INTRODUCTORY MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS

for Business, Economics,

and the Life and Social Sciences
Arab World Edition
Ernest Haeussler, Richard Paul, Richard Wood, Saadia Khouyibaba

Chapter 10
Curve Sketching

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching

Chapter Objectives
 To find critical values, to locate relative maxima and relative minima of a
curve.
 To find extreme values on a closed interval.
 To test a function for concavity and inflection points.
 To locate relative extrema by applying the second-derivative test.
 To model situations involving maximizing or minimizing a quantity.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching

Chapter Outline
10.1 Relative Extrema
10.2 Absolute Extrema on a Closed Interval
10.3 Concavity
10.4 The Second-Derivative Test
10.6 Applied Maxima and Minima

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching

10.1 Relative Extrema

Increasing
•   or Decreasing Nature of a Function
• When we sketch a curve, just plotting points may
not give enough information about its shape.

• In this chapter we will explore the powerful role that

differentiation plays in analyzing a function so that
we can determine the true shape and behavior of its
graph.

• We begin by analyzing the graph of the function in

Figure 10.2.

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching

10.1 Relative Extrema

Increasing
  or Decreasing Nature of a Function
• As x increases (goes form left to right) on the interval , between
a and b, the values of increase and the curve is rising: is said
to be increasing on .
• As x increases on the interval between c and d, the curve is
falling: is said to be decreasing on .
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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching

10.1 Relative Extrema

Definition:
 
• A function is said to be increasing on an interval “I”
when, for any two numbers x1 and x2 , if x1 < x2 then f(x1)
< f(x2).
• A function is said to be decreasing on an interval “I”
when, for any two numbers x1, x2 in “I”, if x1 < x2 , then
f(x1) > f(x2).
Note that
 A straight line with positive slope rises to the right. So
must be positive, .
 A straight line with negative slope falls to the right. So
must be negative, .

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Thus,
•   we have the following rule, which allows us to use the
derivative to determine when a function is increasing or
decreasing.
RULE 1 - Criteria for Increasing or Decreasing Function
Let be differentiable on the interval (a,b).
• f is increasing on (a, b) when f’(x) > 0, for all x in (a,b).
• f is decreasing on (a, b) when f’(x) < 0, for all x in
(a,b).

To illustrate these ideas, we will use Rule 1 to find the

intervals on which

is increasing and the intervals on which is decreasing.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

•  

We must determine when is positive and when is

negative.
.
• The sign of can be found by testing the
intervals determined by the roots of , namely, -3
and 3.
• These (i.e., roots) should be arranged in
increasing order on the top of a sign chart for
so as to divide the domain of into intervals.
• In each interval, the sign of is determined
by the signs of its factors.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

•  

.
• The roots of , namely, -3 and 3.
 If then sign (, so is decreasing.
 If then sign (+, so is increasing.
 If then sign (, so is decreasing.
The results are given in the chart given by Figure
10.3.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema
•  
Extrema

• P is higher than any other “nearby” point on the curve – and

likewise R.

• The point Q is lower than any other “nearby” point on the curve.

• Since P, R, and Q may not necessarily be the highest or lowest

points on the entire curve, we say that the graph of has relative
maxima at a and at c; has a relative minimum at b.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Extrema
•  
• The function has relative maximum values of at a
and at c; and has a relative minimum value of at b.
We also say:
– are relative maximum points and

Note that on the graph, we see that

• there is an absolute maximum (highest point on the
entire curve) at a, but
• there is no absolute minimum (lowest point on the
entire curve) because the curve is assumed to extend
downward indefinitely.

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Definition
•  

A function has a relative maximum at a if there is an

open interval containing a on which for all x in the
interval. The relative maximum value is A function has
a relative minimum at a if there is an open interval
containing a on which for all x in the interval. The
relative maximum value is

Definition
A function has an absolute maximum at a if for all x
in the domain of . The absolute maximum value is A
function has an absolute minimum at a if for all x in
the domain of . The absolute minimum value is

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

• We refer to either a relative maximum or a relative minimum

as a relative extremum (plural: relative extrema).

• Relative extrema are local in nature, whereas absolute

extrema are global in nature.

Referring to the Figure 10.5, we notice that

 at a relative extremum the derivative may not be defined (as
when x=c).

 BUT whenever it is defined at a relative extremum, it is zero,

0 (as when x=a and x=b). And hence, the tangent line is
horizontal.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

RULE
•  2 - A Necessary Condition for Relative
Extrema
 f ' a  0
relative extremum  implies
   or
at a   f '  a  does not exist


• Rule 2 does not say that if is 0 or does not

exist, then there must be a relative extremum
at a.

