Calculus Examples

Find the Inflection Points f(x)=(x^3)/(x^2+5)
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
Differentiate using the Quotient Rule which states that is where and .
Step 1.1.2
Differentiate.
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Step 1.1.2.1
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.1.2.2
Move to the left of .
Step 1.1.2.3
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.1.2.4
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.1.2.5
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.1.2.6
Simplify the expression.
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Step 1.1.2.6.1
Add and .
Step 1.1.2.6.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.1.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.1.4
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.1.5
Add and .
Step 1.1.6
Simplify.
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Step 1.1.6.1
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.1.6.2
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.1.6.3
Simplify the numerator.
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Step 1.1.6.3.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 1.1.6.3.1.1
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.1.6.3.1.1.1
Move .
Step 1.1.6.3.1.1.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.1.6.3.1.1.3
Add and .
Step 1.1.6.3.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.1.6.3.2
Subtract from .
Step 1.1.6.4
Factor out of .
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Step 1.1.6.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.1.6.4.2
Factor out of .
Step 1.1.6.4.3
Factor out of .
Step 1.2
Find the second derivative.
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Step 1.2.1
Differentiate using the Quotient Rule which states that is where and .
Step 1.2.2
Multiply the exponents in .
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Step 1.2.2.1
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 1.2.2.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.3
Differentiate using the Product Rule which states that is where and .
Step 1.2.4
Differentiate.
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Step 1.2.4.1
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.4.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.4.3
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.4.4
Add and .
Step 1.2.5
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.2.5.1
Move .
Step 1.2.5.2
Multiply by .
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Step 1.2.5.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.2.5.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.2.5.3
Add and .
Step 1.2.6
Differentiate using the Power Rule.
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Step 1.2.6.1
Move to the left of .
Step 1.2.6.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.6.3
Move to the left of .
Step 1.2.7
Differentiate using the chain rule, which states that is where and .
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Step 1.2.7.1
To apply the Chain Rule, set as .
Step 1.2.7.2
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.7.3
Replace all occurrences of with .
Step 1.2.8
Simplify with factoring out.
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Step 1.2.8.1
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.8.2
Factor out of .
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Step 1.2.8.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.8.2.2
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.8.2.3
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.9
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 1.2.9.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.9.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 1.2.9.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 1.2.10
By the Sum Rule, the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.11
Differentiate using the Power Rule which states that is where .
Step 1.2.12
Since is constant with respect to , the derivative of with respect to is .
Step 1.2.13
Simplify the expression.
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Step 1.2.13.1
Add and .
Step 1.2.13.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.14
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.2.15
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.2.16
Add and .
Step 1.2.17
Simplify.
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Step 1.2.17.1
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.2.17.2
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.2.17.3
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.2.17.4
Simplify the numerator.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.1
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.1.1
Move .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.1.2
Multiply by .
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.1.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.1.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.1.3
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.2
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.3
Expand using the FOIL Method.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.3.1
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.3.2
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.3.3
Apply the distributive property.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4
Simplify and combine like terms.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.1
Rewrite using the commutative property of multiplication.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.2
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.2.1
Move .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.2.3
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.3
Rewrite using the commutative property of multiplication.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.4
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.4.1
Move .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.4.2
Multiply by .
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.4.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.4.2.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.4.3
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.5
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.1.6
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.4.2
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.5
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 1.2.17.4.1.5.1
Move .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.5.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 1.2.17.4.1.5.3
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.1.6
Multiply by .
Step 1.2.17.4.2
Combine the opposite terms in .
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Step 1.2.17.4.2.1
Subtract from .
Step 1.2.17.4.2.2
Add and .
Step 1.2.17.4.3
Subtract from .
Step 1.2.17.5
Factor out of .
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Step 1.2.17.5.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.17.5.2
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.17.5.3
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.17.6
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.17.7
Rewrite as .
Step 1.2.17.8
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.17.9
Rewrite as .
Step 1.2.17.10
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
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
Set the numerator equal to zero.
Step 2.3
Solve the equation for .
