Calculus Examples

$f (x) = x^{4} - 6 x^{2}$

Step 1

Find the first derivative.

Tap for more steps...

Step 1.1

Find the first derivative.

Tap for more steps...

Step 1.1.1

Differentiate.

Tap for more steps...

Step 1.1.1.1

By the Sum Rule, the derivative of $x^{4} - 6 x^{2}$ with respect to $x$ is $\frac{d}{d x} [x^{4}] + \frac{d}{d x} [- 6 x^{2}]$ .

$f' (x) = \frac{d}{d x} (x^{4}) + \frac{d}{d x} (- 6 x^{2})$

Step 1.1.1.2

Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that $\frac{d}{d x} [x^{n}]$ is $n x^{n - 1}$ where $n = 4$ .

$f' (x) = 4 x^{3} + \frac{d}{d x} (- 6 x^{2})$

Step 1.1.2

Evaluate $\frac{d}{d x} [- 6 x^{2}]$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 1.1.2.1

Since $- 6$ is constant with respect to $x$ , the derivative of $- 6 x^{2}$ with respect to $x$ is $- 6 \frac{d}{d x} [x^{2}]$ .

$f' (x) = 4 x^{3} - 6 \frac{d}{d x} x^{2}$

Step 1.1.2.2

Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that $\frac{d}{d x} [x^{n}]$ is $n x^{n - 1}$ where $n = 2$ .

$f' (x) = 4 x^{3} - 6 (2 x)$

Step 1.1.2.3

Multiply $2$ by $- 6$ .

$f' (x) = 4 x^{3} - 12 x$

Step 1.2

The first derivative of $f (x)$ with respect to $x$ is $4 x^{3} - 12 x$ .

$4 x^{3} - 12 x$

Step 2

Set the first derivative equal to $0$ then solve the equation $4 x^{3} - 12 x = 0$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.1

Set the first derivative equal to $0$ .

$4 x^{3} - 12 x = 0$

Step 2.2

Factor $4 x$ out of $4 x^{3} - 12 x$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.2.1

Factor $4 x$ out of $4 x^{3}$ .

$4 x (x^{2}) - 12 x = 0$

Step 2.2.2

Factor $4 x$ out of $- 12 x$ .

$4 x (x^{2}) + 4 x (- 3) = 0$

Step 2.2.3

Factor $4 x$ out of $4 x (x^{2}) + 4 x (- 3)$ .

$4 x (x^{2} - 3) = 0$

Step 2.3

If any individual factor on the left side of the equation is equal to $0$ , the entire expression will be equal to $0$ .

$x = 0$

$x^{2} - 3 = 0$

Step 2.4

Set $x$ equal to $0$ .

$x = 0$

Step 2.5

Set $x^{2} - 3$ equal to $0$ and solve for $x$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.5.1

Set $x^{2} - 3$ equal to $0$ .

$x^{2} - 3 = 0$

Step 2.5.2

Solve $x^{2} - 3 = 0$ for $x$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.5.2.1

Add $3$ to both sides of the equation.

$x^{2} = 3$

Step 2.5.2.2

Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.

$x = \pm \sqrt{3}$

Step 2.5.2.3

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.5.2.3.1

First, use the positive value of the $\pm$ to find the first solution.

$x = \sqrt{3}$

Step 2.5.2.3.2

Next, use the negative value of the $\pm$ to find the second solution.

$x = - \sqrt{3}$

Step 2.5.2.3.3

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

$x = \sqrt{3}, - \sqrt{3}$

Step 2.6

The final solution is all the values that make $4 x (x^{2} - 3) = 0$ true.

$x = 0, \sqrt{3}, - \sqrt{3}$

Step 3

The values which make the derivative equal to $0$ are $0, \sqrt{3}, - \sqrt{3}$ .

$0, \sqrt{3}, - \sqrt{3}$

Step 4

Split $(- \infty, \infty)$ into separate intervals around the $x$ values that make the derivative $0$ or undefined.

$(- \infty, - \sqrt{3}) \cup (- \sqrt{3}, 0) \cup (0, \sqrt{3}) \cup (\sqrt{3}, \infty)$

Step 5

Substitute a value from the interval $(- \infty, - \sqrt{3})$ into the derivative to determine if the function is increasing or decreasing.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.1

Replace the variable $x$ with $- 2.7320508$ in the expression.

$f' (- 2.7320508) = 4 {(- 2.7320508)}^{3} - 12 \cdot - 2.7320508$

Step 5.2

Simplify the result.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.2.1

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.2.1.1

Raise $- 2.7320508$ to the power of $3$ .

$f' (- 2.7320508) = 4 \cdot - 20.39230467 - 12 \cdot - 2.7320508$

Step 5.2.1.2

Multiply $4$ by $- 20.39230467$ .

$f' (- 2.7320508) = - 81.5692187 - 12 \cdot - 2.7320508$

Step 5.2.1.3

Multiply $- 12$ by $- 2.7320508$ .

