Calculus

Contents
Limits ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
The Delta Method ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Derivatives .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Power Rule ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Product Rule.............................................................................................................................................. 3
Chain Rule ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Quotient Rule ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Derivatives of Logarithms ......................................................................................................................... 5
Properties of Logarithms....................................................................................................................... 5
Derivatives of Natural Logarithms ............................................................................................................ 6
Derivatives of Exponential Functions........................................................................................................ 6
Trigonometric Derivatives............................................................................................................................. 7
Derivatives of Sine .................................................................................................................................... 7
Derivatives of Cosine ................................................................................................................................ 7
Derivatives of Tangent .............................................................................................................................. 7
Implicit Derivatives ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Tangent and Normal ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Maximum and Minimum Points ................................................................................................................. 12
First Derivative Test ................................................................................................................................ 12
Second Derivative Test............................................................................................................................ 13
Inflection Points ...................................................................................................................................... 14
Characteristics of Functions ........................................................................................................................ 14
Function Increasing or Decreasing .......................................................................................................... 15
Concave Upwards or Downwards ........................................................................................................... 16

Page 1 of 16
 Calculus
Limits
Limit 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝑳
Notation 𝒙→𝒂

𝐥𝐢𝐦(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟕) 𝟓 + 𝟒𝒙 − 𝒙𝟐 𝟑 − 𝟐𝒙 𝒙𝟐 + 𝒙 − 𝟑
𝒙→𝟐 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝒙→𝟓 𝟓−𝒙 𝒙→𝟎 𝒙 + 𝟒 𝒙→ 𝟓𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏𝟎
𝒙𝟐 𝒙 𝟑
(𝟓 − 𝒙)(𝟏 + 𝒙) 𝟑 − 𝟐(𝟎) 𝟐 + 𝟐− 𝟐
= 𝟐𝟐 + 𝟐(𝟐) − 𝟕 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 = = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒙 𝟐𝒙 𝒙
𝒙→𝟓 (𝟓 − 𝒙) 𝟎+𝟒 𝒙→ 𝟓𝒙 𝟏𝟎
𝟐 + 𝟐
𝒙 𝒙
= 𝐥𝐢𝐦(𝟏 + 𝒙) 𝟑 𝟏+𝟎−𝟎
= 𝟖−𝟕 𝒙→𝟓 = =
𝟒 𝟓+𝟎
𝟏
=𝟏 =𝟔 =
𝟓

((𝒙 + 𝒅)𝟐 + 𝟏) − (𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏) 𝟐𝒅𝒙 + 𝒅𝟐

𝐥𝐢𝐦 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 = 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟎
𝒅→𝟎 𝒅 𝒅→𝟎 𝒅
𝒙 + 𝟐𝒅𝒙 + 𝒅𝟐 + 𝟏 − 𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏
𝟐 𝒅(𝟐𝒙 + 𝒅)
= 𝐥𝐢𝐦 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 = 𝟐𝒙
𝒅→𝟎 𝒅 𝒅→𝟎 𝒅

Limit Law 𝐥𝐢𝐦(𝒇(𝒙) + 𝒈(𝒙)) = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒇(𝒙) + 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒈(𝒙)

for sums 𝒙→𝒂 𝒙→𝒂 𝒙→𝒂

Limit Law 𝒇(𝒙) 𝐥𝐢𝐦

𝒙→𝒂
𝒇(𝒙)
𝐥𝐢𝐦 =
for quotients 𝒙→𝒂 𝒈(𝒙) 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒈(𝒙)
𝒙→𝒂

The Delta Method

The Derivative 𝒅𝒚 (𝒚 + 𝜟𝒚) − 𝒚
Delta Method = 𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝒅𝒙 𝜟𝒙→𝟎 𝜟𝒙

1. Substitute 𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙 for 𝒙 and 𝒚 + 𝜟𝒚 for 𝒚 in your original function.

2. Subtract the original function (if 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟐 , 𝒚 + 𝜟𝒚 − 𝒚 = (𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙)𝟐 − 𝒙𝟐 ).
3. Divide by 𝛥𝑥.
4. Let 𝛥𝑥 approach zero ( lim ). Limit.
→

Page 2 of 16
 Calculus

𝒚 = 𝒙𝟐
Substitute ① 𝒚 + 𝜟𝒚 = (𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙)𝟐

