how to solve an equation with two unknowns

Hello,

I have this equation

y = (n*p)*(1-p)^(n-1); 

I want to take the derivative and let it equal to zero to find out p, which should be 1/n as a result!

I could get the derivative for this equation manually and using MATLAB, the result is:

dydp = n*(1 - p)^(n - 1) - n*p*(n - 1)*(1 - p)^(n - 2))

However, I couldn't solve it as the way mentioned above to find p!

p = 1/n, i could do it manually. How can i find it using MATLAB??

Regards

[Image Analyst]

Hints: fsolve(), fzero(), roots(). Is this homework?

[fatima alansari]

Yes, to find the efficiency of Slotted ALOHA protocol. It is a multiple access protocol, used in networking.

Thenk you. I'll try these functions

[Image Analyst]

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/8626-how-do-i-get-help-on-homework-questions-on-matlab-answers

Answer 1

[Jyotsna Talluri]

Hi,

For solving the equation with 2 variables,you can use the solve() function

syms n
syms p
p=solve(n*(1 - p)^(n - 1)-n*p*(n - 1)*(1 - p)^(n - 2)==0,p);