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Rule
  2 does not say that if is 0 or does not exist,
then there must be a relative extremum at a

  Figure 10.6(a): , but there is no relative extremum there.

Figure 10.6(b), does not exist but again, there is no relative extremum.
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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

•
•  Rule 2 does tell us that if we want to find all
relative maxima of a function, we can limit our
search to those values of x in the domain of
for which either does not exist.
• Because these values of x are so important for
locating relative extrema of , they are called
critical values for .
• We also say that is a critical point on the
graph of .
• So, a, b, and c are critical values and P, Q, and
R are critical points.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

At  a
• critical point, there may be a relative maximum, a
relative minimum, or neither.

RULE 3 - Criteria for Relative Extrema

1. If f’(x) changes from positive to negative, then f
has a relative maximum at a.
2. If f’(x) changes from negative to positive, then f
has a relative minimum at a.
Thus, around relative maxima, is increasing then
decreasing, and around a relative minima, is
decreasing then increasing.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

To  illustrate
• Rule 3 with a concrete example, refer again to Figure
10.3, ; .

• The row shows clearly that has a relative minimum at -3

and relative maximum at 3.
• The row provides an immediate step in actually sketching
the graph of .

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Summarizing the results of this section:

First Derivative Test for Relative Extrema
1. Find f′(x)
2. Determine all critical values of f
3. For each critical value a at which f is continuous,
determine whether f′(x) changes sign as x increases
through a
4. For critical values a at which f is not continuous, analyze
the situation by using the definitions of extrema directly

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

  Example 2 - First-Derivative Test

4
If y  f  x   x  x 1
for x  1 , use the first-derivative test to find
where relative extrema occur.

Solution:
STEP 1: f  x    2 x 2 3   x  3 x 2 1 for x  1
2
x
 x  1  x  1
STEP 2: Setting f′(x) = 0 gives x = {–3, 1}. (-1) is not in the
domain of but all values near (-1) are.

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

  Solution:
STEP 3: from the sign chart alone we conclude that at (–3) there
is a relative maximum; ; since changes from + to – at (-3).
, relative maximum value.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

 Solution (continued):

STEP 3 (continued)
– we also conclude from the chart that there is a
relative minimum at 1 (since changes from - to + at
1).
- , relative minimum value.
STEP 4 – There are no critical values at which f is not
continuous.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Example 2 First-Derivative Test

Solution (cont’d):

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

Example 5 – Finding Relative Extrema

A souvenir shop in the old medina of Fes finds that the price
per item (in hundreds of dollars) and demand q (in hundreds) of
a certain souvenir are related by the equation
3.208050201 2 p 2
qe
How much should the store charge for each of these souvenirs
to maximize its revenue?

Solution: The revenue R is the price per item p multiplied by

the quantity q. Hence,
R  p   pq  pe 3.208050201  2 p 2

By product Rule
R p   e 3.208050201 2 p 2
1  4 p 
2

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

  Example 5 – Finding Relative Extrema

Solution (cont’d):
1
The only critical value is p  .
2
The sing chart below shows that the corresponding critical point
is a relative maximum.

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

  Curve Sketching
In the following example we show how the first-derivative test,
in conjunction with the notions of intercepts and symmetry,
can be used as an aid in sketching the graph of a function.
EXAMPLE 6 Curve Sketching
sketch the graph of , with the aid of intercepts, symmetry, and
the first-derivative test.

Solution:
Intercepts:
 if x=0, then f(x)=0, so that the y-intercept is (0,0)
 Next note that

 So, if y=0, then x=0, and the x-intercepts are

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Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

EXAMPLE 6 Curve Sketching

Solution (cont’d):

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

 EXAMPLE 6 Curve Sketching

Solution (cont’d):
Symmetry: testing for y-axis symmetry, we have

So the graph is symmetric with respect to the y-axis. Because

y is a function (and not the zero function), there is no x-axis
symmetry and hence no symmetry about the origin.

First Derivative Test

 Step 1.

 Step 2. setting , gives the critical values . this gives the

following sign chart

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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

EXAMPLE
  6 Curve Sketching
Solution (cont’d):
 Step 2. (cont’d)

 Step 3. from this sign chart and evaluations in step 2, it is clear

that has relative maxima (-1,1) and (1,1), and reltive minimum
(0,0).
 Step 4. does not apply here because is polynomial (defined
and differentiable for all x).
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 Chapter 10: Curve Sketching
10.1 Relative Extrema

EXAMPLE 6 Curve Sketching

Solution (cont’d):

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