DIFFERENTIAL

CALCULUS
(Curve Sketching)

Laurette Mae N. Lomuntad

Student

Mr. Kienji Apondar

Teacher

CURVE SKETCHING
Curve sketching is another practical application of
differential calculus. In geometry, curve sketching (or curve
tracing) includes techniques that can be used to produce a rough
idea of overall shape of a plane curve given its equation without
computing the large numbers of points required for a detailed
plot. It is an application of the theory of curves to find their main
features.
Curve Sketching
The following steps are helpful when sketching curves. These are general guidelines
for all curves, so each step may not always apply to all functions.
a) Domain: Find the domain of the function. This will be useful when finding
vertical asymptotes and determining critical numbers.
b) Intercepts: Find the x- and y-intercepts of the function, if possible. To find the xintercept, we set y = 0 and solve the equation for x. Similarly, we set x = 0 to find
the y-intercept.
c) Symmetry: Determine whether the function is an odd function, an even
function or neither odd nor even. If f(-x) = f(x) for all x in the domain, then f is
even and symmetric about the y-axis. If f(-x) = -f(x) for all x in the domain, then f is
odd and symmetric about the origin.
d) Asymptotes: Find the asymptotes of the function using the methods described
above. First attempt to find the vertical and horizontal asymptotes of the function. IF
necessary, find the slant asymptote.
e) Intervals of Increase and Decrease: Using the methods described above,
determine where f'(x) is positive and negative to find the intervals where the
function is increasing and decreasing.
f) Local Maximum/Minimum : Find the critical numbers of the function.
Remember that the number c in the domain is a critical number if f'(c) = 0 or f'(c)
does not exist. Use the first derivative test to find the local maximums and
minimums of the function.
g) Concavity and Points of Inflection : We must determine when f''(x) is positive
and negative to find the intervals where the function is concave upward and
concave downward. Inflection points occur whenever the curve changes in
concavity.

h) Sketch : Using the information obtained from steps A to G, we can sketch the
curve. First, we draw dashed lines for the asymptotes of the function. Then plot the
x- and y-intercepts, maximum and minimum points and points of inflection on the
graph. Sketch the curve between the points, using the intervals of increase and
decrease and intervals of concavity. Be sure that the graph behaves correctly when
approaching asymptotes.

Increasing and Decreasing Functions

The derivative of a function can tell us where the function is increasing and where it
is decreasing. If
a) f'(x) > 0 on an interval I, the function is increasing on I.
b) f'(x) < 0 on an interval I, the function is decreasing on I.
The intervals of increase and decrease will occur between points where f'(x) = 0 or
f'(x) is undefined. However, these points are not necessarily critical numbers
because we include x even if it is not in the domain of f. We simply want to find the
intervals of increase and decrease around x, even if the function is not defined at
that point.
The graph illustrates this theorem. From A to B, the slope of the tangent lines are all
negative, so the derivative, f'(x) is negative from A to B.
The theorem above
states that the function is decreasing from A to B. The
graph
shows that the values of the function are decreasing
between A and B. Similarly, the function is also
decreasing between C and D. From B to C however, the
slopes of the tangent lines are positive. Therefore, the
derivative is positive from B to C. The graph shows that
the values of the function are increasing between B and
C.

The First Derivative Test

Let c be a critical number of a continuous function f. If
a) f' changes from positive to negative at c, there is a local maximum at c.
b) f' changes from negative to positive at c, there is a local minimum at c.
c) f' does not change sign at c, (that is, the derivative is positive before and
after c or negative before and after c) there is no maximum or minimum at c.
The graphs below illustrate the first derivative test.

Concavity and Points of Inflection

A graph is called concave upward (CU) on an interval I, if the graph of the
function lies above all of the tangent lines on I. A graph is called concave
downward (CD) on an interval I, if the graph of the function lies below all of the
tangent lines on I.
The second derivative of a function can tell us whether a function is concave
upward or concave downward. If
a) f''(x) > 0 for all x in an interval I, the graph is concave upward on I.
b) f''(x) < 0 for all x in an interval I, the graph is concave downward on I.
The intervals of concavity will occur between points where f''(x) = 0 or f''(x) is
undefined. We test the concavity around these points even if they are not included
in the domain of f.
The graphs below illustrate the different forms of concavity. Remember that there
are two ways in which a graph can be concave upward or concave downward.
Graphs A and C illustrate the types of concavity when the function is increasing on
the interval, while graphs B and D illustrate concavity when the function is
decreasing on the interval. These 4 graphs cover every different form of concavity.

