L4 Concavity and Points of Inflection - Part 4
Completion requirements
Unit 3
Curve Sketching
Lesson 4: Concavity and Points of Inflection
To determine if a curve is concave up or concave down, follow these rules.
Rules:
Rules:
- If «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», the curve is concave up.
- If «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mstyle»«/math», the curve is concave down.
- If «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mstyle»«/math», there is an inflection point.
Determine where the curve «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»3«/mn»«/msup»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math»
is concave up and where it is concave down. Also, find the coordinates of the inflection point.
Find the first and second derivatives.
The curve is concave up when «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
The curve is concave up on the interval «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mo»§#8734;«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
The curve is concave down when «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»`«/mo»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»`«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mstyle»«/math».
The curve is concave down on the interval «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mo»§#8734;«/mo»«mo»,«/mo»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
Substitute «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» in the original function to find the «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨
xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»y«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math»-coordinate of the inflection point.
The inflection point is at «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
The graph of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»3«/mn»«/msup»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» is shown.
For «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», the graph is concave down, and for «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», the graph is concave up. Recall the first derivative can be used to find the local extrema and the intervals of increase and decrease.
«math xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mtable columnalign=¨right center left¨»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»f«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»3«/mn»«/msup»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»`«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»3«/mn»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»2«/mn»«/msup»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»-«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»6«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«/mtr»«/mtable»«/math»
The curve is concave up when «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
«math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mtable columnalign=¨right center left¨»«mtr»«mtd»«mn»6«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»0«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»0«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«/mtable»«/mstyle»«/math»
The curve is concave up on the interval «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mo»§#8734;«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
The curve is concave down when «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»`«/mo»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»`«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mstyle»«/math».
«math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mtable columnalign=¨right center left¨»«mtr»«mtd»«mn»6«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»0«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»0«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«/mtable»«/mstyle»«/math»
The curve is concave down on the interval «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mo»§#8734;«/mo»«mo»,«/mo»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
The inflection point occurs where «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mo mathvariant=¨italic¨»``«/mo»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
«math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mtable columnalign=¨right center left¨»«mtr»«mtd»«mn»6«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»0«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»x«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»0«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«/mtable»«/mstyle»«/math»
| Note the function changes concavity at «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», where the function is continuous. |
«math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mtable columnalign=¨right center left¨»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»f«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»3«/mn»«/msup»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd»«mi»f«/mi»«mi
mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mtd»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«msup»«mfenced»«mn»0«/mn»«/mfenced»«mn»3«/mn»«/msup»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«mfenced»«mn»0«/mn»«/mfenced»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«mtr»«mtd/»«mtd»«mo»=«/mo»«/mtd»«mtd»«mn»1«/mn»«/mtd»«/mtr»«/mtable»«/mstyle»«/math»
The inflection point is at «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mn»0«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»,«/mi»«mo»§#160;«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math».
The graph of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»f«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»(«/mi»«mi»x«/mi»«mi mathvariant=¨normal¨»)«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«msup»«mi»x«/mi»«mn»3«/mn»«/msup»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mn»12«/mn»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»+«/mo»«mn»1«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» is shown.
For «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»§#60;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», the graph is concave down, and for «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»§#62;«/mo»«mn»0«/mn»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», the graph is concave up. Recall the first derivative can be used to find the local extrema and the intervals of increase and decrease.