How do you find the derivative of $y=x^2-1/2costheta$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2017-03-01T17:50:56

The function:

$y=x^2-1/2cos theta$

is a function of two variables so the term "derivative" is completely ambiguous.

We can, however, form the partial derivatives;

$(partial y) / (partial x) = 2x$

$(partial y) / (partial theta) = 1/2sintheta$

How do you find the derivative of y=x^2-1/2costhetay=x^2-1/2costheta?