A point P on a curve is called a point of inflection if the function is continuous at

that point and either
a) the function changes from CU to CD at P

b) the function changes from CD to CU at P

Points of inflection may occur at points where f''(x) = 0 or
f''(x) is undefined, where x is in the domain of f. We must test
concavity around these points to determine whether they are
points of inflection.
The graph to the right illustrates a curve with a point of

the
inflection.

The Second Derivative Test

Let f be a continuous function near c. If
a) f'(c) = 0 and f''(c) > 0, then f has a local minimum at c.
b) f'(c) = 0 and f''(c) < 0, then f has a local maximum at c.
The graphs containing local maximums and minimums in the "Increasing and
Decreasing Functions" and "The First Derivative Test" sections above illustrate the
second derivative test. When a graph has a local minimum, the function is concave
upward (and thus lies above the tangent lines) at the minimum. Similarly, the
function is concave downward at a local maximum.

Example:
PROBLEM 1: Do detailed graphing for f(x) = x3 - 3x2
SOLUTION 1 : The domain of f is all x-values. Now determine a sign chart for the first derivative, f' :
f'(x) = 3x2 - 6x
= 3x (x - 2)
=0
for x=0 and x=2 . See the adjoining sign chart for the first derivative, f' .

Now determine a sign chart for the second derivative, f'' :

f''(x) = 6x - 6
= 6 (x - 1)
=0
for x=1 . See the adjoining sign chart for the second derivative, f'' .

Now summarize the information from each sign chart.

FROM f' :
f is ( ) for x<0 and x>2 ;
f is (

) for 0<x<2 ;

f has a relative maximum at x=0 , y=0 ;

f has a relative minimum at x=2 , y=-4 .
FROM f'' :
f is (

) for x>1 ;

f is (

) for x<1 ;

f has an inflection point at x=1 , y=-2 .

OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT f :

If x=0 , then y=0 so that y=0 is the y-intercept. If y=0 , then x3-3x2=x2(x-3)=0 so
that x=0 and x=3 are the x-intercepts. There are no vertical or horizontal
asymptotes since f is a polynomial. See the adjoining detailed graph of f .

Asymptotes
Before continuing with asymptotes, it is recommended that you review the vertical
asymptote and infinite limits section of the limits tutorial at the link below.
Vertical Asymptotes and Infinite Limits

In order to properly sketch a curve, we need to determine how the curve behaves
as x approaches positive and negative infinity. We must find the limit of the function
as x approaches infinity.
For a function f defined on (a, ),
means that the values of f(x) approach the value L when x is taken to be sufficiently
large.
For a function f defined on (-, a),
means that the values of f(x) approach the value L when x is taken to be sufficiently
large, negatively.
The line y = L is called a horizontal asymptote of y = f(x) if either,
In order to find the horizontal asymptotes of a function, we use the following
theorem. If n is a positive number, then

If n is a positive, rational number such that xn is defined for all x, then

Functions do not always approach a value as x approaches positive or negative

infinity. Often there is no horizontal asymptote and the functions have infinite limits
at infinity. For example, the function f(x) = x2 approaches infinity when x is taken to
be sufficiently large, positively or negatively.

Slant Asymptotes
Some curves may have an asymptote that is neither
vertical nor horizontal. These curves approach a line
as x approaches positive or negative infinity. This line is
called the slant asymptote of the function. The graph to
right illustrates the concept of slant asymptotes.
If

the

then
the
function f(x) has a slant asymptote of y = mx + b.
Rational functions will have a slant asymptote when the
degree of the
numerator is one more than the degree of the denominator. To find the equation of
the slant asymptote, we divide the numerator by the denominator using long
division. The quotient will be the equation of the slant asymptote. The remainder is
the quantity f(x) - (mx + b). We must show that the remainder approaches 0,
as x approaches positive or negative infinity. The example below will give you a
better idea of how to find the slant asymptote of a function.

Example:

Solution:

Since the polynomial in the numerator is a higher degree (2 nd) than the
denominator (1st), we know we have a slant asymptote. To find it, we must divide
the numerator by the denominator. We can use long
division to do that:
Notice that we don't need to finish the long division
problem to find the remainder. We only need the terms
that will make up the equation of the line. The slant
asymptote
is
y = x - 11.

As you can see in this graph of the function, the curve approaches the slant
asymptote y = x - 11 but never crosses it:

Refferences:
https://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/CalcOneDIRECTORY/graphingdirectory/Graph
ing.html
http://www.softschools.com/math/calculus/finding_slant_asymptotes_of_rational_fun
ctions/
http://calculus.nipissingu.ca/tutorials/curves.html