# Derivative A1
Source: algebrica.org - CC BY-NC 4.0
https://algebrica.org/exercises/derivative-a-1/
Fetched from algebrica.org test 6184; source modified 2025-03-07T14:42:03.
This exercise requires calculating the derivative of a [composite power function](../derivative-of-composite-power-functions.md) of the form \\( f(x)^{g(x)} \\).
Let’s consider the function \\( y = x^{2cosx} \\), and calculate its derivative.
* * *
First, let’s rewrite the function by applying the logarithm to both sides:
\\[
\\ln y = \\ln(x^{2cosx})
\\]
For the properties of logarithms \\(\\log\_a(b^c) = c \\cdot \\log\_a(b)\\)
The equality can be rewritten as:
\\[
\\ln y = 2cosx \\cdot \\ln(x)
\\]
* * *
Since \\(\\ln y\\) is a composite function, its derivative is
\\[
\\frac{1}{y} \\cdot y’
\\]
Let’s compute the derivative for the element on the right-hand side of the equality \\(2cosx \\cdot \\log(x)\\):
\\[
-2\\sin(x) \\cdot \\ln(x) + \\frac{2\\cos(x)}{x}
\\]
We obtain:
\\[
\\frac{1}{y} \\cdot y’ = -2\\sin(x) \\cdot \\ln(x) + \\frac{2\\cos(x)}{x}
\\]
* * *
The equality can be rewritten as:
\\[
y’ = y \\cdot \\left(-2\\sin(x) \\cdot \\ln(x) + \\frac{2\\cos(x)}{x} \\right)
\\]
Since \\(y = x^{2cosx}\\), we have:
\\[
y’ = x^{2cosx} \\cdot \\left(-2\\sin(x) \\cdot \\ln(x) + \\frac{2\\cos(x)}{x} \\right)
\\]
Thus, the derivative of \\( y = x^{2cosx} \\) is equal to:
\\[
y’ = x^{2cosx} \\cdot \\left(-2\\sin(x) \\cdot \\ln(x) + \\frac{2\\cos(x)}{x} \\right)
\\]