Calculus Examples

Find the Inflection Points f(x)=-2/5x^6+5x^4
Step 1
Find the second derivative.
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Step 1.1
Find the first derivative.
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Step 1.1.1
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.1.2
Evaluate .
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Step 1.1.2.1
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.1.2.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.1.2.3
Multiply by .
Step 1.1.2.4
Combine and .
Step 1.1.2.5
Multiply by .
Step 1.1.2.6
Combine and .
Step 1.1.2.7
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 1.1.3
Evaluate .
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Step 1.1.3.1
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.1.3.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.1.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 1.2
Find the second derivative.
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Step 1.2.1
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.2
Evaluate .
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Step 1.2.2.1
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.2.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.2.3
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.2.4
Combine and .
Step 1.2.2.5
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.2.6
Combine and .
Step 1.2.2.7
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 1.2.2.7.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.2.7.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 1.2.2.7.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.2.7.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 1.2.2.7.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 1.2.2.7.2.4
Divide by .
Step 1.2.3
Evaluate .
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Step 1.2.3.1
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.3.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 1.3
The second derivative of with respect to is .
Step 2
Set the second derivative equal to then solve the equation .
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Step 2.1
Set the second derivative equal to .
Step 2.2
Factor the left side of the equation.
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Step 2.2.1
Rewrite as .
Step 2.2.2
Let . Substitute for all occurrences of .
Step 2.2.3
Factor out of .
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Step 2.2.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.2.3.2
Factor out of .
Step 2.2.3.3
Factor out of .
Step 2.2.4
Replace all occurrences of with .
Step 2.3
If any individual factor on the left side of the equation is equal to , the entire expression will be equal to .
Step 2.4
Set equal to and solve for .
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Step 2.4.1
Set equal to .
Step 2.4.2
Solve for .
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Step 2.4.2.1
Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.
Step 2.4.2.2
Simplify .
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Step 2.4.2.2.1
Rewrite as .
Step 2.4.2.2.2
Pull terms out from under the radical, assuming positive real numbers.
Step 2.4.2.2.3
Plus or minus is .
Step 2.5
Set equal to and solve for .
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Step 2.5.1
Set equal to .
Step 2.5.2
Solve for .
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Step 2.5.2.1
Subtract from both sides of the equation.
Step 2.5.2.2
Divide each term in by and simplify.
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Step 2.5.2.2.1
Divide each term in by .
Step 2.5.2.2.2
Simplify the left side.
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Step 2.5.2.2.2.1
Dividing two negative values results in a positive value.
Step 2.5.2.2.2.2
Divide by .
Step 2.5.2.2.3
Simplify the right side.
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Step 2.5.2.2.3.1
Divide by .
Step 2.5.2.3
Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.
Step 2.5.2.4
The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.
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Step 2.5.2.4.1
First, use the positive value of the to find the first solution.
Step 2.5.2.4.2
Next, use the negative value of the to find the second solution.
Step 2.5.2.4.3
The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.
Step 2.6
The final solution is all the values that make true.
Step 3
Find the points where the second derivative is .
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Step 3.1
Substitute in to find the value of .
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Step 3.1.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.1.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.1.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.1.2.1.1
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 3.1.2.1.2
Multiply .
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Step 3.1.2.1.2.1
Multiply by .
Step 3.1.2.1.2.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.1.2.1.3
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 3.1.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.1.2.2
Add and .
Step 3.1.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 3.2
The point found by substituting in is . This point can be an inflection point.
Step 3.3
Substitute in to find the value of .
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Step 3.3.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.3.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.3.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.3.2.1.1
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.3.2.1.1.1
Use to rewrite as .
Step 3.3.2.1.1.2
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 3.3.2.1.1.3
Combine and .
Step 3.3.2.1.1.4
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.3.2.1.1.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.1.1.4.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.3.2.1.1.4.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.1.1.4.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.3.2.1.1.4.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.3.2.1.1.4.2.4
Divide by .
Step 3.3.2.1.2
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 3.3.2.1.2.1
Move the leading negative in into the numerator.
Step 3.3.2.1.2.2
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.1.2.3
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.3.2.1.2.4
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.3.2.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.3.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.3.2.1.5
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.3.2.1.5.1
Use to rewrite as .
