MAT 135 – Calculus

Activity for 4.3/4.5: How Derivatives Affect the Shape of a Graph

Guidelines for this activity: This activity, like the one for §4.1, is an extended group activity in which you will
learn some important terminology and concepts by working through illustrative examples and discovering them on
your own. The professor, again, will engage in very minimal amounts of lecturing (perhaps none at all). You will
work with your partner to complete the activities here on your own. Again, the professor will not answer any question
of the form “Is this right?” but will (1) answer questions intended to clarify instructions on the activity or with the
technology, (2) make sure all groups are progressing at a reasonable pace through the activity, and (3) help you ask
proactive questions of your own work if you get stuck. As we work, we will periodically stop and report our results,
draw out the main ideas being discovered, and ask questions.

1 How are the sign of f 0 and the direction of f connected?

1. Open up Winplot and put of the graph of y = x2 , whose graph is a standard parabola. Click the Derive
button to overlay the graph of y 0 onto this graph. By visual observation, answer these questions:
(a) On what interval is y (the original) increasing?
(b) On what interval is y 0 (the derivative) positive? Remember that a graph is “positive” when it lies
above the horizontal axis.
(c) On what interval is y (the original) decreasing?
(d) On what interval is y 0 (the derivative) negative? Remember that a graph is “negative” when it
lies below the horizontal axis.
2. Clear all your graphs, and repeat question 1 using the graph of y = 5x2 + 4x.
3. Repeat again using the graph of y = x4 − 4x3 .
4. Look back on your work. You should see a relationship between the sign (positive or negative) of the
derivative f 0 and the increasing/decreasing behavior of the original function f . Phrase this relationship
in a precise way by filling in the blanks below:
If f 0 > 0, then f is .
If f 0 < 0, then f is .

Discuss your work with your partner until you can both see clearly why the main result in question 4 works.
We will stop and debrief once everyone is done with this part.

2 How can f 0 be used to find local extrema?

We can use the discovery you just made about the connection between the sign of f 0 and the direction of f to
find the local extrema (= local minima and local maxima) of a function. We learned in an earlier class that
local extrema only happen at critical numbers (= points in the domain of the function where the derivative
is zero or undefined). But just because c is a critical number of f , it does not automatically mean f has a
local extremum at x = c; it might be a “shelf” point, like y = x3 + 1 has at x = 0. So to find local extrema
of a function, we have to (1) calculate the critical numbers of f , and then (2) classify those critical numbers.
We can do (2) more accurately now with your discovery from above:
1. Consider the function f (x) = 5 − 12x + 3x2 . This time, do NOT generate a graph of f .
(a) Calculate f 0 (x) using derivative rules. Then use algebra to find the critical number for f . (There
is only one of them this time.)

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 (b) Using algebra, determine where f 0 (x) – the derivative – is positive, and where it is negative.
Again, use algebra (or common sense) and NO GRAPHS.
(c) Using the results from the previous question (where you found where f 0 is positive and where f 0
is negative), give the interval on which f (the original) is increasing and the interval on which f
is decreasing.
(d) You should note that the intervals you found in the previous question change at the critical number
you found in the first question. Based on your response to the previous question, does f have a
local minimum at this critical number, a local maximum, or neither? Be ready to explain.
2. Now consider the function f (x) = x4 − 2x2 + 3.

(a) Calculate f 0 (x) and then use algebra to find the critical numbers for f . (This time, there are
three of them.)
(b) The critical numbers you found are the places where f 0 (x) is zero or undefined. Could there
possibly be any other places where the derivative is zero or undefined? Why not?
(c) Since the derivative f 0 is zero only at the three critical numbers you found, at all other points the
derivative must be either positive or negative. Is it possible for f 0 to change sign from positive to
negative, or from negative to positive, at some other point BESIDES the three critical numbers
you found? Why not? (This is a VERY important concept.)
(d) In the previous two questions, you determined that (1) f 0 (x) = 0 ONLY at the critical numbers,
and (2) the sign of f 0 changes ONLY at critical numbers and not midway between critical numbers.
Now we’ll use these facts to classify the three critical numbers. Note that the three critical numbers
— by now you know that they are x = −1, x = 0, and x = 1 — split the x-axis into four intervals:

x = -1 x=0 x=1

(-!, -1) (-1, 0) (0, 1) (1, !)

