Calculus 1

Section 2.4

Derivative Tests, Extrema, and Concavity

The Relationship Between Derivatives and a Functions Graph

If a function is increasing at a point, then the slope of the line tangent to the functions curve
at that point is positive. Thus, if f (x) is increasing at x = a, we know f 0 (a) > 0. Similarly, if f (x) is
decreasing at x = a, we know f 0 (a) < 0. This can be useful given a graph of f 0 (x), because we know
that when the graph is above the x-axis, f (x) is increasing and while the graph is below the x-axis,
f (x) is decreasing.

If f 0 (a) = 0, what does that say about the graph of f (x) at x = a? It means the graph of f (x) is
flat at x = a, and this could have a variety of meanings. For example, the point at which f (x) stops
increasing and starts decreasing (or vice versa) must be a relative minimum (or maximum). Thus, if
f (x) has a relative maximum or minimum at x = a, we know f 0 (a) = 0. However, the converse isnt
true. Consider f (x) = x3 . Notice that f 0 (x) = 3x2 and so f 0 (0) = 0. However, f (x) is increasing to
the left and right of x = 0, and there is no relative extrema (maxima or minima) at x = 0. This fact
will be useful when we are trying to find the extreme points of f (x) over an interval, as discussed later
in this section.

The value of f 00 (x) also has an effect on the graph of f (x). Notice that when f 00 (a) > 0, f 0 (x) is
increasing at x = a. This means that the graph of f (x) is concave up, or opening up. If f 00 (a) < 0,
f 0 (x) would be decreasing at x = a and so the graph of f (x) would be concave down, or opening down.
Thus, f 00 (x) determines the concavity of f (x), or whether f (x) is concave up or concave down. When
f (x) changes concavity and is continuous at x = a, f 00 (a) = 0 and x = a is an inflection point of f (x).

For a visualization of these concepts, observe the graph of f (x) on the next page.

1
 f(x)

Tangent line is horizontal and f(x)=0

at relative maximum

Graph opens
Graph opens down and is
up and is concave down
concave up
x

f(x)<0 when f(x) decreases

f(x)>0 when f(x) increases

Concavity changes at an inflection point

2
The First Derivative Test and Extrema

We can find the relative and absolute extrema of a function along an interval using the first
derivative of f (x). A relative maximum or minimum of f (x) exists at x = a when the points in a
small interval around x = a are all less than or greater than f (a), respectively. An absolute maximum
or minimum of f (x) along some interval is the absolute largest or smallest value of f (x), respectively,
along that interval. These extrema can only exist at a critical point of the function.

f (x) has a critical point at x = a if f 0 (a) = 0 or if f 0 (a) is undefined (does not exist), such as at
the boundary of the interval. Note that a critical point will not necessarily be an extreme point of f (x).
Thus, it is necessary to test all of the critical points and some values in between the critical points
to find if the critical points are indeed extreme values. Notice that f (x) must be always increasing
or decreasing in between critical values, since to change would require f 0 (x) = 0 which would bring
another critical value. Then, picking any value in between two adjacent critical values will tell you if
the function increases or decreases in that region.

For example, let us consider the function f (x) = x3 23 x2 18x + 4 over the interval [5, 5].
Then f 0 (x) = 3x2 3x 18. We can evaluate f 0 (x) over every value in the interval except x = 5,
because the limit and thus derivative of f (x) at these points are not defined from both sides. This
means the critical points of f (x) occur at x = 5 and when f 0 (x) = 3x2 3x 18 = 0. We can factor
this quadratic to get f 0 (x) = (3x + 6)(x 3) = 0, and so f 0 (x) = 0 when x = {2, 3}. So, all critical
values for f (x) occur at x = {5, 2, 3, 5}. We then must plug these values into f (x) along with at
least one value in between each pair of adjacent critical values. The table below summarizes the results.

x f (x)
5 68.5
3 17.5
2 26
0 4
3 36.5
4 28
5 1.5
From this table we know the absolute minimum occurs at x = 5 and the absolute maximum
occurs at x = 2. We also know that f (x) must be constantly increasing from x = 5 to x = 2 since
f (5) < f (3) < f (2). Using the same logic, we know f (x) is decreasing from x = 2 to x = 3 and
increasing from x = 3 to x = 5 so there is also a relative maximum at x = 3.

