5.8.

INCREASING/DECREASING FUNCTIONS AND THE FIRST DERIVATIVE TEST 127

 
5.8 Increasing/Decreasing Functions and the First Derivative Test

Definition 5.47 A function f defined on an interval is said to be (strictly) increasing

on that interval if and only if f (x1 ) < f (x2 ) whenever x1 < x2 , where x1 and x2 are
any numbers in the interval. A function f defined on an interval is said to be (strictly)
decreasing on that interval if and only if f (x1 ) > f (x2 ) whenever x1 < x2 where x1
and x2 are any numbers in the interval. If a function is either increasing or decreasing
 
on an interval, then it is said to be monotonic on the interval.
0
Theorem 5.48 Suppose the function f is continuous on an open interval I and f 6= 0 on
I. Then f 0 is either positive on all of I or negative on all of I.
Theorem 5.49 Let the function f be continuous on the closed interval [a, b] and differentiable
on the open interval (a, b).
(i) If f 0 (x) > 0 for all x in (a, b), then f is increasing on [a, b].
(ii) If f 0 (x) < 0 for all x in (a, b), then f is decreasing on [a, b].
Theorem 5.50 (First Derivative Test for Relative Extrema) Let the function f be
continuous at all points of the open interval (a, b) containing the number x0 , and suppose
that f 0 exists at each point of (a, b), except possibly at x0 .
(i) If f is increasing (f 0 (x) > 0) on some open interval to the left of x0 with x0 as endpoint
of this interval, and if f is decreasing (f 0 (x) < 0) on some open interval to the right
of x0 with x0 as endpoint, then f has a relative maximum value at x0 .
(ii) If f is decreasing (f 0 (x) < 0) on some open interval to the left of x0 with x0 as
endpoint, and if f is increasing (f 0 (x) > 0) on some open interval to the right of x0
with x0 as endpoint of this interval, then f has a relative minimum value at x0 .
To determine the intervals at which f is increasing (resp., decreasing) and the relative
extrema of a function f (with only a finite number of critical values), we follow the following
steps.

Intervals where a Function is Increasing or Decreasing

1. Find f 0 (x).
2. Find the critical values of f , that is, the values of x in the domain of f for which
f 0 (x) = 0 or f 0 (x) does not exist.
3. If a1 , a2 , . . . , ak are the distinct critical values of f and a1 < a2 < · · · < ak ,
then consider the (k + 1) sets (−∞, a1 ) ∩ D, (a1 , a2 ) ∩ D, . . . , (ak−1 , ak ) ∩ D and
(ak , +∞) ∩ D, where D is the domain of f . Note that if D = R, then these k + 1
sets are actually intervals.
4. Choose a value of x in each of these intervals. If f 0 (x) > 0, then f > 0 on this
interval by Theorem 5.48 and hence, f is increasing on this interval. Similarly, if
f 0 (x) < 0, then f < 0 on that interval and hence, f is decreasing on this interval.
5. Using (4) and Theorem 5.50, determine the relative extrema of f .
128 CHAPTER 5. DERIVATIVE OF A FUNCTION

Example 5.51 For each function f in Example 5.39, determine the intervals at which f is
increasing and those at which f is decreasing. Also, find the relative extrema of f .

Solution:
0 3
(a) From Example √ the derivative of f is f (x) = 6x − 3x and the critical values
√ 5.39(a),
of f are − 2, 0 and 2. Hence, we obtain the following table.

Intervals Value of x f 0 (x) f is Rel. Extrema of f

√
(−∞, − 2) x = −2 f 0 (−2) = 12 > 0 increasing
√ √
(− 2, 0) x = −1 f 0 (−1) = −3 < 0 decreasing x = − 2 corresponds √ to a rel.
max. value of f . (− 2, 3) is a
rel. max. point of f .
√
(0, 2) x=1 f 0 (1) = 3 > 0 increasing x = 0 corresponds to a rel. min.
value of f . (0, 0) is a rel. min.
point of f .
√ √
( 2, +∞) x=2 f 0 (2) = −12 < 0 decreasing x = 2 corresponds
√ to a rel.
max. value of f . ( 2, 3) is a rel.
max. point of f .

