Problem

For the following demand equation, differentiate implicitly to find $\frac{\mathrm{dp}}{\mathrm{dx}}$. (Hint: Clear the fraction first.)
\[
\frac{6 x p}{x+p}=2
\]
\[
\frac{d p}{d x}=
\]

Answer

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Answer

So, the derivative of \(p\) with respect to \(x\) is \(\frac{dp}{dx} = \frac{-4}{(6x - 2)^2}\).

Steps

Step 1 :First, we clear the fraction in the given equation. We multiply both sides by \(x+p\) to get \(6xp = 2(x+p)\).

Step 2 :Next, we expand the right side of the equation to get \(6xp = 2x + 2p\).

Step 3 :We rearrange the equation to isolate \(p\) on one side, giving us \(6xp - 2p = 2x\).

Step 4 :We factor out \(p\) from the left side of the equation to get \(p(6x - 2) = 2x\).

Step 5 :We then divide both sides by \(6x - 2\) to solve for \(p\), giving us \(p = \frac{2x}{6x - 2}\).

Step 6 :Now, we differentiate \(p\) with respect to \(x\) implicitly. Using the quotient rule, we get \(\frac{dp}{dx} = \frac{(6x - 2)(2) - 2x(6)}{(6x - 2)^2}\).

Step 7 :Simplify the numerator to get \(\frac{dp}{dx} = \frac{12x - 4 - 12x}{(6x - 2)^2}\).

Step 8 :Further simplifying gives us \(\frac{dp}{dx} = \frac{-4}{(6x - 2)^2}\).

Step 9 :Finally, we check if our result meets the requirements of the problem. The result is in its simplest form and is a valid derivative of \(p\) with respect to \(x\).

Step 10 :So, the derivative of \(p\) with respect to \(x\) is \(\frac{dp}{dx} = \frac{-4}{(6x - 2)^2}\).

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