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Math 135 Business Calculus Spring 2009Class Notes
2.4 Using Derivatives to Find Absolute Maximum and Minimum Values
ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES
In many applications, we’re interested in finding the largest value, or
absolute maximum
, or the smallestvalue, or
absolute minimum
, of some quantity.
DEFINITION OF ABSOLUTE EXTREMA
Suppose that
f
is a function with domain
I
.
•
f
(
c
) is an
absolute minimum
if
f
(
c
)
≤
f
(
x
) for all
x
in
I
. So
f
(
c
) is the largest function valueover the domain of
f
.
•
f
(
c
) is an
absolute maximum
if
f
(
c
)
≥
f
(
x
) for all
x
in
I
. So
f
(
c
) is the smallest function valueover the domain of
f
.As illustrated in the following graph, the absolute maximum and absolute minimum of a functionmay occur at a relative extrema or at another point.
FINDING ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES OVER CLOSED INTERVALS
The function in the above graph has both an absolute maximum, at the right endpoint
b
, and anabsolute minimum, at a crticial value which is also a relative minimum. However, not every functionhas an absolute maximum and absolute minimum over its domain.
EXAMPLE
Let
f
(
x
) =12
−
x
on the domain (0
,
2). Does this function have an absolute maximumand/or an absolute minimum on its domain?
0 1 2 3
x
01234
y
57
58
Chapter 2
Applications of Di
ff
erentiation
One of the “problems” with the function in the preceding example is that its domain is an openinterval which does not include its endpoints. The following theorem tells us that for a continuousfunction whose domain is a closed interval, we’re guaranteed of having an absolute maximum and anabsolute minimum.
THEOREM 7 The Extreme-Value Theorem
A continuous function
f
defined over a closed interval [
a,b
] must have an absolute maximum valueand an absolute minimum value over [
a,b
].We need both hypotheses in the theorem—continuity and a closed interval—for the conclusion of the theorem to hold. If either of these does not hold, then the function may not have absolute extrema.For instance, the function
f
(
x
) =12
−
x
with domain (0
,
2) in the above example does not haveabsolute extrema. In this case, the function is continous but the domain (0
,
2) is not a closed inteval.The Extreme Value Theorem says that a continuous function on a closed interval has an absolutemaximum value and an absolute minimum value. However, it does not tell us how to find these extremevalues. In order to find the absolute extrema, we can use the following result.
THEOREM 8 Maximum-Minimum Principle 1
Suppose that
f
is a continuous function defined over a closed interval [
a,b
]. Then the absolutemaximum must occur either at a relative maximum or at an endpoint of the interval. The absoluteminimum must occur either at a relative minimum or at an endpoint.To find the absolute maximum and minimum values over [
a,b
]:
a)
First find
f
0
(
x
).
b)
Then determine all critical values in [
a,b
]. That is, find all
c
in [
a,b
] for which
f
0
(
c
) = 0 or
f
0
(
c
) does not exist.
c)
List the values from step (b) and the endpoints of the interval:
a,c
1
,c
2
,...,c
n
,b.
d)
Evaluate
f
(
x
) for each value in step (c):
f
(
a
)
,f
(
c
1
)
,f
(
c
2
)
,...,f
(
c
n
)
,f
(
b
)
.
The largest of these is the absolute maximum of
f
over [
a,b
]. The smallest of these is the absoluteminimum of
f
over [
a,b
].
EXAMPLE
Find the absolute maximum and minimum values of
f
(
x
) =
x
3
−
3
x
+2 over the interval[
−
2
,
32
].
2.4
Using Derivatives to Find Absolute Maximum and Minimum Values
59
FINDING ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES OVER OTHER INTERVALS
When a function has only one critical value, then the absolute maximum or absolute minimum willoccur at that critical value provided that it is a relative maximum or minimum. We can use theSecond-Derivative Test to determine whether the function has a relative maximum or minimum at thecrtical value. This works whether the domain is a closed interval or an open interval.
THEOREM 9 Maximum-Minimum Principle 2
Suppose that
f
is a function such that
f
0
(
x
) exists for every
x
in an interval
I
, and that there isexactly one (critical) value
c
in
I
, for which
f
0
(
c
) = 0. Then
•
f
(
c
) is the absolute maximum value over
I
if
f
00
(
c
)
<
0.
•
f
(
c
) is the absolute minimum value over
I
if
f
00
(
c
)
>
0.
EXAMPLE
Find the absolute maximum and absolute minimum values, if they exist, of the function
f
(
x
) = 5
x
−
2
x
2
.
Note that when no domain is specified, then it’s assumed to be (
−∞
,
∞
), the set of all real numbers.
–2 –1 1 2 3 4
x
–2 –11234
y
Combining the results of the preceding discussion, we can state the following general strategy for findingmaximum and minimum values.
A STRATEGY FOR FINDING ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES
To find absolute maximum and minimum values of a continuous function over an interval:
a)
Find
f
0
(
x
).
b)
Find the critical values.
c)
If the interval is closed, use Maximum-Minimum Principle 1.
d)
If the interval is not closed, such as (
−∞
,
∞
), (0
,
∞
), or (
a,b
), and the function has only onecritical value, use Maximum-Minimum Principle 2. In such a case, if the function has a maximum,it will have no minimum; and if it has a minimum, it will have no maximum. To show that afunction does not have an absolute maximum or an absolute minimum, look at the values of thefunction as
x
approaches the endpoints of the interval, or as
x
approaches
±
∞
.
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