3x2 + 3x − 6
(b) From Example 5.39(b), the derivative of f is f 0 (x) = 3 and the critical
2(x + 1) 2
value of f is x = 1. The desired properties of f are shown in the following table.

Intervals Value of x f 0 (x) f is Rel. Extrema of f

(−∞, 1) x=0 f 0 (0) = −3 < 0 decreasing

(1, +∞) x=2 f 0 (2) = √2 >0 increasing x = 1 corresponds

3 √ to a rel. min.
value of f . (1, 2 2) is a relative
minimum point of f .

3 2
(c) From Example 5.39(c), the derivative of f is f 0 (x) = 2 + (x + 1)− 5 and the critical
5
value of f is x = −1. The following table gives the required properties of f . J

Intervals Value of x f 0 (x) f is Rel. Extrema of f

13
(−∞, −1) x = −2 f 0 (−2) = 5 >0 increasing
13
(−1, +∞) x=0 f 0 (0) = 5 >0 increasing none
5.9. CONCAVITY AND POINTS OF INFLECTION 129

 
5.9 Concavity and Points of Inflection

Definition 5.52 The graph of a function f is said to be concave upward on a given

interval I, if at each point of I the graph of f always remains above the line tangent to
the curve at this point. The graph of a function f is said to be concave downward on
an interval I, if at each point of I the graph of f always remains below the line tangent

to the curve at this point.

Theorem 5.53 (Second Derivative Test for Concavity) Let f be a function such that
f 00 (x) exists for every x in some open interval I.
(i) If f 00 (x) > 0 for all x on I, then the graph of f is concave upward on I.
(ii) If f 00 (x) < 0 for all x on I, then the graph of f is concave downward on I.

Theorem 5.54 (Second Derivative Test for Relative Extrema) Suppose that f 00 exists
on I and suppose x0 ∈ I is a critical value of f .
(i) If f 00 (x0 ) > 0, then x0 corresponds to a relative minimum value of f .
(ii) If f 00 (x0 ) < 0, then x0 corresponds to a relative maximum value of f .

Note the if f 00 (x0 ) = 0, then the above second derivative test for relative extrema does not
apply.

Example 5.55 Use the second derivative test (whenever possible) to find the relative
extrema of each of the given functions f in Example 5.39.

Solution:
√ √
(a) The critical values of f are − 2, 0 and 2. Since the√first derivative of f is f 0 (x) =
6x − 3x3√, it follows that f 00 (x) = 6 − 9x2 . Now, f 00 (− 2) = −12 00
√ < 0, f (0) √
= 6 > 0,
00
and f ( 2) = −12 < 0. Therefore, by Theorem 5.54, x = − 2 and x = 2 both
correspond to relative maximum values of f . The√critical value √ x = 0 corresponds
to a relative minimum value of f . Accordingly, (− 2, 3) and ( 2, 3) are the relative
maximum points and (0, 0) is the relative minimum point of f . Notice that these
results coincide with our results in Example 5.34 when we used the first derivative
test to find the relative extrema of f .
3x2 + 3x − 6
(b) The critical value of f is x = 1. From the first derivative f 0 (x) = 3 of f ,
2(x + 1) 2
we have
3 1
00 2(x + 1) 2 (6x + 3) − (3)(x + 1) 2 (3x2 + 3x − 6)
f (x) =
4(x + 1)3
1
3(x + 1) 2 [2(x + 1)(2x + 1) − (3x2 + 3x − 6)]
=
4(x + 1)3
3(x2 + 3x + 8)
= 5 .
4(x + 1) 2
130 CHAPTER 5. DERIVATIVE OF A FUNCTION

√
9 2
Since f 00 (1) = > 0, it follows that x = 1 corresponds to a relative minimum
8 √
point of f . Therefore, (1, 2 2) is a relative minimum point of f .
3 2
(c) The first derivative of f at x is f 0 (x) = 2 + (x + 1)− 5 . Hence, the second derivative
7
5
6
of f at x is f 00 (x) = − 25 (x + 1)− 5 . The critical value of f is x = −1. Now, since
f 00 (−1) does not exist (it is not defined), the second derivative test is not applicable.
Recall that using the first derivative test, x = −1 does not correspond to a relative
extremum of f . J

 
5.9.1 Points of Inflection

Definition 5.56 A point (x0 , f (x0 )) is a point of inflection of the graph of the
function f if the graph has a tangent line there, and if there exists an open interval
I containing x0 such that if x is in I, then either

(i) f 00 (x) < 0 if x < x0 , and f 00 (x) > 0 if x > x0 , or

(ii) f 00 (x) > 0 if x < x0 , and f 00 (x) < 0 if x > x0 .
 