Subtract ② 𝒚 + 𝜟𝒚 − 𝒚 = (𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙)𝟐 − 𝒙𝟐

𝜟𝒚 = 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝒙𝜟𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙𝟐 − 𝒙𝟐 Eliminate 𝒙𝟐

𝜟𝒚 𝜟𝒙(𝟐𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙)
Divide ③ = Eliminate 𝜟𝒙
𝜟𝒙 𝜟𝒙
𝒅𝒚
Limit ④ = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝟐𝒙 + 𝜟𝒙
𝒅𝒙 𝒙→𝟎
= 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟎 Substitute 0s
𝒅𝒚
= 𝟐𝒙 State
𝒅𝒙

Derivatives
Power Rule
The Derivative 𝒅
(𝒄𝒙𝒏 ) = 𝒄𝒙𝒏𝒏 𝟏
Power Rule 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = 𝒙𝟕 𝒚 = 𝟑𝒙𝟐 𝒚=𝒙 𝟓

𝒚′ = 𝟕𝒙𝟕 𝟏
𝒚′ = 𝟐(𝟑)𝒙𝟐 𝟏
𝒚 = −𝟓𝒙 𝟓 𝟏

𝟏
𝒚 = 𝟕𝒙𝟔 𝒚′ = 𝟔𝒙 𝒚 = −𝟓𝒙 𝟔
=−
𝟓𝒙𝟔
Product Rule
The Derivative 𝒅 𝒅𝒗 𝒅𝒖
(𝒖𝒗) = 𝒖 +𝒗
Product Rule 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = (𝟓 + 𝟑𝒙)(𝟑 + 𝟕𝒙) 𝒖 = 𝟓 + 𝟑𝒙 𝒗 = 𝟑 + 𝟕𝒙
𝒚 = (𝟓 + 𝟑𝒙)(𝟕) + (𝟑 + 𝟕𝒙)(𝟑) 𝒖 =𝟑 𝒗 =𝟕
𝒚 = 𝟑𝟓 + 𝟐𝟏𝒙 + 𝟗 + 𝟐𝟏𝒙

Page 3 of 16
 Calculus

𝒚 = 𝟒𝟐𝒙 + 𝟒𝟒
Chain Rule
The Derivative 𝒅 𝒏
𝒅(𝒄𝒖𝒏 ) 𝒅𝒖
(𝒄𝒖 ) = ∗
Chain Rule 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒖 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = (𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙)𝟑

𝒅[(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙)𝟑 ] 𝒅[(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙)𝟑 ] 𝒅(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙)

= ∗
𝒅𝒙 𝒅(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙) 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = 𝟑(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙)𝟐 (𝟐𝒙 + 𝟒)

𝒚 = (𝟔𝒙 + 𝟏𝟐)(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙)𝟐

Quotient Rule

The Derivative 𝒖 𝒅𝒖 𝒅𝒗
𝒅 𝒗 −𝒖
𝒗 = 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙
Quotient Rule 𝟐
𝒅𝒙 𝒗

𝟐𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏
𝒚= 𝒖 = 𝟐𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏 𝒗 = (𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟐
(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟐
(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟐 (𝟒𝒙) − (𝟐𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏)(𝟐)(𝒙 − 𝟏)
𝒚 = 𝒖 = 𝟒𝒙 𝒗 = 𝟐(𝒙 − 𝟏)
[(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟐 ]𝟐

(𝒙 − 𝟏)[𝟒𝒙(𝒙 − 𝟏) − 𝟐(𝟐𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏)]

𝒚 =
(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟒

𝟒𝒙𝟐 − 𝟒𝒙 − 𝟒𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐
𝒚 =
(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟑
−𝟒𝒙 + 𝟐
𝒚 =
(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟑
𝟐 − 𝟒𝒙
𝒚 =
(𝒙 − 𝟏)𝟑

Page 4 of 16
 Calculus

𝟐 𝒅[(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓) 𝟏 ] 𝒅(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓)
Note: 𝒚= Pull the “2” 𝒚 = (𝟐) ∗ ∗
𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓 𝒅(𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓) 𝒅𝒙

Derivatives of Logarithms
Derivatives of 𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝒖
(𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝒖) = ∗
Logarithms 𝒅𝒙 𝒖 ∗ 𝐥𝐧 𝒃 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟕𝒙 𝒚 = 𝒍𝒐𝒈(𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙)

