Calculus Examples

Find the Maximum/Minimum Value (x^2)/(x^2+3)
Step 1
Find the first derivative of the function.
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Step 1.1
Differentiate using the Quotient Rule which states that is where and .
Step 1.2
Differentiate.
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Step 1.2.1
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.2
Move to the left of .
Step 1.2.3
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.4
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.5
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.6
Simplify the expression.
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Step 1.2.6.1
Add and .
Step 1.2.6.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.4
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.5
Add and .
Step 1.6
Simplify.
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Step 1.6.1
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.6.2
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.6.3
Simplify the numerator.
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Step 1.6.3.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 1.6.3.1.1
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.6.3.1.1.1
Move .
Step 1.6.3.1.1.2
Multiply by .
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Step 1.6.3.1.1.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.6.3.1.1.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.6.3.1.1.3
Add and .
Step 1.6.3.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.6.3.2
Combine the opposite terms in .
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Step 1.6.3.2.1
Subtract from .
Step 1.6.3.2.2
Add and .
Step 2
Find the second derivative of the function.
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Step 2.1
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 2.2
Differentiate using the Quotient Rule which states that is where and .
Step 2.3
Differentiate using the Power Rule.
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Step 2.3.1
Multiply the exponents in .
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Step 2.3.1.1
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 2.3.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 2.3.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 2.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 2.4
Differentiate using the chain rule, which states that is where and .
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Step 2.4.1
To apply the Chain Rule, set as .
Step 2.4.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 2.4.3
Replace all occurrences of with .
Step 2.5
Simplify with factoring out.
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Step 2.5.1
Multiply by .
Step 2.5.2
Factor out of .
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Step 2.5.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.5.2.2
Factor out of .
Step 2.5.2.3
Factor out of .
Step 2.6
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 2.6.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.6.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 2.6.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 2.7
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 2.8
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 2.9
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 2.10
Simplify the expression.
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Step 2.10.1
Add and .
Step 2.10.2
Multiply by .
Step 2.11
Raise to the power of .
Step 2.12
Raise to the power of .
Step 2.13
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 2.14
Add and .
Step 2.15
Subtract from .
Step 2.16
Combine and .
Step 2.17
Simplify.
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Step 2.17.1
Apply the distributive property.
Step 2.17.2
Simplify each term.
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Step 2.17.2.1
Multiply by .
Step 2.17.2.2
Multiply by .
Step 3
To find the local maximum and minimum values of the function, set the derivative equal to and solve.
Step 4
Find the first derivative.
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Step 4.1
Find the first derivative.
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Step 4.1.1
Differentiate using the Quotient Rule which states that is where and .
Step 4.1.2
Differentiate.
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Step 4.1.2.1
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 4.1.2.2
Move to the left of .
Step 4.1.2.3
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 4.1.2.4
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 4.1.2.5
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 4.1.2.6
Simplify the expression.
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Step 4.1.2.6.1
Add and .
Step 4.1.2.6.2
Multiply by .
Step 4.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 4.1.4
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 4.1.5
Add and .
Step 4.1.6
Simplify.
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Step 4.1.6.1
Apply the distributive property.
Step 4.1.6.2
Apply the distributive property.
Step 4.1.6.3
Simplify the numerator.
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Step 4.1.6.3.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 4.1.6.3.1.1
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 4.1.6.3.1.1.1
Move .
Step 4.1.6.3.1.1.2
Multiply by .
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Step 4.1.6.3.1.1.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 4.1.6.3.1.1.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 4.1.6.3.1.1.3
Add and .
Step 4.1.6.3.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 4.1.6.3.2
Combine the opposite terms in .
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Step 4.1.6.3.2.1
Subtract from .
Step 4.1.6.3.2.2
Add and .
Step 4.2
The first derivative of with respect to is .
Step 5
Set the first derivative equal to then solve the equation .
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Step 5.1
Set the first derivative equal to .
Step 5.2
Set the numerator equal to zero.
Step 5.3
Divide each term in by and simplify.
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Step 5.3.1
Divide each term in by .
Step 5.3.2
Simplify the left side.
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Step 5.3.2.1
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 5.3.2.1.1
Cancel the common factor.
Step 5.3.2.1.2
Divide by .
Step 5.3.3
Simplify the right side.
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Step 5.3.3.1
Divide by .
Step 6
Find the values where the derivative is undefined.
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Step 6.1
The domain of the expression is all real numbers except where the expression is undefined. In this case, there is no real number that makes the expression undefined.
Step 7
Critical points to evaluate.
Step 8
Evaluate the second derivative at . If the second derivative is positive, then this is a local minimum. If it is negative, then this is a local maximum.
Step 9
Evaluate the second derivative.
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Step 9.1
Simplify the numerator.
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Step 9.1.1
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 9.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 9.1.3
Add and .
Step 9.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 9.2.1
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 9.2.2
Add and .
Step 9.2.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 9.3
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 9.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 9.3.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 9.3.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 9.3.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 9.3.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 10
is a local minimum because the value of the second derivative is positive. This is referred to as the second derivative test.
is a local minimum
Step 11
Find the y-value when .
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Step 11.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 11.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 11.2.1
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 11.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 11.2.2.1
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 11.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 11.2.3
Divide by .
Step 11.2.4
The final answer is .
Step 12
These are the local extrema for .
is a local minima
Step 13