Step 3.3.2.1.5.2
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 3.3.2.1.5.3
Combine and .
Step 3.3.2.1.5.4
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.3.2.1.5.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.1.5.4.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.3.2.1.5.4.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.1.5.4.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.3.2.1.5.4.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.3.2.1.5.4.2.4
Divide by .
Step 3.3.2.1.6
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 3.3.2.1.6.1
Multiply by .
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Step 3.3.2.1.6.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.3.2.1.6.1.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 3.3.2.1.6.2
Add and .
Step 3.3.2.1.7
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.3.2.2
Add and .
Step 3.3.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 3.4
The point found by substituting in is . This point can be an inflection point.
Step 3.5
Substitute in to find the value of .
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Step 3.5.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.5.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.5.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.5.2.1.1
Apply the product rule to .
Step 3.5.2.1.2
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 3.5.2.1.2.1
Move .
Step 3.5.2.1.2.2
Multiply by .
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Step 3.5.2.1.2.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.2.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 3.5.2.1.2.3
Add and .
Step 3.5.2.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.4
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.5.2.1.4.1
Use to rewrite as .
Step 3.5.2.1.4.2
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 3.5.2.1.4.3
Combine and .
Step 3.5.2.1.4.4
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.5.2.1.4.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.1.4.4.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.5.2.1.4.4.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.1.4.4.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.5.2.1.4.4.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.5.2.1.4.4.2.4
Divide by .
Step 3.5.2.1.5
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 3.5.2.1.5.1
Move the leading negative in into the numerator.
Step 3.5.2.1.5.2
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.1.5.3
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.5.2.1.5.4
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.5.2.1.6
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.7
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.2.1.8
Apply the product rule to .
Step 3.5.2.1.9
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.10
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.2.1.11
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.5.2.1.11.1
Use to rewrite as .
Step 3.5.2.1.11.2
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 3.5.2.1.11.3
Combine and .
Step 3.5.2.1.11.4
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.5.2.1.11.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.1.11.4.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.5.2.1.11.4.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.1.11.4.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.5.2.1.11.4.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.5.2.1.11.4.2.4
Divide by .
Step 3.5.2.1.12
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 3.5.2.1.12.1
Multiply by .
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Step 3.5.2.1.12.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.12.1.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 3.5.2.1.12.2
Add and .
Step 3.5.2.1.13
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.2
Add and .
Step 3.5.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 3.6
The point found by substituting in is . This point can be an inflection point.
Step 3.7
Determine the points that could be inflection points.
Step 4
Split into intervals around the points that could potentially be inflection points.
Step 5
Substitute a value from the interval into the second derivative to determine if it is increasing or decreasing.
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Step 5.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 5.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 5.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 5.2.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 5.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 5.2.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 5.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 5.2.2
Add and .
Step 5.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 5.3
At , the second derivative is . Since this is negative, the second derivative is decreasing on the interval
Decreasing on since
Decreasing on since
Step 6
Substitute a value from the interval into the second derivative to determine if it is increasing or decreasing.
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Step 6.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 6.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 6.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 6.2.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 6.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 6.2.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 6.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 6.2.2
Add and .
Step 6.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 6.3
At , the second derivative is . Since this is positive, the second derivative is increasing on the interval .
Increasing on since
Increasing on since
Step 7
Substitute a value from the interval into the second derivative to determine if it is increasing or decreasing.
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Step 7.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 7.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 7.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 7.2.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 7.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 7.2.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 7.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 7.2.2
Add and .
Step 7.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 7.3
At , the second derivative is . Since this is positive, the second derivative is increasing on the interval .
Increasing on since
Increasing on since
Step 8
Substitute a value from the interval into the second derivative to determine if it is increasing or decreasing.
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Step 8.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 8.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 8.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 8.2.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 8.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 8.2.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 8.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 8.2.2
Add and .
Step 8.2.3
The final answer is .
Step 8.3
At , the second derivative is . Since this is negative, the second derivative is decreasing on the interval
Decreasing on since
Decreasing on since
Step 9
An inflection point is a point on a curve at which the concavity changes sign from plus to minus or from minus to plus. The inflection points in this case are .
Step 10