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Step 2.3.1
If any individual factor on the left side of the equation is equal to , the entire expression will be equal to .
Step 2.3.2
Set equal to .
Step 2.3.3
Set equal to and solve for .
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Step 2.3.3.1
Set equal to .
Step 2.3.3.2
Solve for .
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Step 2.3.3.2.1
Add to both sides of the equation.
Step 2.3.3.2.2
Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.
Step 2.3.3.2.3
The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.
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Step 2.3.3.2.3.1
First, use the positive value of the to find the first solution.
Step 2.3.3.2.3.2
Next, use the negative value of the to find the second solution.
Step 2.3.3.2.3.3
The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.
Step 2.3.4
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
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 3.1.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 3.1.2.2.1
Raising to any positive power yields .
Step 3.1.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 3.1.2.3
Divide by .
Step 3.1.2.4
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 the numerator.
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Step 3.3.2.1.1
Rewrite as .
Step 3.3.2.1.2
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.3.2.1.3
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.3.2.1.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.1.3.2
Rewrite as .
Step 3.3.2.1.4
Pull terms out from under the radical.
Step 3.3.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 3.3.2.2.1
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.3.2.2.1.1
Use to rewrite as .
Step 3.3.2.2.1.2
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 3.3.2.2.1.3
Combine and .
Step 3.3.2.2.1.4
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 3.3.2.2.1.4.1
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.3.2.2.1.4.2
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.3.2.2.1.5
Evaluate the exponent.
Step 3.3.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 3.3.2.3
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.3.2.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.3.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.3.2.3.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.3.2.3.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.3.2.3.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.3.2.4
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 the numerator.
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Step 3.5.2.1.1
Apply the product rule to .
Step 3.5.2.1.2
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.3
Rewrite as .
Step 3.5.2.1.4
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.1.5
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.5.2.1.5.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.1.5.2
Rewrite as .
Step 3.5.2.1.6
Pull terms out from under the radical.
Step 3.5.2.1.7
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 3.5.2.2.1
Apply the product rule to .
Step 3.5.2.2.2
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.2.2.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.2.2.4
Rewrite as .
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Step 3.5.2.2.4.1
Use to rewrite as .
Step 3.5.2.2.4.2
Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, .
Step 3.5.2.2.4.3
Combine and .
Step 3.5.2.2.4.4
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 3.5.2.2.4.4.1
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.5.2.2.4.4.2
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.5.2.2.4.5
Evaluate the exponent.
Step 3.5.2.2.5
Add and .
Step 3.5.2.3
Reduce the expression by cancelling the common factors.
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Step 3.5.2.3.1
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.5.2.3.1.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.3.1.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.5.2.3.1.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.2.3.1.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.5.2.3.1.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.5.2.3.2
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 3.5.2.4
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 the numerator.
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Step 5.2.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 5.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 5.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 5.2.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 5.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 5.2.2.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 5.2.3
Simplify the expression.
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Step 5.2.3.1
Divide by .
Step 5.2.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 5.2.4
The final answer is .
Step 5.3
At , the second derivative is . Since this is positive, the second derivative is increasing on the interval .
Increasing on since
Increasing on since
Step 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 the numerator.
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Step 6.2.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 6.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 6.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 6.2.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 6.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 6.2.2.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 6.2.3
Simplify the expression.
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Step 6.2.3.1
Divide by .
Step 6.2.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 6.2.4
The final answer is .
Step 6.3
At , the second derivative is . Since this is negative, the second derivative is decreasing on the interval
Decreasing on since
Decreasing on since
Step 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 the numerator.
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Step 7.2.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 7.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 7.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 7.2.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 7.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 7.2.2.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 7.2.3
Simplify the expression.
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Step 7.2.3.1
Divide by .
Step 7.2.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 7.2.4
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 the numerator.
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Step 8.2.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 8.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 8.2.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 8.2.2.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 8.2.2.2
Add and .
Step 8.2.2.3
Raise to the power of .
Step 8.2.3
Simplify the expression.
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Step 8.2.3.1
Divide by .
Step 8.2.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 8.2.4
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