This can also be done using the rules that follow, sometimes called the first derivative test. If
x = a is a critical point of f (x) around which f (x) is continuous, then:
1. If f 0 (x) < 0 to the close left of x = a and f 0 (x) > 0 to close right of x = a, x = a is a relative
(and maybe extreme) minimum.
2. If f 0 (x) > 0 to the close left of x = a and f 0 (x) < 0 to close right of x = a, x = a is a relative
(and maybe extreme) maximum.
3. Otherwise, there is no extrema at x = a.

3
The Second Derivative Test and Concavity

The second derivative test can also find extreme points of a function, and the second derivative
is used to determine the concavity of a function.

Consider a function f (x). If f 00 (a) < 0, then f 0 (x) is decreasing at x = a and f (x) is concave
down at x = a. If f 00 (a) > 0, then f 0 (x) is increasing at x = a and f (x) is concave up at x = a.
The second derivative test is as follow. If x = a is a critical point of f (x) around which f (x) is
continuous, then:

1. If f 00 (a) < 0, x = a is a relative (and maybe extreme) maximum.

2. If f 00 (a) > 0, x = a is a relative (and maybe extreme) minimum.
3. If f 00 (a) = 0, x = a may be an inflection point in addition to a maximum, minimum, or neither.
It is necessary to complete a first derivative test.

If the last condition is inconclusive, why even use a second derivative test? Well, it requires
only evaluating a function at one point rather than to the left and right of a point, as with the first
derivative test.

We can use the information about the derivatives of functions to sketch the graph of a function.
For example, if we know that f 0 (x) > 0 for an interval, we know the function is increasing over the
interval. If f (x) has a maximum at that point, then the graph starts to decrease to the right of that
point. Additionally, if f 00 (x) 6= 0, we know the function is concave up or down, depending on the exact
value, at some point or on an interval.

4
Examples

Here are a few examples to test the concepts provided in this section. Answers can be found on
the following pages.

1. Find the relative extrema of f (x) = 32 x4 8x3 12x2 + 96x 10 using the first derivative test.

2. Use the second derivative test to confirm the answers from question 1.

3. Sketch a graph of f (x) from question 1 using f 0 (x) and f 00 (x).

5
Solutions

These are the solutions to the questions on the previous page

1. f 0 (x) = 6x3 24x2 24x + 96, which factors to f 0 (x) = (2x2 8)(3x 12). Setting this to 0,
we have (2x2 8)(3x 12) = 0 so x = {2, 2, 4}. These are the critical values. Well test each
of them using the first derivative test.

(a) For 2, use x = 2.1 and x = 1.9 for left and right of the point. f 0 (2.1) = 15.006 < 0
and f 0 (1.9) = 13.806 > 0. Thus, there is a relative minimum at x = 2 and f (2) = 162
is that minimum.
(b) For 2, use x = 1.9 and x = 2.1 for left and right of the point. f 0 (1.9) = 4.914 > 0 and
f 0 (2.1) = 4.674 < 0. Thus, there is a relative maximum at x = 2 and f (2) = 94 is that
maximum.
(c) For 4, use x = 3.9 and x = 4.1 for left and right of the point. f 0 (3.9) = 6.726 < 0 and
f 0 (4.1) = 7.686 > 0. Thus, there is a relative minimum at x = 4 and f (4) = 54 is that
minimum.

2. We have the critical points from question 1, now well use the second derivative test. f 00 (x) =
18x2 48x 24. We plug each critical point into this expression to find the relative extrema.

(a) f 00 (2) = 144 > 0, so there is a relative minimum at x = 2 and f (2) = 162 is that
minimum.
(b) f 00 (2) = 48 < 0, so there is a relative maximum at x = 2 and f (2) = 94 is that maximum.
(c) f 00 (4) = 72 > 0, so there is a relative minimum at x = 4 and f (4) = 54 is that minimum.

3. To sketch, we create regions separated by the critical points. We know when f (x) is increasing
and decreasing from f 0 (x) evaluated to the left and right of each critical point, which was done
in question 1. Then, we can sketch the graph of f (x) in each interval depending on how the
function increases and decreases. This is done below.

6
 f(x)
f(x)>0 so f(x) increases

f(x)>0 so f(x) increases

f(x)<0 so f(x) decreases

f(x)<0 so f(x) decreases

x=-2 x=2 x=4