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Applications of the Derivative

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Local Extrema of
Functions
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Solved Problems
Click or tap a problem to see the solution.

Example 1
Find the local extrema of the function

−x2
f (x) = e .

Example 2
Find the local (relative) extrema of the function

f (x) = −x2 + 4x − 3.

Example 3
Find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x3 − 12x.

Example 4
 Find the local extrema of the cubic function

f (x) = x3 − 3x2 − 9x + 2.

Example 5
Using the second derivative test, find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x3 − 9x2 + 24x − 7.

Example 6
Find the local extrema of the function

1
f (x) = x x .

Example 7
Find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x2e−x.

Example 8
Find the local extrema points of the function
:
 x
f (x) = (x − a)e ,

where a is an arbitrary real number.

Example 9
Find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x + cos 2x.

Example 10
Determine the local extrema of the function

f (x) = sin x − cos x

on [0, 2π].

Example 11
Determine the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x2 ln x.

Example 12
Find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x ln x.
:
 Example 13
Find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x4 − 8x3 + 22x2 − 24x + 1.

Example 14
Find the local extrema of the function

x2
f (x) = 4 .
x + 16

Example 1.
Find the local extrema of the function

2
f (x) = e−x .

Solution.
:
 Figure 4.

The function is defined and differentiable for all x ∈ R. We use the first
derivative test. The derivative is given by

′
f ′ (x) = (e−x ) = e−x ⋅ (−x2) = −2xe−x .
2 2 ′ 2

Then we get

2
f ′ (x) = 0, ⇒ −2xe−x = 0, ⇒ x = 0.

The derivative changes its sign as shown in the sign chart above.

Hence, the function has a maximum at x = 0. The maximum value is

2
fmax = f (0) = e−0 = e0 = 1.

Example 2.
Find the local (relative) extrema of the function

2
f (x) = −x + 4x − 3.

Solution.

This function is differentiable everywhere on the set R. Consequently, the

extrema of the function are contained among its stationary points. Solve the
equation f ′ (x) = 0 :

′
f ′ (x) = (−x2 + 4x − 3) = −2x + 4,
:
 f ′ (x) = 0, ⇒ −2x + 4 = 0, ⇒ x = 2.

The function has one stationary point x = 2. Determine the sign of the
derivative to the left and right of the point x = 2. The derivative is positive
for x < 2 and negative for x > 2. Thus, when passing through the point
x = 2, the derivative changes sign from plus to minus. By the first derivative
test, this means that x = 2 is a maximum point.

The maximum value (that is the value of the function at the maximum point)
is equal to

fmax = f (2) = −22 + 4 ⋅ 2 − 3 = 1.

Example 3.

Find the local extrema of the function

f (x) = x3 − 12x.

Solution.

Determine the critical points. The first derivative is given by

′
f ′ (x) = (x3 − 12x) = 3x2 − 12.

It is equal to zero at the following points:

f ′ (x) = 0, ⇒ 3x2 − 12 = 0, ⇒ x2 = 4, ⇒ x1 = −2, x2 = 2.

These two points are critical since the function is defined and continuous
:
 over all x. The derivative also exists for all x, so there are no other critical
points.

We use the Second Derivative Test:

′
f ′′ (x) = (3x2 − 12) = 6x,

f ′′ (−2) = 6 ⋅ (−2) = −12 < 0,

Hence, is a point of local maximum, and is a point of local minimum.

Calculate the values for these points:

Answer:

Example 4.
Find the local extrema of the cubic function

Solution.

The function is differentiable on the whole set of real numbers. Therefore,

the extremum points are contained among the stationary points (where the
derivative is equal to zero).
:
 We find these points:

Substituting test values of , we determine the sign of the derivative in the

corresponding intervals (Figure ).

Figure 5.

As seen, when passing through the point , the derivative changes sign from
plus to minus. By the first derivative test, this point is a local maximum
point. Similarly, we establish that is a local minimum point.

We now determine the maximum and minimum values of the function:

Example 5.

Using the second derivative test, find the local extrema of the function
:
 Solution.

The function is defined for all Take the first derivative and determine the
critical points:

The second derivative is given by

Determine the sign of the nd derivative at the critical points:

Hence, the point is a local maximum, and the point is a local minimum.

