What is implicit differentiation?

Differentiate both sides with respect to x while treating y as a function of x, then solve for dy/dx. The working shows where each y derivative enters.

Implicit Differentiation Calculator

Enter an equation containing x and y to calculate dy/dx by implicit differentiation. The page labels derivatives of y and leaves the chain-rule steps visible.

expressiony as a function of x

F = x^2+y^2-1

independent    x
dependent      y
solving for    dy/dx
held constant  none

derivativesworking

Working out dy/dx.

Working out dy/dx.

Mode

Relation

Independent, dependent

∂F/∂x: working
dy/dx: working
Solving for: y as a function of x
Result: Working

Working out dy/dx.

∂/∂x of x²y + sin(y)y held constant
2*x*y
Then ∂/∂y of thatmixed second order, asked both ways round
2*x
x² + y² - 1 = 0, implicitdy/dx = -Fx/Fy, singular where 2*y = 0
-x/y

Accuracy. Symbolic differentiation in a sandboxed worker, exact, with the differentiation order printed beside the answer because the order you pick is part of the question. Every symbol you did not list is treated as a constant and the page says which those were. A function outside the supported set is named as unsupported rather than quietly dropped from the expression.

How this is worked out

The algebra is nerdamer 1.1.13, running in a worker of its own with a 2 second clock beside it: some expressions send it a long way, and the page stops it rather than freezing with it. Each step is a question of its own, nested inside the step before it, so the second partial is the derivative of the first and is checked against it rather than against the expression you typed.

Nothing the library returns is printed until it has been checked here on the page. Every derivative is compared against a slope measured on the expression that went into it, by central difference with one Richardson step, at up to 6 points, and they have to agree to within 0.0001 of the larger of one and the value. A mixed second partial is asked for a second time in the opposite order and the two answers are compared. An implicit result is checked against the curve itself: the page solves the relation for the dependent variable at a point, moves the independent one a little, solves again, and measures the slope between them. A Taylor expansion has to match the function at the centre and its error has to fall by the factor its order requires when the distance from the centre is halved. When a check contradicts the algebra, the page prints neither and shows what each one said.

What you can type

Numbers, single letters for variables, the constants pi and e, the signs + - * / ^ and brackets, and these functions: sin, cos, tan, sec, csc, cot, asin, acos, atan, sinh, cosh, tanh, exp, sqrt, abs, log. ln is read as log, which is the natural logarithm here, and arcsin, arccos and arctan are read as asin, acos and atan. Multiplication can be left out where it is obvious, so 2x and 3 sin(x) read the way they are written. Expressions are read up to 500 characters, a question may ask for up to 5 differentiations, and a Taylor expansion goes to order 10. A function outside that list is named as unsupported rather than dropped from the expression.

Common questions

What is implicit differentiation?: Differentiate both sides with respect to x while treating y as a function of x, then solve for dy/dx. The working shows where each y derivative enters.

Symbolic differentiation in a sandboxed worker, exact, with the differentiation order printed beside the answer because the order you pick is part of the question. Every symbol you did not list is treated as a constant and the page says which those were. A function outside the supported set is named as unsupported rather than quietly dropped from the expression.