Maxima and Minima of

Functions

CRITICAL POINTS - DEFINITION

Critical point of a differentiable function is/are values in its domain where its derivative is zero or undefined.

STATIONARY POINTS - DEFINITION

Stationary points:- A point x0 at which the derivative of a function f(x) vanishes,

′
f (x0 ) = 0
A stationary point may be a maximum, minimum, or inflection point.

POINT OF INFLECTION - DEFINITION

An inflection point is a point on a curve at which the sign of the curvature (i.e., the concavity) changes. Inflection points
may be stationary points, but are not local or local minima. For example, for the curve y = x3 plotted above, the point x = 0
is an inflection point.
′′
The second derivative test is also useful. A necessary condition for x to be an inflection point is f (x) = 0. A
′′ ′′
sufficient condition requires f (x + ϵ) and f (x − ϵ) to have opposite signs in the neighbourhood of x.

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ABSOLUTE /GLOBAL MAXIMA /MINIMA - DEFINITION
The maximum value of the function in the given domain (including the boundary points) is known as absolute maximum.

MAXIMA POINT OF A FUNCTTION - DEFINITION

Let f(x) be a real valued function defined on an interval I .Then, f(x) is said to have the maximum value in the interval I ,if
there exists a point a in I such that f(x) ≤ f(a) for all x ∈ I .The number f(a) is called the maxima or the maximum value of
f(x) in the interval I and the point a is called a point of maxima of f in the interval I .

LOCAL MAXIMUM/MINIMUM - DEFINITION

The minimum value of the function in the given domain (including boundary points) is known as minimum value of the
function.

MINIMUM POINT OF A FUNCTION - DEFINITION

Let f(x) be a real valued function defined on an interval I . Then f(x) is said to have the minimum value in interval I , if
there exists a point a ∈ I such that f(x) ≥ f(a) for all x ∈ I .The number f(a) is called the minima or minimum value of
f(x) in the interval I and the point a is called a point of minima of f in the interval I
POINT OF INFLEXION - DEFINITION

An Inflection Point is where a curve changes from Concave upward to Concave downward (or vice versa)

EXTREME POINT OF A FUNCTION - DEFINITION

Necessary conditions for a point to be extremum
′
f (x) = 0 and
′′
f (x) 
=0

MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES USING GRAPHS - DEFINITION

Q. f(x) = ∣x∣ is minimum at x

Sol: So f(x) is minimum at x = 0