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Derivative of \( \displaystyle \left(x + 1\right)^{4} \)

Problem 2.643 · easy Mental math

Differentiate \( \displaystyle f(x) = \left(x + 1\right)^{4} \).
  1. \[ \frac{d}{d x} \left(x + 1\right)^{4} \]
    Start with the derivative of the function.✓ Proved
  2. \[ = 4 \left(x + 1\right)^{3} \frac{d}{d x} \left(x + 1\right) \]
    powerApply the power rule.✓ Proved
  3. \[ = 4 \left(x + 1\right)^{3} \]
    derivative constant-multipleDifferentiate the inner function x + 1. Simplify the expression.✓ Proved
Answer \( 4 \left(x + 1\right)^{3} \)

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
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: fail (error) — Step 2 is labeled 'power' but applies the chain rule (differentiating the outer function and multiplying by the derivative of the inner function). The power rule alone would yield 4*(x+1)^3 without the extra derivative term, or requires the chain rule label if the inner derivative is kept. Applying two rules (power and chain) in one step violates the single-rule constraint.
Every verdict on record (4)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-21 — Step 2 is labeled 'power' but applies the chain rule (differentiating the outer function and multiplying by the derivative of the inner function). The power rule alone would yield 4*(x+1)^3 without the extra derivative term, or requires the chain rule label if the inner derivative is kept. Applying two rules (power and chain) in one step violates the single-rule constraint.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-21
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-09-21 — Step 2 is labeled 'power', but it applies the chain rule (differentiating the outer power function while keeping the inner derivative unevaluated). The power rule alone would not produce the Derivative(x + 1, x) term; this is a mislabeling of the chain rule.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-09-21

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.