EXTREMA

MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES

 What is etrema?
 Plural of extremum
 General term for both Minimum and Maximum Values (e.g. Sorption)
 The highest and the lowest points

What is a Global Extremum?

Also the absolute extremum
Global maximum is the highest point in the graph
Global minimum is the lowest point in the graph
*There are instances where only one of the global extrema is present or both does not exist, consider the
following:
(1) open interval
(2) Unbounded
*There are instances as well where 2 or more global extrema exist. It happens when points are of the same
height.

What is a Local Extremum?

Also the relative extremum
Local maximum - the slope is increasing then decreasing (e.g. hill)
Local minimum - the slope is decreasing then increasing (e.g. valley)
*There are instances where 2 or more local extrema exist. As long as they are a valley or a hill, they are
qualified.

What is Endpoint Extremum?

A minimum or maximum found at the endpoints

Global Maximum
Endpoint Maximum

Local Maximum

Endpoint Minimum

Local Minimum
Global Minimum

What is a saddle point?

The thing we place at the back of the horse
The point, not an extremum, where the signs of 2 curvature are opposite.

Downward Upward
concavity concavity

What is an inflection point?

The point between a minimum and a maximum point
Point where the concavity starts to change
The value of x where the SECOND DERIVATIVE OF THE FUNCTION IS ZERO

f’’’(x)=0

What is Stationary Point?

A critical point where the slope is zero
*All stationary points are critical points, but NOT all critical points are stationary

Inflection point
Stationary Point

What is a critical point?

Also the critical number
The value of x that will make the derivative of the function 0 or undefined

f’(x)=0
f’(x)=undefined

What is a critical VALUE?

The value of y at the critical number
To get this, we substitute the critical number to the original equation and NOT to its FIRST DERIVATIVE

THEOREM
Extreme Value Theorem
If f is continuous on a closed interval [a, b], then f has both a minimum and a maximum on the interval.

Fermat’s Theorem
If f(x) has a local extremum at x = a and f is differentiable at a, then f’(a) = 0.

Rolle’s Theorem
Let f be continuous on the closed interval [a, b] and differentiable on the open interval (a, b). If f(a) = f(b),
then there is at least one number c in (a, b) such that f′(c) = 0.

Continuous at [a, b]
Differentiable at (a, b)
f(a) = f(b)

3 CHECKS: FIND C by equating the first derivative to 0.

Mean Value Theorem

If f is continuous on the closed interval [a, b] and differentiable on the open interval (a, b), then there
exists a number c in (a, b) such that f’(c) = [f(b) − f(a)]/(b– a).

Continuous at [a, b]
Differentiable at (a, b)
3 CHECKS: FIND C by using this equation f’(c) = [f(b) − f(a)]/(b– a)
 PROCEDURE
Guidelines for Finding the Extrema
To find the extrema of a continuous function f on a closed interval [a, b], use these steps.
1. Find the critical numbers of f in (a, b).
2. Evaluate f at each critical number in (a, b).
3. Evaluate f at each endpoint of [a, b].
4. The least of these values is the minimum. The greatest is the maximum.

Test for Increasing or Decreasing Function

Let f be a continuous function on the closed interval [a, b] and differentiable on the open interval (a, b).
1. If f’(x) > 0 for all x in (a, b), then f is increasing on [a, b].
2. If f’(x) < 0 for all x in (a, b), then f is decreasing on [a, b].
3. If f’(x) = 0 for all x in (a, b), then f is constant on [a, b].

Guidelines for Finding Intervals on which a Function is Increasing or

Decreasing
Let f be continuous on the interval (a, b). To find the open intervals on which f is increasing or decreasing,
use
the following steps.
1. Locate the critical numbers of f in (a, b), and use these numbers to determine test intervals.
2. Determine the sign of f‘(x) at one test value in each of the intervals.
3. Use functional tests to determine whether f is increasing or decreasing on each interval.

Second Derivative Test

This is used for finding the concavity of a critical point.
Let f be a function such that f’(c) = 0 and the second derivative of f exists on an open interval containing c.
1. If f‘(c) > 0, then f has a relative minimum at (c, f(c)).
2. If f’’(c) < 0, then f has a relative maximum at (c, f(c)).
If f‘’(c) = 0, then the test fails. That is, f may have a relative maximum, a relative minimum, or neither. In
such cases, you can use the First Derivative Test.
PROBLEMS