Unit 6 Lesson 6 – Concavity and Inflection Points

IB HL1 Apps and Interpretation

Warmup
"#(%"&)! (%())
For 𝑓 ! (𝑥) = %(*

a) Find all critical points

b) Hence, make a sign diagram for 𝑓 ! (𝑥)
c) State the intervals when 𝑓(𝑥) is increasing and the intervals when 𝑓(𝑥) is decreasing.

A stationary point of a function is a point where 𝑓 ! (𝑥) = 0. It could be a local maximum (point C), a local
minimum (point A), or a stationary inflection point (point B)

Functions can also have non-stationary inflection points. At these points, the function has an inflection point at a
point where the tangent slope is non-zero (𝑓′(𝑥) ≠ 0).

A non-stationary inflection point is the point where the tangent line is the steepest (in the area between adjacent
local maximums and minimums)
Example 1 - Find the first and second derivatives of each function and use them to complete each sign diagram
below

𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 & 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 & + 2𝑥 * − 4𝑥 + 3

Example 2 – Use the graph to complete the sign diagrams for the first and second derivative. Label all local extrema
and inflection points on the graph.
𝑓(𝑥)

Second Derivative Test

Given a function f with 𝑓 ! (𝑐) = 0,

• When 𝑓′′(𝑐) > 0, there is a local minimum at 𝑥 = 𝑐
• When 𝑓 !! (𝑐) < 0, there is a local maximum at 𝑥 = 𝑐
• When 𝑓 !! (𝑐) = 0, the second derivative test is inconclusive (it could be a local maximum, a local
minimum, or neither)
Example 3 – After a drug is injected into a patient, the concentration C of the drug in the bloodstream is given by
the function
0.19𝑡
𝐶= * ,𝑡 ≥ 0
𝑡 +1

where C represents the concentration in 𝑚𝑔 𝑐𝑚"& , t hours after the injection.

+,
a) Find and interpret the meaning of +-
b) Hence, find the time at which the bloodstream concentration is at a maximum and what the bloodstream
concentration is at this time. Justify your answer using the first derivative test
c) Researchers are interested in the rate at which the bloodstream concentration is changing. In particular,
they want to know when the bloodstream concentration is decreasing the fastest. Find the time at which the
bloodstream concentration is decreasing the fastest and the rate of change in the bloodstream
concentration at that time. Justify your answer.