Theorem 5.57 If the function f is differentiable on some open interval containing x0 , and
if (x0 , f (x0 )) is a point of inflection of the graph of f , then if f 00 (x0 ) exists, f 00 (x0 ) = 0.
Remark 5.58 (a) The converse of Theorem 5.57 is not true. That is, if f 00 (x0 ) = 0, then
it is not always true that (x0 , f (x0 )) is a point of inflection of the graph of f .
(b) From Definition 5.56 and Theorem 5.57, it follows that a point (x0 , f (x0 )) is a point of
inflection if (i) f 00 (x0 ) = 0 or f 00 (x0 ) does not exist and (ii) the graph of f is concave
upward on one side of (x0 , f (x0 )) and concave downward on the other.
To determine the intervals of concavity and the inflection points of a function f , the
following steps may be followed.

Intervals of Concavity
1. Find f 00 (x).
2. Find the values of x in the domain of f for which f 00 (x) = 0 or f 00 (x) does not
exist.
3. If a1 , a2 , . . . , ak are the distinct values of x obtained in (2) and a1 < a2 < · · · < ak ,
then consider the (k + 1) sets (−∞, a1 ) ∩ D, (a1 , a2 ) ∩ D, . . . , (ak−1 , ak ) ∩ D and
(ak , +∞) ∩ D, where D is the domain of f . If no such values of x exist, then the
critical values of f may be considered instead.
4. Choose a value of x in each of these intervals. If f 00 (x) > 0, then the graph of f is
concave upward on that interval for which x is a representative. If f 00 (x) < 0, then
the graph of f is concave downward on that interval for which x is a representative.
5. Using (4) and Remark 5.58(b), determine which of the values in (3) correspond to
the points of inflection of the graph of f .
5.9. CONCAVITY AND POINTS OF INFLECTION 131

Example 5.59 For each function f in Example 5.39, determine the intervals at which the
graph of f is concave upward and those at which it is concave downward. Also, find the
points of inflection of the graph of f , if any exists.

Solution:

(a) From Example 5.55(a), the second derivative of f √at x is f 00 (x) √

= 6 − 9x2 . Solving the
6 6
equation f 00 (x) = 6 − 9x2 = 0, we find that x = or x = − . Hence, we obtain
3 3
the following table.

Intervals Value of x f 00 (x) Graph of Points of inflection of the graph

f is of f
√
6
(−∞, − 3 ) x = −1 f 00 (−1) = −3 < 0 concave
downward
√ √ √
6 6
(− 3 , 3 ) x=0 f 00 (0) = 6 > 0 concave x = − 36 corresponds to a point
√
upward of inflection. (− 36 , 53 ) is a point
of inflection.
√ √
6
( 3 , +∞) x=1 f 00 (1) = −3 < 0 concave x = 36 corresponds to a point of
√
downward inflection. ( 36 , 53 ) is a point of
inflection.

Summarizing the results obtained in Examples 5.39(a), 5.51(a), 5.55(a) and 5.59(a),
we have the following properties of y = f (x) = 3x2 − 34 x4 .
√ √
(i) critical points: (− 2, 3), ( 2, 3) and (0, 0)
√ √
(ii) relative extrema: (− 2, 3) and ( 2, 3) are relative maximum points; (0, 0) is a
relative minimum point
√
(iii) intervals√where the graph is increasing or
√ decreasing:
√ f is increasing on (−∞, − 2)
and (0, 2) and f is decreasing on (− 2, 0) and ( 2, +∞)
 √  √ 
(iv) points of inflection: − 36 , 35 and 36 , 35
 √  √ 
6 6
(v) concavity: f is concave downward on −∞, − 3 and 3 , +∞ and f is
 √ √ 
concave upward on − 36 , 36

The graph of f (x) = 3x2 − 43 x4 is shown in Figure 5.4.

