Common Calculus Mistakes
Derivative of inverse tangent

The Goal

Find

goal


The Mistake

Find the mistake:

mistake

Need a hint? Look carefully at the red part:

mistake

The Correction

correction


An Explanation

The student has not learned the correct derivative formula for inverse tangent (the formula in the mistake is either close to the derivative of the inverse secant, or is actually the derivative of inverse secant, depending on the choice of range made in the definition of the inverse secant function).

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