I need to finding derivative of $\sqrt[3]{x}$ using only limits
So following tip from yahoo answers: I multiplied top and bottom by conjugate of numerator
$$\lim_{h \to 0} \frac{\sqrt[3]{(x+h)} – \sqrt[3]{x}}{h} \cdot \frac{\sqrt[3]{(x+h)^2} + \sqrt[3]{x^2}}{\sqrt[3]{(x+h)^2} + \sqrt[3]{x^2}}$$
$$= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{x+h-x}{h(\sqrt[3]{(x+h)^2} + \sqrt[3]{x^2})}$$
$$= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{1}{\sqrt[3]{(x+h)^2} + \sqrt[3]{x^2}}$$
$$= \frac{1}{\sqrt[3]{x^2} + \sqrt[3]{x^2}}$$
$$= \frac{1}{2 \sqrt[3]{x^2}}$$
But I think it should be $\frac{1}{3 \sqrt[3]{x^2}}$ (3 instead of 2 in denominator?)
UPDATE
I found that I am using the wrong conjugate in step 1. But this (wrong) conjugate gives the same result when I multiply the numerator by it. So whats wrong with it? (I know its wrong, but why?)
Best Answer
Here is a hint: Use the identity $(a^3-b^3)=(a-b)\cdot(a^2+ab+b^2)$ with $a$, $b$ being suitable cube roots. Otherwise, the method is similar to the one you tried.