𝟏 𝟏
𝒚 = (𝟕) 𝒚 = ∗ (𝟐𝒙 − 𝟑)
𝟕𝒙 𝐥𝐧 𝟏𝟎 (𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙) 𝐥𝐧 𝟏𝟎
𝟏 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟑
𝒚 = 𝒚 =
𝒙 𝐥𝐧 𝟏𝟎 (𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙) 𝐥𝐧 𝟏𝟎

Always 𝟏
Note: 𝒚 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝒄𝒙 equals 𝒚 =
𝒙 𝐥𝐧 𝒃

Properties of Logarithms
Log of a
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑴𝑵 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑴 + 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑵
Product

𝒚 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠(𝒙√𝟓 + 𝟔𝒙) = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒙 + 𝐥𝐨𝐠 √𝟓 + 𝟔𝒙

Log of a 𝑴
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑴 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑵
Quotient 𝑵

(𝟏 + 𝟑𝒙)
𝒚 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠(𝟏 + 𝟑𝒙) − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒙𝟐
𝒙𝟐

Log of a
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑴𝒑 = 𝒑𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑴
Power

Page 5 of 16
 Calculus
𝟏
𝐲 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒙𝟐 = 𝟐 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒙 = (𝟐)
𝒙 𝐥𝐧 𝟏𝟎

Log of
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝟏 = 𝟎
1

Log of the
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝒃 = 𝟏
Base

Change 𝐥𝐧 𝑵
of Base 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒃 𝑵 =
𝐥𝐧 𝒃

Derivatives of Natural Logarithms

Derivatives of 𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝒖
Natural Logarithms (𝐥𝐧 𝒖) = ∗
𝒅𝒙 𝒖 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = 𝐥𝐧(𝟐𝒙𝟑 + 𝟓𝒙)
𝟏
𝒚 = ∗ (𝟔𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓)
𝟐𝒙𝟑 + 𝟓𝒙
𝟔𝒙𝟐 + 𝟓
𝒚 = 𝟑
𝟐𝒙 + 𝟓𝒙

Derivatives of Exponential Functions

Derivatives of
𝒅 𝒖 𝒅𝒖
Exponential (𝒃 ) = 𝒃𝒖 ∗ ∗ 𝐥𝐧 𝒃
Functions 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

𝟐
𝒚 = 𝟏𝟎𝒙 𝟐

𝟐
𝒚 = 𝟏𝟎𝒙 𝟐
∗ 𝟐𝒙 ∗ 𝐥𝐧 𝟏𝟎

Page 6 of 16
 Calculus
Trigonometric Derivatives
Derivatives of Sine
Derivative of 𝒅 𝒅𝒖
(𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒖) = 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒖 ∗
Sine 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

𝒚 = 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝒙𝟑 + 𝟐𝒙𝟐 ) 𝒚 = 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝟑 𝒙 Use Power Rule

𝒚 = 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝒙𝟑 + 𝟐𝒙𝟐 ) (𝟑𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙) 𝒚 = 𝟑(𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙)𝟐 ∗ 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒙

Derivatives of Cosine
Derivative of 𝒅 𝒅𝒖
(𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒖) = − 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒖 ∗
Cosine 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

𝟐 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒙
𝒚= 𝒖 = 𝟐 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒙 𝒗 = 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙 ∗ −𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙 − 𝟐 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒙 ∗ 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙
𝒚 = 𝒖 = −𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙 𝒗 = 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙 ∗ 𝟑
(𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙)𝟐
−𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙 − 𝟔 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝒙 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙 Use Quotient Rule
𝒚 =
𝐬𝐢𝐧𝟐 𝟑𝒙

Derivatives of Tangent
Derivative of 𝒅 𝒅𝒖
Tangent (𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝒖) = 𝐬𝐞𝐜 𝟐 𝒖 ∗
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

𝒖 = 𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝒗 = 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝟑𝒙
𝒚 = 𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝟑𝒙
𝒖 = 𝟐 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙 ∗ 𝟑 𝒗 = 𝐬𝐞𝐜 𝟐 𝟑𝒙 ∗ 𝟑
𝒚′ = (𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙)(𝐬𝐞𝐜 𝟐 𝟑𝒙 ∗ 𝟑) + (𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝟑𝒙)(𝟐 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙 ∗ 𝟑) Use Product Rule

𝒚 = 𝟔 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝐬𝐞𝐜 𝟐 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟔 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙

