How do I find the turning points of a curve?

At turning points, the gradient is 0. Differentiating an equation gives the gradient at a certain point with a given value of x. To find turning points, find values of x where the derivative is 0.Example:y=x2-5x+6dy/dx=2x-52x-5=0x=5/2Thus, there is on turning point when x=5/2. To find y, substitute the x value into the original formula. y=(5/2)2-5x(5/2)+6y=99/4Thus, turning point at (5/2,99/4).Additional pointsOnce turning point is identified, you can work out if it is a maximum or minimum by finding d2y/dx2. d2y/dx2<0 - maximumd2y/dx2.>0 - minimumThus for our example aboved2y/dx2=2 - minimum

SG

Related Maths A Level answers

All answers ▸

Curve C has equation y=(9+11x)/(3-x-2x^2). Find the area of the curve between the interval (0, 1/2). State your answer in exact terms.


Find where the curve 2x^2 + xy + y^2 = 14 has stationary points


Simplify fully: (5 +√7)/ (2+√7)


Find the equation of the tangent to the curve y=x^3-4x^2+2 at the point (3,-7)