How do I find the derivative of y=s*sqrt(1-s^2) + cos^(-1)(s)? Calculus Differentiating Trigonometric Functions Differentiating Inverse Trigonometric Functions 1 Answer Konstantinos Michailidis Sep 25, 2015 It is dy/(ds)=-(2s^2)/(sqrt(1-s^2)) Explanation: It is y(s)=s*sqrt(1-s^2) + cos^(-1)(s) hence its derivative is (d(y(s)))/(ds)=sqrt(1-s^2)+s*((-2s)/(2*sqrt(1-s^2)))-1/(sqrt(1-s^2))= sqrt(1-s^2)-((1+s^2)/(sqrt(1-s^2)))=(((sqrt(1-s^2))^2)-(1+s^2))/(sqrt(1-s^2))= ((1-s^2)-(1+s^2))/(sqrt(1-s^2))=-(2s^2)/(sqrt(1-s^2)) Remarks The derivative of cos^(-1)(s)=arccos(s) is -(1/(sqrt(1-s^2))) Answer link Related questions What is the derivative of f(x)=sin^-1(x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=cos^-1(x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=tan^-1(x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=sec^-1(x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=csc^-1(x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=cot^-1(x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=(cos^-1(x))/x ? What is the derivative of f(x)=tan^-1(e^x) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=cos^-1(x^3) ? What is the derivative of f(x)=ln(sin^-1(x)) ? See all questions in Differentiating Inverse Trigonometric Functions Impact of this question 4974 views around the world You can reuse this answer Creative Commons License