MATHEMATICS FOR ENGINEERING

TUTORIAL 4 MAX AND MIN THEORY

This tutorial is essential pre-requisite material for anyone studying
mechanical engineering. This tutorial uses the principle of learning by
example. The approach is practical rather than purely mathematical.


On completion of this tutorial you should be able to do the following.

Define a maximum and minimum point of a function.

Define a turning point.

Define a point of Inflection.

Use differential calculus to determine these points.

Use differential calculus to determine if a point is a maximum or
minimum.

Solve practical problems by applying the theory.


Students must be familiar with basic differentiation and algebra including
the solution of quadratic equations.
D.J.Dunn 1
MAXIMA AND MINIMA

1. INTRODUCTION

There are many engineering problems where a value peaks or dips. For example the
power of an engine under constant throttle conditions peaks at a certain speed.
Another example is a cylindrical canister to contain a certain volume. The amount of
material needed can be minimised by choosing the correct diameter and length.

This tutorial is about finding the critical values that make a function reach a maximum
or minimum value and differential calculus is the way to do it.

2. MAXIMUM POINT

Consider the function y = 10x 2x
2

Plotting y against x from x = 0 to x = 5 gives the following graph.

Figure 1

From the graph we can clearly see that there is a peak at point A and that this is the
maximum value of y.

The question is, what is the value of x and y at this maximum point?

At point A the gradient is horizontal and hence zero so if we equate dy/dx to zero we
can find the point. Here is the method.

y = 10x 2x
2
dy/dx = 10 4x Equate to zero 10 4x = 0 4x = 10

x = 10/4 = 2.5 and hence y = 10 x 2.5 2 x 2.5
2
= 25 12.5 = 12.5

This result is confirmed by the graph.

D.J.Dunn 2


WORKED EXAMPLE No.1

What is the largest area of a rectangular field that can be enclosed by a fence with
a perimeter of 200 m?

SOLUTION

Let the rectangle be x m long and y m wide.

The area enclosed is A = x y.. (1)
The perimeter is 2x + 2y = 200 m . (2)

We must eliminate one variable, say y, from equation (1) by substitution from
equation 2.

2y = 200 - 2x y = 100 x ... (3)

Substitute (3) into (1) A = x (100 x) = 100x x
2

Plotting A against x reveals that the maximum area is 2500 m
2
when x = 50 m.


Figure 2
Prove this by differentiation.

2x 100
dx
dA
x 100x A
2
=
=

For a max or min dA/dx = 0 hence 100 2x = 0 100 = 2x

x = 100/2 = 50 m A=100x x
2
A = 100.50 50
2
= 5000 2500 = 2500 mm
2

D.J.Dunn 3

3. MINIMUM POINT

Consider the function y = x
2
- 4x

Plotting y against x from x = 0 to x = 4 gives the following graph.

Figure 3

From the graph we can clearly see that there is a minimum value of y at B. The
question is, what is the value of x and y at this minimum point?

At point B the gradient is horizontal and hence zero. If we equate dy/dx to zero we
can find the point.

dy/dx = 2x 4

Equate to zero 2x 4 = 0 4 = 2x x = 4/2 =2

Substitute x = 2 into the function to find the value of y.

y = x
2
- 4x = 2
2
8 = -4

This result is confirmed by the graph.

D.J.Dunn 4


SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.1


1. Determine the maximum area and the lengths of the sides of a rectangle that can
be enclosed by a rectangular perimeter of 8 m length.

2. The velocity of a missile is related to time by the equation v = t
2
4t. Calculate
the time at which the velocity is a minimum and determine this minimum.

3. The current in a device is related to time by the equation i = 4t
2
8t. Find the time
at which the current the minimum and determine this minimum.

4. Find the value of u that makes q a maximum when they are related by the
equation q = 10u 5u
2
+ 2. Find this maximum value of q.


D.J.Dunn 5
4. TURNING POINTS and POINTS of INFLECTION

Consider the function y = x
3
5x
2
+5x + 2. The graph for x = 0 to x = 4 is shown
below.

