
Derivative, Maximum, Minimum of Quadratic Functions
Differentiation is used to analyze the properties such as intervals of increase, decrease, local maximum, local minimum of quadratic functions.
We shall consider two forms of the quadratic functions. A - Quadratic Function in General form
Quadratic functions in their general form are written as
where a, b and c are real numbers such that a not equal to zero. The first derivative of f is given by f ' (x) = 2 a x + b Let us analyze the sign of f' and hence determine any maximum or minimum point and the intervals of increase and decrease. f '(x) is positive if 2 a x + b > 0 add -b to both sides of the inequality to obtain 2 a x > -b We now need to consider two cases and continue solving the inequality above. case 1: coefficient a > 0We divide both sides of the inequality by 2 a and obtainx > - b / 2a We now use a table to analyze the sign of f ' and whether f is increasing over a given interval. ![]() The quadratic function with a > 0 has a minimum point at (-b/2a , f(-b/2a)) and the function is decreasing on the interval (-infinity , -b / 2a) and increasing over the interval (-b / 2a , + infinity). case 2: coefficient a < 0We divide both sides of the inequality by 2 a but because a is less than 0, we need to change the symbol of inequalityx < - b / 2a We now analyze the sign of f ' using the table below ![]() The quadratic function with a < 0 has a maximum point at (-b/2a , f(-b/2a)) and the function is increasing on the interval (-infinity , -b / 2a) and decreasing over the interval (-b / 2a , + infinity).
B - Quadratic Function in Vertex formQuadratic functions in their vertex form are written aswhere a, h and k are real numbers with a not equal to zero. The first derivative of f is given by f '(x) = 2 a (x - h) We analyze the sign of f' using a table. f '(x) is positive if a (x - h) > 0 We need to consider two cases again and continue solving the inequality above. case 1: coefficient a > 0We divide both sides of the inequality by a and solve the inequalityx > h The table below is used to analyze the sign of f '. ![]() The quadratic function with a > 0 has a minimum at the point (h , k) and it is decreasing on the interval (-infinity , h) and increasing over the interval (h , + infinity). case 2: coefficient a < 0We divide both sides of the inequality by a but we need to change the symbol of inequality because a is less than 0.x < h We analyze the sign of f ' using the table below ![]() The quadratic function with a < 0 has a maximum point at (h , k) and the function is increasing on the interval (-infinity , h) and decreasing over the interval (h , + infinity).
Example 1Find the extremum (minimum or maximum) of the quadratic function f given bySolution to Example 1
Example 2Find the extremum (minimum or maximum) of the quadratic function f given bySolution to Example 2
Exercises on Properties of Quadratic FunctionsFor each quadratic function below find the extremum (minimum or maximum), the interval of increase and the interval of decrease.a) f(x) = x 2 + 6 x b) f(x) = -x 2 - 2 x + 3 c) f(x) = x 2 - 5 d) f(x) = -(x - 4) 2 + 2 e) f(x) = -x 2
Answers to Above Exercisesa) minimum at (-3 , -9)decreasing on (-infinity , -3) increasing on (-3 , + infinity) b) maximum at (-1 , 4) increasing on (-infinity , -1) decreasing on (-1 , + infinity) c) minimum at (0 , -5) decreasing on (-infinity , 0) increasing on (0 , + infinity) d) maximum at (-4 , 2) increasing on (-infinity , -4) decreasing on (-4 , + infinity) e) maximum at (0 , 0) increasing on (-infinity , 0) decreasing on (0 , + infinity) More on applications of differentiationapplications of differentiation |