132 CHAPTER 5. DERIVATIVE OF A FUNCTION

−2 2
x

Figure 5.4: Sketch of the graph of y = 3x2 − 34 x4

(b) From Example 5.43(b), the second derivative of f is

00 3(x2 + 3x + 8)
f (x) = 5 .
4(x + 1) 2
Since the equation
3(x2 + 3x + 8)
5 =0
4(x + 1) 2
(or f 00 (x0 ) = 0) does not have solutions and x = −1 is not in the domain of f , it
follows that the graph of f does not have any point of inflection. Now, using the
critical value x = 1, we have the following:

Intervals Value of x f 00 (x) Graph of Points of inflection of the graph

f is of f

(−1, 1) x=0 f 00 (0) = 6 > 0 concave

upward
√
3
(1, +∞) x=2 f 00 (2) = 2 concave none
upward

From Examples 5.39(b), 5.51(b), 5.55(b) and 5.59(b), we obtain the following properties
x2 − x + 4
of y = f (x) = √ .
x+1
√
(i) critical point: (1, 2 2) √
(ii) relative extremum: (1, 2 2) is a relative minimum point
(iii) intervals where the graph is increasing or decreasing: f is increasing on (1, +∞)
and f is decreasing on (−1, 1)
(iv) points of inflection: none
(v) concavity: f is concave upward on (−1, +∞)
5.9. CONCAVITY AND POINTS OF INFLECTION 133

Figure 5.5 shows the graph of the given function.

y

−1
x

x2 − x + 4
Figure 5.5: Sketch of the graph of y = √
x+1

(c) The second derivative of f at x is

6 7
f 00 (x) = − (x + 1)− 5 .
25
Observe that the equation f 00 (x) = 0 does not have any solution. Further, we find
that f 00 (x) does not exist when x = −1, where this value is in the domain of f . The
following table gives the required properties of f .

Intervals Value of x f 00 (x) Graph of Points of inflection of the graph

f is of f

6
(−∞, −1) x = −2 f 00 (−2) = 25 >0 concave
upward
6
(−1, +∞) x=0 f 00 (0) = − 25 concave x = −1 corresponds to a point of
downward inflection. (−1, −2) is a point of
inflection.

From 5.39(c), 5.51(c), 5.55(c) and 5.59(c), we obtain the following properties of y =
2x + (x + 1)3/5 .

(i) critical point: (−1, −2)

(ii) relative extrema: none
(iii) intervals where the graph is increasing or decreasing: f is increasing on R
(iv) points of inflection: (−1, −2)
(v) concavity: f is concave upward on (−∞, −1) and f is concave downward on
(−1, +∞)
134 CHAPTER 5. DERIVATIVE OF A FUNCTION

Figure 5.6 shows the sketch of the graph of f (x) = 2x + (x + 1)3/5 . J

3
Figure 5.6: Sketch of the graph of y = 2x + (x + 1) 5

Exercises
Given the function f , discuss its relative maximum and minimum points, the intervals
where it is increasing and decreasing, the intervals of concavity, and the points of inflection.
Construct a sketch of the graph of the function.
2x − 4 1 3
1. f (x) = 11. f (x) = x4 − x2
x2 4 2
2x
2. f (x) = 2 12. f (x) = x4 + 4x3
x +1
10x
3. f (x) = 13. f (x) = x4 − 8x3 + 18x2 − 27
1 + 3x2
x2 − 3x − 4
4. f (x) = 14. f (x) = x4 − 4x3 − 2x2 + 12x − 5
x−2
3
5. f (x) = x3 − x2 15. f (x) = 3x5 − 5x3 + 1
2
3 4 1
6. f (x) = x3 − x2 − 6x 16. f (x) = x 3 + 4x 3
2
x3
7. f (x) = x − 17. f (x) = (x2 − 4)2
3
2 4
8. f (x) = 2x − x3 18. f (x) = (1 − x2 )2 − x3 − 8x
3 3
9. f (x) = x − 3x2 + 3x + 6
3 3
19. f (x) = (x − 1) (x − 3)
1 3 9
10. f (x) = x − x2 + x + 2 20. f (x) = (x − 1)2 (x − 2)3
18 2