Figure 4

At point A the graph changes from up to down and at B it changes from down to up.
They look like a maximum and minimum point but strictly speaking they are not as
the value of y exceeds this value later on (and is smaller for negative values of y).
Such points are called turning points and they may be found in the same way as a max
or min point. Examining the graph we see the turning points occur at about x = 0.6
and 2.7 but we need to use calculus to find them precisely.

The important thing to note is that at A and B the gradient of the graph is
horizontal so the value of dy/dx must be zero.

This enables us to find the value of x and y at these points. Here is how to do it.
5 10x 3x
dx
dy
2 5x 5x x y
2 2 3
+ = + + =
At the turning points dy/dx is zero so equate to zero as follows.
5 10x 3x 0 5 10x 3x
dx
dy
2 2
+ = + =
This is a quadratic equation and we must solve it to find the two values of x.

QUADRATIC EQUATION

2a
4ac b b
x
0 c bx ax
2
2

=
= + +

In this case a = 3, b = -10 and c = 5 so solving we get

6
40 10
6
60 100 10
2.3
4.3.5 10) ( 10) (
x
2a
4ac b b
x
2
2

=

=

=

=

D.J.Dunn 6

There are two possible solutions because all positive numbers have a positive and a
negative square root.

40 = 6.324
0.613
6
3.676
6
6.324 10
or x 2.721
6
16.324
6
6.324 10
x
6
6.324 10
6
40 10
x
= =

= = =
+
=

=


Hence the turning points occur at x =2.721 and 0.613. The graph tells us which is A
and B.

Note that without the graph you could not be sure which is the maximum and which a
minimum. We need further studies to find out how to do this.

POINT OF INFLECTION

A point of inflection is where the tangent at a point crosses the graph and it can be
shown that at these points the second derivative is zero.
For the equation y = x
3
5x
2
+5x + 2 plotted on figure 4, there is such a point at C.
This may be determined from the second derivative.
1.667 10/6 0 10 6x
dx
y d
2
2
= = = = x
An important point about this is that you can have a point of inflection where the
gradient is zero and so they could be confused with a maximum or minimum point.



SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.2

1. Find the values of x where the maximum and minimum occur for the following
function. Also find the point(s) of inflection.

y = x
3
- 6x
2
+ 9x + 10

Sketch the graph and determine which is the maximum and which the minimum
points.

(Answers x = 1 gives a max and x = 3 is a min and x = 2 is a point of inflection)

2. Find the values of x where y is a maximum or minimum for the following
function. Also find the point(s) of inflection.

y = x
3
- 5x
2
- 8x

(Answers x = 4 gives a min and x = -0.667 is a max x = 1.6667 is a point of
inflection)


D.J.Dunn 7


WORKED EXAMPLE No.2

A cylindrical vessel is to be made from thin metal plate to contain 15 litres (0.015
m
3
) of liquid. Find the dimensions of the cylinder that make the surface area a
minimum including the two ends.

SOLUTION

We need to set up two equations, one for the volume and one for the surface area.

Volume = A L = D
2
L/4

0.015 = D
2
L/4 .. (1)

Surface Area = A = wall + 2 ends (see diagram)

Figure 5

A = DL +2 D
2
/4 = DL +D
2
/2. (2)

Now we decide whether to first find L or D by max or min theory. Let us decide
to find D.

