LESSON 22: Calculus - Determining

Minimum & Maximum Values

One of the most important uses of calculus is determining minimum and

maximum values. This has its applications in manufacturing, finance,
engineering, and a host of other industries. Before we examine a real-
world example, we should learn how to calculate such values.

Let's use for our first example, the equation 2X2 -5X -7 = 0

This is a quadratic equation in one variable. That is to say it is an

equation of the form:
ax2 + bx + c = 0

With equations of this type, we know that when the "a" term is positive,
the graph of the curve will be "concave up" (U-Shaped) and therefore
the equation will have a minimum value but no maximum value (okay -
technically, the maximum value is infinity). Looking at the graph we see
that the minimum point is roughly X = 1.5 and Y = -10. Is there a way to
determine the minimum point without graphing the equation and getting
an exact value? Yes there is !

Look at the graph. If slope values were calculated for points on the left
side of the curve, you could see that the slope would always be
negative but it becomes "less negative" the closer the curve approaches
the minimum (the bottom). If the slope were calculated along the right
side of the curve, the value would always be positive and the slope
values would get larger the further away from the "bottom" the points
were.

So, it is logical to think that the slope is zero at that "bottom" point and
therefore the derivative is zero at that point too.
So, let's take the derivative of 2X2 -5X -7 = 0 which is:

4X - 5
When 4X -5 equals zero, X =1.25 which means that at this point, a
minimum value exists. As for the 'Y' value, we go to the original
equation and enter the value of X as 1.25.
Y = 2X2 -5X -7
Y = 2*(1.25)2 -5*1.25 -7
Y = -10.125
So, at point X=1.25, Y= -10.125 there exists a minimum value.

In this example we knew that we were obtaining a minimum value

because we graphed it. Also, we stated that the "rule" for quadratic
equations is such that when the 'a' term is positive, the curve will be
"concave-up". There is yet a third method to determine whether a point
is a maximum or minimum value.
If we take the second derivative and if that value is positive, then we are
dealing with a minimum value.
In this example, taking the derivative of the derivative we have the value
4 which is positive and so we know this is a minimum.

For equations of the type aX2 + bX + c =0, a handy tool to use is the
Quadratic Equation Calculator. Not only does this calculate the roots of
the equation, it will also show the derivative and the point at which the
maximum or minimum exists.

The second example we will look at is very similar to the previous one,
except that it is "concave down" instead of "concave up".

Okay, let's examine this equation:

-4X2 + 4X + 13 = 0
Since this is a quadratic equation in one variable with the 'a' term being
negative, we know that the graph of the curve will be shaped "concave
down" (shaped like ∩) and it will have a maximum value but no
minimum value (okay, if you want to be technical, its minimum value is
negative infinity. You happy now?).

We learned from the first example that the way to calculate a maximum
(or minimum) point is to find the point at which an equation's derivative
equals zero. The derivative of this equation is:
-8X + 4
and when -8X + 4 = 0, then X= .5 and it is at that point where the
maximum of the curve is located. As for the 'Y' value, we substitute .5
into the original equation and get:
Y = -4*(.5*.5)2 +4*.5 + 13
Y = 14

So, at point X=.5, Y= 14 there exists a maximum value.

Taking the second derivative of -8X + 4, we get -8. Since this is
negative, it means that we have found a maximum value.