Relationship between the increasing and decreasing behavior of ƒ and the sign of ƒ' - AP Calculus AB

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Question

Determine the intervals on which the function is decreasing:

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Answer

To determine the intervals on which the function is decreasing, we must determine the intervals on which the function's first derivative is negative.

The first derivative of the function is equal to

and was found using the following rules:

,

Next, we must find the critical values, at which the first derivative is equal to zero:

(Note that the method of completing the square was shown for solving for the critical values. One could use the quadratic formula as well.)

Using the critical values, we now create intervals over which to evaluate the sign of the first derivative:

Notice how at the bounds of the intervals, the first derivative is neither positive nor negative.

Evaluating the sign simply by plugging in any value on the given interval into the first derivative function, we find that on the first interval, the first derivative is positive, on the second interval, the first derivative is negative. and on the third interval, the first derivative is positive. Thus, the interval on which the first derivative is negative is the interval where the function is decreasing, .

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