 'sum' is misleading for differentiating a linear term inside a chain rule context where the focus is on the derivative of the inner function. More critically, Step 6 labels pulling out the 4 as 'constant', but it is part of the differentiation of 4x, which should be handled via 'constant-multiple' or 'derivative'. The most glaring error is Step 3: pulling out a constant multiplier is 'constant-multiple', not 'constant' (which usually refers to the derivative of a constant being zero). Step 5 is also flawed: differentiating 4*x - 6 is not just 'sum', it involves 'derivative' of x and 'constant' for -6. However, the contract says 'sum' is acceptable for linearity. The main defect is Step 3 using 'constant' instead of 'constant-multiple'.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-20

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.