Calculating a Total Differential

Student handout: Calculating a Total Differential

Students are placed into small groups and asked to calculate the total differential of a function of two variables, each of which is in turn expressed in terms of two other variables.

Small Group Activity schedule 5 min. build Tabletop Whiteboard with markers description Student handout (PDF)

What students learn

Total differentials
Partial differentials
Multivariable calculus
Chain rule diagrams

Calculate the total differential of a function \(f=f(x,y)\), where \(x=x(u,v)\) and \(y=y(u,v)\).

How would your answer change if \(x=u\)?

Keywords

Learning Outcomes