$f' (- 2.7320508) = - 81.5692187 + 32.7846096$

Step 5.2.2

Add $- 81.5692187$ and $32.7846096$ .

$f' (- 2.7320508) = - 48.7846091$

Step 5.2.3

The final answer is $- 48.7846091$ .

$- 48.7846091$

Step 5.3

At $x = - 2.7320508$ the derivative is $- 48.7846091$ . Since this is negative, the function is decreasing on $(- \infty, - \sqrt{3})$ .

Decreasing on $(- \infty, - \sqrt{3})$ since $f' (x) < 0$

Step 6

Substitute a value from the interval $(- 1.7320508, 0)$ into the derivative to determine if the function is increasing or decreasing.

Tap for more steps...

Step 6.1

Replace the variable $x$ with $- 0.8660254$ in the expression.

$f' (- 0.8660254) = 4 {(- 0.8660254)}^{3} - 12 \cdot - 0.8660254$

Step 6.2

Simplify the result.

Tap for more steps...

Step 6.2.1

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 6.2.1.1

Raise $- 0.8660254$ to the power of $3$ .

$f' (- 0.8660254) = 4 \cdot - 0.64951904 - 12 \cdot - 0.8660254$

Step 6.2.1.2

Multiply $4$ by $- 0.64951904$ .

$f' (- 0.8660254) = - 2.59807617 - 12 \cdot - 0.8660254$

Step 6.2.1.3

Multiply $- 12$ by $- 0.8660254$ .

$f' (- 0.8660254) = - 2.59807617 + 10.3923048$

Step 6.2.2

Add $- 2.59807617$ and $10.3923048$ .

$f' (- 0.8660254) = 7.79422862$

Step 6.2.3

The final answer is $7.79422862$ .

$7.79422862$

Step 6.3

At $x = - 0.8660254$ the derivative is $7.79422862$ . Since this is positive, the function is increasing on $(- 1.7320508, 0)$ .

Increasing on $(- \sqrt{3}, 0)$ since $f' (x) > 0$

Step 7

Substitute a value from the interval $(0, \sqrt{3})$ into the derivative to determine if the function is increasing or decreasing.

Tap for more steps...

Step 7.1

Replace the variable $x$ with $0.8660254$ in the expression.

$f' (0.8660254) = 4 {(0.8660254)}^{3} - 12 \cdot 0.8660254$

Step 7.2

Simplify the result.

Tap for more steps...

Step 7.2.1

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 7.2.1.1

Raise $0.8660254$ to the power of $3$ .

$f' (0.8660254) = 4 \cdot 0.64951904 - 12 \cdot 0.8660254$

Step 7.2.1.2

Multiply $4$ by $0.64951904$ .

$f' (0.8660254) = 2.59807617 - 12 \cdot 0.8660254$

Step 7.2.1.3

Multiply $- 12$ by $0.8660254$ .

$f' (0.8660254) = 2.59807617 - 10.3923048$

Step 7.2.2

Subtract $10.3923048$ from $2.59807617$ .

$f' (0.8660254) = - 7.79422862$

Step 7.2.3

The final answer is $- 7.79422862$ .

$- 7.79422862$

Step 7.3

At $x = 0.8660254$ the derivative is $- 7.79422862$ . Since this is negative, the function is decreasing on $(0, \sqrt{3})$ .

Decreasing on $(0, \sqrt{3})$ since $f' (x) < 0$

Step 8

Substitute a value from the interval $(\sqrt{3}, \infty)$ into the derivative to determine if the function is increasing or decreasing.

Tap for more steps...

Step 8.1

Replace the variable $x$ with $2.7320508$ in the expression.

$f' (2.7320508) = 4 {(2.7320508)}^{3} - 12 \cdot 2.7320508$

Step 8.2

Simplify the result.

Tap for more steps...

Step 8.2.1

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 8.2.1.1

Raise $2.7320508$ to the power of $3$ .

$f' (2.7320508) = 4 \cdot 20.39230467 - 12 \cdot 2.7320508$

Step 8.2.1.2

Multiply $4$ by $20.39230467$ .

$f' (2.7320508) = 81.5692187 - 12 \cdot 2.7320508$

Step 8.2.1.3

Multiply $- 12$ by $2.7320508$ .

$f' (2.7320508) = 81.5692187 - 32.7846096$

Step 8.2.2

Subtract $32.7846096$ from $81.5692187$ .

$f' (2.7320508) = 48.7846091$

Step 8.2.3

The final answer is $48.7846091$ .

$48.7846091$

Step 8.3

At $x = 2.7320508$ the derivative is $48.7846091$ . Since this is positive, the function is increasing on $(\sqrt{3}, \infty)$ .

Increasing on $(\sqrt{3}, \infty)$ since $f' (x) > 0$

Step 9

List the intervals on which the function is increasing and decreasing.

Increasing on: $(- \sqrt{3}, 0), (\sqrt{3}, \infty)$

Decreasing on: $(- \infty, - \sqrt{3}), (0, \sqrt{3})$

Step 10