......(4) ..........
2
D
0.06D A
2
D
D
0.06
x D A (2) into this Substitute
.....(3) ..........
D
0.06
D
4 x 0.015
L D of in terms L find (1) From
2
1 -
2
2
2 2
+ =
+ =
= =

For a minimum area the differential coefficient dA/dD = 0. Differentiate with
respect to D

D.J.Dunn 8


0.2673m (0.01909) D D 0.01909
D

0.06
D
D
0.06
D 0.06D
D 0.06D 0 zero to Equate D 0.06D
dD
dA
3
1
3
3
2
2
2 2
= = =
= = =
+ = + =

We are not sure that this value gives a minimum value of Area without plotting
the graph but assuming it is we can now find the value of L from (3). L = 0.267
m (i.e. equal to the diameter. Now we can find the area from (2) or (4).
A = 0.3367 m
2

D.J.Dunn 9


SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.3

1. A rectangular trough is to be made from a sheet of metal 5 m long and 4 m wide
by cutting a square of side x m from each corner and turning up the ends and
sides. Show that the volume is given by V = 4x
3
- 18x
2
+ 20x.

Find the value of x that makes the volume a maximum. (Answer 0.736 m)


2. The power transmitted by a pulley belt system is given by the following equation.

) e )(1 Av (Fv P
2
=

P is the power
v is the velocity of the belt.
is the density of the belt material = 1200 kg/m
3
A is the cross sectional area of the belt A = 800 x 10
-6
m
2
F is the maximum force in the belt F = 500 N
is the coefficient of friction = 0.3
is the angle of contact = 1.2 radian

Determine the velocity that makes the power a maximum and calculate this
power. (Answers v = 260.4 m/s and P = 19.7 kW)



3. The power developed by a Pelton Wheel water turbine is given by the following
equation.

) kcos u)(1 mu(v P =

P is the power
m is the mass flow rate m = 40 kg/s
u is the velocity of the buckets
v is the velocity of the water jet v = 20 m/s
k is the blade friction coefficient k = 0.98
is the angle of deflection = 165
o

Determine the velocity of the bucket that will make the power a maximum and
calculate the maximum power. (Answers 20 m/s and 31.1 kW)


D.J.Dunn 10
5. DETERMINING IF A POINT IS A MAXIMA OR MINIMA

Consider the equation V = 4x
3
- 18x
2
+ 20x from question 1 previous. The equation is
plotted below (in red) and as predicted the maximum point occurs at x = 0.736.

Differentiating the equation we 20 36x 12x
dx
dV
2
+ =

This equation represents the gradient of the graph at any point x. If we plot this as
well (in blue), we can see that as expected, the gradient
dx
dV
is zero at the max and min
points.

Figure 6

If we differentiate a second time we shall get an equation representing the gradient of
the new graph, i.e. the gradient of the gradient. When we do this we write it as
follows.
36 24x
dx
V d
2
2
=

Plotting this graph (in green) produces a straight line and reveals that where the
original function was a maximum, the value of
2
2
dx
V d
is negative and where it is a
minimum, the value is positive. This is always the case and so we can determine if a
point is a maximum or minimum by evaluating
2
2
dx
V d
at that point.
D.J.Dunn 11

WORKED EXAMPLE No.3

Find the turning points of the following function and determine which is the
maximum and which the minimum. y = 2x
3
20x
2
+ 4x

SOLUTION


0.102 or 565 . 6
12
38.781 40
x
12
1504 40
(2)(6)
(4)(6)(4) (-40) 40
2a
4ac b b -
x
4 c -40 b 6 a equation quadratic the using Solve
0 4 40x 6x zero to Equate
4 40x 6x
dx
dy
once ate Differenti
2 2
2
2
=

=

=

=
= = =
= +
+ =


maximum. a be must point the negative, is this Since
78 . 38
dx
y d
and 0.102 with x Evaluate
minimum. a be must 6.565 point x the positive is this Since
78 . 38
dx
y d
and 6.565 when x Evaluate
40 - 12x
dx
y d
again. ate Differenti
2
2
2
2
2
2
= =
=
= =
=


The graphs of the functions show these answers are correct.

Figure 7

D.J.Dunn 12




SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.4

Find the turning points of the following functions and determine which is the
maximum and which is the minimum point.

1. y = 2x
3
12x
2
+ 10x

(Answers 3.528 Min and 0.472 max)

2. p = 4q
3
20q
2
+ q +10

(Answers 3.308 Min and 0.025 max)








D.J.Dunn 13