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Stationary Points - Part 1

DIFFERENTIATION

Power Rule for Differentiation (../../Differentiation/power-rule-for-differentiation/power-rule-for-differentiation.html)

(Definition & How to Find Stationary Points)

Operations with Derivatives (../../Differentiation/operations-with-derivatives/operations-with-derivatives.html)

Tangents & Normals (../../Differentiation/tangents-and-normals/tangents-and-normals.html)

A stationary point, or critical point, is a point at which the curve's gradient equals to
zero. Consequently if a curve has equation y = f (x) then at a stationary point we'll always
Stationary (Critical) Points

have:
Second Derivative Test (../../Differentiation/second-derivative-test/second-derivative-test.html)

f ′ (x) = 0
Point of Inflection (../../Differentiation/point-of-inflection/point-of-inflection.html)

whichRule
Product can also be written:
(../../Differentiation/product-rule/product-rule-differentiation.html)

dy
=0
Quotient Rule (../../Differentiation/quotient-rule-for-differentiation/quotient-rule-for-differentiation.html)
dx
Chain Rule (../../Differentiation/chain-rule-for-differentiation/chain-rule-for-differentiation.html)
In other words the derivative function equals to zero at a stationary point.
INTEGRATION

Different Types of Stationary Points

Power Rule for Integration (../../integration/power-rule-integration/power-rule-integration.html)

There
Area arebythree
Enclosed a Curvetypes of stationary
and the horizontal points:
x-axis (../../integration/area-enclosed-by-curve/area-enclosed-by-curve.html)

local
Area Enclosed (or global)
Between Two Curvesmaximum points
(../../integration/area-enclosed-two-curves/area-enclosed-by-two-curves.html)

local (or global) minimum points

Integration by Substitution - Part 1: U Substitution (../../integration/integration-by-substitution/integration-by-substitution-part-
1.html) horizontal (increasing or decreasing) points of inflexion.

It is worth pointing out that maximum and minimum points are often called turning points.
Integration by Substitution - Part 2: Radicals (../../integration/integration-by-substitution/integration-by-substitution-radical-
expressions.html)

Turning Points
t = tan(x) substitution for integration (../../integration/integration-by-substitution/tanx-substitution.html)
 A turning
Integration point
by Parts is a stationary point, which is either:
(../../integration/integration-by-parts/integration-by-parts.html)

a local (or global) minimum

a local (or global) maximum

each of which are illustared in the graphs shown here, where the horizontal tangent is
shown in orange:

Horizontal Points of Inflection

A horizontal point of inflection is a stationary point, which is either:

a increasing horizontal point of inflection

a decreasing horizontal point of inflection

each of which are illustared in the graphs shown here, where the horizontal tangent is
shown in orange:
Method: finding stationary points
Given a function f (x) and its curve y = f (x) , to find any stationary point(s) we follow
three steps:

Step 1: find f ′ (x)

Step 2: solve the equation f ′ (x) = 0 , this will give us the x -coordinate(s) of any
stationary point(s).
Step 3 (if needed/asked): calculate the y-coordinate(s) of the stationary point(s) by
plugging the x values found in step 2 into f (x) .

Tutorial 1: How to Find Stationary Points

In the following tutorial we illustrate how to use our three-step method to find the
coordinates of any stationary points, by finding the stationary point(s) of the curves:

y = x 2 − 4x + 1 , and
y = 2x 3 + 3x 2 − 12x − 1

How to Find the Coordinates of Stationary Points, f’(x)=0, Along…

Example 1
Given the function defined by the equation:

y = x 2 − 4x + 5

find the coordinates of any stationary point(s).

See Detailed Solution

Example 2
Find the coordinates of any stationary point(s) of the function defined by:

y = 2x 3 + 3x 2 − 12x + 1

See Detailed Solution

Example 3
Given the function defined by:

y = x 3 − 6x 2 + 12x − 12

Find the coordinates of any stationary point(s) along this function's curve's length.

See Detailed Solution

 See Detailed Solution

Exercise 1
Find the coordinates of any stationary point(s) along the length of each of the following
curves:

1. y = x 2 − 2x − 8
2. y = −x 2 − 6x − 8
3. y = 2x 3 − 12x 2 − 30x − 10
4. y = −2x 3 + 3x 2 + 36x − 6
5. y = x 3 + 3x 2 + 3x − 2

Answers w/out Working

Note: this exercise can be downloaded as a worksheet to practice with:

worksheet (finding-stationary-points-worksheet-1.pdf)

Tutorial 2: How to Find Stationary Points

In the following tutorial we illustrate how to use our three-step method to find the
coordinates of any stationary points, by finding the stationary point(s) along the curve:

9
y=x+
x

How to Find a Function's Stationary Points, aka Critical Poi…

Example 4
Given the function defined by:

4
y=x+
x
find the coordinates of any stationary points along this curve's length.

See Detailed Solution

Exercise 2
Find the coordinates of any stationary point(s) along the length of each of the following
curves:
8
1. y = 2x + x
1
2. y = −x − x
27
3. y = 3x + x
72
4. y = −2x − x
25
5. y = x + x

Answers w/out Working

Note: this exercise can be downloaded as a worksheet to practice with:

worksheet (finding-stationary-points-worksheet-2.pdf)
!"!!

Written, Taught and Coded by:

John Radford [BEng(Hons), MSc, DIC]

Experienced IB & IGCSE Mathematics Teacher
IB Examiner