𝒚 = 𝟔 (𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝐬𝐞𝐜 𝟐 𝟑𝒙 + 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝟑𝒙 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟑𝒙)

Page 7 of 16
 Calculus
Implicit Derivatives
𝟒𝒙𝟐 + 𝟗𝒚𝟐 = 𝟒𝟎
𝒅(𝟒𝒙𝟐 ) 𝒅(𝟗𝒚𝟐 ) 𝒅(𝟒𝟎)
+ =
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝒅𝒚 𝒅𝒚
𝟐(𝟒)𝒙 + 𝟐(𝟗)𝒚 ∗ = 𝟎 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: = 𝒚′
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝟖𝒙 + 𝟏𝟖𝒚𝒚 = 𝟎
𝟏𝟖𝒚𝒚 = −𝟖𝒙
𝟖𝒙 𝟒𝒙
𝒚 =− 𝒐𝒓 −
𝟏𝟖𝒚 𝟗𝒚

Tangent and Normal

The derivative of any point on a curve gives the slope of its tangent.

Point-Slope 𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏
𝒎= 𝒐𝒓 𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 = 𝒎(𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )
Form 𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏

General
𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒙 + 𝑪 = 𝟎
Form

Slope-Intercept
𝒚 = 𝒎𝒙 + 𝒃
Form

Example
Write the equation to the tangent of the curve 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏 at 𝒙 = 𝟑.

Steps
1. Take the derivative:

𝒚 = 𝟐𝒙
2. Find the slope of the tangent:

𝒚 (𝟑) = 𝟐(𝟑)
=𝟔
Page 8 of 16
 Calculus
3. Find 𝒚𝟏 :

𝒚(𝟑) = 𝟑𝟐 + 𝟏
= 𝟏𝟎
4. Use point-slope form and write in the general equation:

𝒚 − 𝟏𝟎 = 𝟔(𝒙 − 𝟑)
𝟎 = 𝟔𝒙 − 𝟏𝟖 + 𝟏𝟎 − 𝒚
∴ 𝟔𝒙 − 𝒚 − 𝟖 = 𝟎

Normal 𝟏
𝒎𝒏 = −
Slope 𝒎𝒕

Example 2
Write the equation of the normal to the curve 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏 at 𝒙 = 𝟑.

We can take information from the last example:

𝒎𝒕 = 𝟔, and a known point is (𝟑, 𝟏𝟎).

Steps
1. Find the slope of the normal:
(4.b in relation to the last example)

𝟏
𝒎𝒏 = −
𝒎𝒕
𝟏
=−
𝟔
2. Write the equation for the line:
(5.b)

𝟏
𝒚 − 𝟏𝟎 = − (𝒙 − 𝟑)
𝟔
𝟏
−𝟔[𝒚 − 𝟏𝟎 = − (𝒙 − 𝟑)]
𝟔

Page 9 of 16
 Calculus

−𝟔𝒚 + 𝟔𝟎 = 𝒙 − 𝟑
𝒙 − 𝟑 + 𝟔𝒚 − 𝟔𝟎 = 𝟎
∴ 𝒙 + 𝟔𝒚 − 𝟔𝟑 = 𝟎
Example 3
a) Find the equation of the tangent to the ellipse 𝟒𝒙𝟐 + 𝟗𝒚𝟐 = 𝟒𝟎 at the point (𝟏, −𝟐).

Steps
1. Find the implicit derivatives:

𝒅(𝟒𝒙𝟐 ) 𝒅(𝟗𝒚𝟐 ) 𝒅(𝟒𝟎)

+ =
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒚
𝟐(𝟒)𝒙𝟐 𝟏 ∗ + 𝟐(𝟗)𝒚𝟐 𝟏 ∗ =𝟎
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝒅𝒚 𝒅𝒚
𝟖𝒙(𝟏) + 𝟏𝟖𝒚 ∗ =𝟎 Note: = 𝒚′
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙

𝟏𝟖𝒚𝒚 = −𝟖𝒙
𝟖𝒙
𝒚′ = −
𝟏𝟖𝒚
𝟒𝒙
𝒚′ = −
𝟗𝒚
2. Find the tangent slope:

𝟒(𝟏)
𝒚′(𝟏, −𝟐) = −
𝟗(−𝟐)
𝟒
=
𝟏𝟖
𝟐
𝒎𝒕 =
𝟗

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3. Use point-slope to find the equation of the tangent:

𝟐
𝒚 − (−𝟐) = (𝒙 − 𝟏)
𝟗
𝟐
𝟗[𝒚 + 𝟐 = (𝒙 − 𝟏)]
𝟗
𝟗𝒚 + 𝟏𝟖 = 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟐
𝟐𝒙 − 𝟐 − 𝟗𝒚 − 𝟏𝟖 = 𝟎
∴ 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟗𝒚 − 𝟐𝟎 = 𝟎
b) Find the x-intercept of the tangent.