Compute the coordinates:

The answer is

Example 6.
:
 Find the local extrema of the function

Solution.

This function belongs to the family of power-exponential functions. In

general, they have the form of It is usually assumed that the domain of
power-exponential functions satisfies the condition (In some special cases,
the base can be negative − for example, if ) In our case we suppose that It
follows from here that the function takes only positive values.

Determine the derivative:

Note: The derivative of the function can also be found using logarithmic
differentiation.

Calculate the critical points:

In the left neighborhood of the derivative is positive, and in the right

neighborhood it is negative. Consequently, the function attains a local
maximum at the point The maximum value is equal

Example 7.

Find the local extrema of the function

:
 Solution.

The function is defined and differentiable on the whole set Calculate its
derivative:

Find the roots of the equation

When passing through these points, the derivative changes sign as shown
above in Figure

Figure 6.

Hence, at the point the function has a minimum, and at the point it has a
maximum. The minimum and maximum values, respectively, are equal to:
:
 Example 8.
Find the local extrema points of the function where is an arbitrary real
number.

Solution.

Figure 7.

Calculate the derivative using the product rule:

Determine the critical points:

It follows from the sign chart (see above) that the point is a point of local
minimum. The minimum value is

Hence, we obtain the following answer:

:
 Example 9.
Find the local extrema of the function

Solution.

The function is differentiable on the whole set Calculate the derivative and
determine the stationary points:

The resulting trigonometric equation has two branches of solutions:

To determine the type of the extrema, we use the second derivative test. The
second derivative is given by

For the first set of solutions the second derivative is negative. Therefore, this
set corresponds to a maximum point. The second set of solutions
corresponds to a positive second derivative. Here we have a minimum point.
Compute the values of the function at these maximum and minimum points:
:
 This function is the sum of a linear function and a cosine function. Such a
combination results in that the maxima and minima linearly increase with
the numbers and as shown in Figure .

Figure 8.

Example 10.
Determine the local extrema of the function on
:
 Solution.

We use the nd Derivative Test. First we find the critical points on the given
interval:

The function is continuous and differentiable over all , so it has no other

singular or critical points.

Differentiate once more:

Determine the sign of the nd derivative at the critical points we found above:

We see that is a local maximum point, and is a local minimum point.

Calculate the (y-)values:

:
 Answer:

Example 11.

Determine the local extrema of the function

Solution.

The given function is defined and differentiable for Find the derivative and
determine the stationary points of the function in the given interval of

The root is outside of the domain. Therefore, we consider the second

solution:

In the left neighborhood of the point the derivative is negative, and in the
right neighborhood it is positive. Consequently, the function has a minimum
at this point. Its value is equal to
:
 Example 12.

Find the local extrema of the function

Solution.

Figure 9.

The domain of the function is We start with the first derivative:

Find the critical points:

A sign chart for is given above. Hence, by the first derivative test, the
function has a local minimum at The minimum value is

Answer:
:
 Example 13.

Find the local extrema of the function

Solution.

The function is defined and differentiable on the whole set Consequently, the
local extrema of the function are contained among its stationary points.
Calculate the first derivative:

Find the stationary points:

By substitution, we find that is a root of the cubic equation. Dividing the

cubic function by we can factor it as follows:

So we have found three "candidates" for the extrema of the function. To

check these points, we use the second derivative test. The second derivative is
written as
:
 Substituting the coordinates of the stationary points, we find the values of
the second derivative:

It follows that and are local minimum points, and is a local maximum point.
The function has the following values at these points:

Example 14.
Find the local extrema of the function

Solution.

This function is defined and differentiable for all Find the derivative and
calculate the stationary points of the function:
:
 Then

Determine the sign of the derivative by the interval method (Figure ).

Figure 10.

According to the first derivative test, we have maximums at and Since the
function is even, the values of the function at these points are the same:

At , the function has a local minimum equal

Recommended Pages

Increasing and Decreasing Functions

:
 Increasing and Decreasing Functions

Rolle’s Theorem
Lagrange’s Mean Value Theorem

Cauchy’s Mean Value Theorem

Curvature and Radius of Curvature

Evolute and Involute

Newton’s Method

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