Steps
1. Let 𝒚 = 𝟎 and solve:

𝟐𝒙 − 𝟗(𝟎) − 𝟐𝟎 = 𝟎
𝟐𝒙 = 𝟐𝟎
∴ 𝒙 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒐𝒓 (𝟏𝟎, 𝟎)
Example 4
𝟑
Given 𝒚 = −𝒙𝟑 + 𝒙𝟐
𝟐
In the first quadrant, find the equation for the tangent that is parallel to 𝒚 = −𝟔𝒙 + 𝟏.

Steps
1. Find the derivative and set the slope to −𝟔.

𝒚′ = −𝟑𝒙𝟐 + 𝟑𝒙
−𝟔 = −𝟑𝒙𝟐 + 𝟑𝒙
−𝟑𝒙𝟐 + 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟔 = 𝟎
2. Factor to solve for x:

−𝟑(𝒙𝟐 − 𝒙 − 𝟐) = 𝟎
𝟎
𝒙𝟐 − 𝟐𝒙 + 𝒙 − 𝟐 =
−𝟑

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 Calculus

𝒙(𝒙 − 𝟐) + 𝟏(𝒙 − 𝟐) = 𝟎
(𝒙 − 𝟐)(𝒙 + 𝟏) = 𝟎
First quadrant: 𝒙 = 𝟐, 𝒙 = −𝟏
3. Find 𝒚 − 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆. Plug 𝒙 = 𝟐 into main equation:

𝟑
𝒚(𝟐) = −(𝟐)𝟑 + (𝟐)𝟐
𝟐
= −𝟖 + 𝟔
= −𝟐 point: (𝟐, −𝟐)
4. Use point-slope to write the equation:

𝒚 − (−𝟐) = −𝟔(𝒙 − 𝟐)
𝒚 + 𝟐 = −𝟔𝒙 + 𝟏𝟐
𝟔𝒙 − 𝟏𝟐 + 𝒚 + 𝟐 = 𝟎
∴ 𝟔𝒙 + 𝒚 − 𝟏𝟎 = 𝟎

Maximum and Minimum Points

To find a Max or Min,
1. Find the value of x where the first derivative is zero.
2. Determine if it is a Max or Min
a. Graph it (Not going to use this).
b. First Derivative Test.
c. Second Derivative Test.
3. Find the 𝑦 − 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒(𝑠) of the max and/or min point(s).

Stationary points are points where the tangent slope is 0.

We find them by setting the derivative to 0 and solving for x.

First Derivative Test

Check the sign of the first derivative to the left and right of a stationary point.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If 𝒚′ changes from positive (+) to negative (−) → min
If 𝒚′ changes from negative (−) to positive (+) → max

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Example 1
𝒚
Find the maximum and minimum points for the function 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟑 − 𝟑𝒙.

Steps
1. Set the first derivative to zero and solve for x:

𝒚′ = 𝟑𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑
𝒚′
𝟑(𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏) = 𝟎 𝒚′
𝟎 𝒚
(𝒙 − 𝟏)(𝒙 + 𝟏) =
𝟑
𝒙 = 𝟏 𝒙 = −𝟏
2. Determine max or min using The First Derivative Test:

-1 1
𝒙 < −𝟏 −𝟏 < 𝒙 < 𝟏 𝒙>𝟏
Test value -2 0 2
𝒚 = (𝒙 − 𝟏)(𝒙 + 𝟏) (−𝟐 − 𝟏)(−𝟐 + 𝟏) = 𝟑 (−𝟏)(+𝟏) = −𝟏 (𝟐 − 𝟏)(𝟐 + 𝟏) = 𝟑
+/− + − +
Increasing/decreasing
max min

Second Derivative Test

Check the sign of the second derivative as the stationary point.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If 𝑦′′ is negative (−) → max
If 𝑦′′ is positive (+) → min

Example 2
Find the maximums and minimums of 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟑 − 𝟑𝒙 using The Second Derivative Test.
We can use the information we acquired from the last example, 𝒚 = 𝟑𝒙𝟐 − 𝟑.

Steps
1. Find the second derivative:

𝒚′′ = 𝟔𝒙
2. Input the stationary points:

𝒚′′(𝟏) = 𝟔(𝟏) = 𝟔 min

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𝒚 (−𝟏) = 𝟔(−𝟏) = −𝟔 max

Inflection Points
Set the second derivative to zero and solve for x.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If 𝒚′′ changes signs on either side of this point,
𝒚 has an inflection point at this point.

Example 3
Find any points of inflection on the curve 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟑 − 𝟑𝒙𝟐 − 𝟓𝒙 + 𝟕.

Steps
1. Set the second derivative to zero and solve for x:

𝒚′ = 𝟑𝒙𝟐 − 𝟔𝒙 − 𝟓
𝒚 = 𝟔𝒙 − 𝟔
𝟔(𝒙 − 𝟏) = 𝟎
𝒙=𝟏
2. Test each side of 𝒚′′ to determine if 𝒚 has an inflection point at this location:

𝒙<𝟏 𝒙>𝟏
Test Value 0 2
𝑦 = 6𝑥 − 6 6(0) − 6 = −6 6(2) − 6 = 6
+/− − +

∴There is an inflection point at 𝒙 = 𝟏

Characteristics of Functions
The sign of the first derivative determines whether the function is increasing or decreasing. The sign of
the second derivative determines whether the concave is up or down.

Sign of the Characteristics

1st Derivative of the function
+ Increasing
− decreasing
Sign of the Characteristics
2nd Derivative of the function
+ concave up
− concave down

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Function Increasing or Decreasing
Example 1
a) Is the function increasing or decreasing at the value indicated?
𝒚 = −𝟐𝒙𝟑 + 𝟗𝒙𝟐 + 𝟑, 𝑎𝑡 𝒙 = 𝟐

Steps
1. Find the first derivative:

𝒚′ = −𝟔𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏𝟖𝒙
2. Solve for 𝒙 = 𝟐:

𝒚 (𝟐) = −𝟔(𝟐)𝟐 + 𝟏𝟖(𝟐)

= −𝟐𝟒 + 𝟑𝟔
= 𝟏𝟐∴ increasing
b) Determine the intervals where 𝑓(𝑥) is increasing and decreasing.

Steps
1. Set the first derivative to zero and solve for x:

−𝟔𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏𝟖𝒙 = 𝟎
−𝟔𝒙(𝒙 − 𝟑) = 𝟎
𝒙=𝟎 𝒙=𝟑
2. Use test points or the information already acquired, to determine the intervals:

Since we already know 𝑦 (2) = 12, we can determine the answer:

𝒇(𝒙) > 𝟎 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝟎 < 𝒙 < 𝟑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝒇(𝒙) < 𝟎 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝒙 < 𝟎 𝒐𝒓 𝒙 > 𝟑.

However, let’s use test points in case we did not have that information:

𝒙<𝟎 𝟎<𝒙<𝟑 𝒙>𝟑

Test value −𝟏 𝟐 𝟓
𝒚 = −𝟔𝒙(𝒙 − 𝟑) −𝟐𝟒 12 -60
+/− − + −
Increasing/decreasing Decreasing Increasing Decreasing

∴ We see once again that: 𝒇(𝒙) > 𝟎 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝟎 < 𝒙 < 𝟑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝒇(𝒙) < 𝟎 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝒙 < 𝟎 𝒐𝒓 𝒙 > 𝟑.

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 Calculus
Concave Upwards or Downwards
Example 2
Is the function concave up or concave down at the value indicated?
𝒚 = 𝟑𝒙𝟒 − 𝟕𝒙𝟐 − 𝟐
a) 𝑥 = 0
b) 𝑥 = 1

Steps
Find the second derivative then solve for each.

𝒚 = 𝟏𝟐𝒙𝟑 − 𝟏𝟒𝒙
𝒚 = 𝟑𝟔𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏𝟒
𝒂) 𝒚′′(𝟎) = −𝟏𝟒 ∴ 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝒃) 𝒚 (𝟏) = 𝟐𝟐 ∴ 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒑

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