Choose any point you wish from the leftmost interval, (−∞, −1). Put this number into f 0 — the
derivative — and find the sign (positive or negative) of the result. Why will the derivative have
the same sign on this entire interval, no matter which point is chosen from the interval? What
does this tell you about the direction (increasing or decreasing) of f — the original — on the
interval (−∞, −1)?
(e) Repeat the previous question for each of the remaining three intervals created by the critical
numbers. That is: (1) choose a point from the interval, (2) put this number into f 0 , (3) record the
sign of f 0 , and (4) draw a conclusion about whether f is increasing or decreasing on that interval.
Use the table below to record your work. The first row is done for you as an example.
Interval Point chosen Sign of f 0 Direction of f
(−∞, −1) x = −2 Negative Decreasing
(−1, 0)
(0, 1)
(1, ∞)
(f) Use the information in the table above to classify each of the three critical numbers as either local
minima, local maxima, or neither.

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 (g) Use Winplot or a graphing calculator to graph f , the original. Is the graph increasing and
decreasing where the table above says it should be? Are the critical numbers in the right places
and correctly classified?
3. Consider the function f (x) = x4 − 4x3 . As you did in the previous question:

(a) Calculate f 0 (x) and find the critical numbers of f . (There should be two of them.)
(b) As in parts (d) and (e) above, determine the intervals created on the x-axis by the critical numbers
and use a chart (similar to that in (e)) to determine the sign of f 0 on each interval and then the
direction (increasing or decreasing) of f on each interval. (This time, there should be only three
intervals to check because there are only two critical numbers.)
(c) Then use the information from the chart to classify the critical numbers of f as local minima,
local maxima, or neither.
(d) Finally, graph f using Winplot to check your work.
4. Using the ideas above, fill in the blanks below to create a precise tool for determining where a function
has local extrema:

Suppose that c is a critical number of a continuous function f .

(i) If f 0 changes sign from positive to negative at c, then f has a local at c.
(ii) If f 0 changes sign from negative to positive at c, then f has a local at c.
(iii) If f 0 does not change sign at c, then f at c.

Discuss your work with your partner until you can both see clearly why the main result in the last question
works. We will stop and debrief once everyone is done with this part.

3 What are different ways a function can increase or decrease,

and what does f 00 say about it?
Now we’ll have a look at how derivatives can help us distinguish between different kinds of growth patterns.
1. Consider the two graphs below. These are both increasing functions, but they increase at different
rates. The one on the left is increasing at an increasing rate, and the one on the right is increasing at
a decreasing rate:

Increasing at an increasing rate Increasing at a decreasing rate

(a) Draw several tangent lines to the graph on the left (increasing at an increasing rate). What do
you notice about the position of these tangent lines relative to the graph? Is the graph on top of
the tangent lines, or vice versa?

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 (b) Draw several tangent lines to the graph on the right (increasing at an decreasing rate). What do
you notice about the position of these tangent lines relative to the graph? Is the graph on top of
the tangent lines, or vice versa?
2. Now consider these two graphs, which show two decreasing functions. Again, they are decreasing at
different rates. The graph on the left is decreasing, and its steepness is getting less negative as we
move to the right — so we should say it is decreasing at an increasing rate. The one on the right is
decreasing, and its steepness is getting more negative as we move to the right — so we should say it is
decreasing at a decreasing rate.

Decreasing at an increasing rate Decreasing at a decreasing rate

(a) Draw several tangent lines to the graph on the left (decreasing at an increasing rate). What do
you notice about the position of these tangent lines relative to the graph? Is the graph on top of
the tangent lines, or vice versa?
(b) Draw several tangent lines to the graph on the right (decreasing at an decreasing rate). What do
you notice about the position of these tangent lines relative to the graph? Is the graph on top of
the tangent lines, or vice versa?
3. Based on your observations, we will make the following definition:
If the graph of f lies above all of its tangent lines on an interval, then we say that f is
concave upward on that interval. If the graph of f lies below all of its tangent lines on an
interval, then we say that f is concave downward on that interval.
So, both graphs on the left above are graphs of concave upward functions. Both graphs on the right are
graphs of concave downward functions. Notice that concave upward functions can be either increasing
or decreasing; similarly for concave downward functions. Graphs can be concave upward on some
intervals and concave downward on others. On the graph below, identify all the intervals where it is
concave up. Then identify all the intervals where it is concave down.
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-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

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 4. We define an inflection point for a graph to be a point on the graph where the concavity changes
(from upward to downward or vice versa). Where are the inflection points on the graph in the previous
question? Note that these are very different from critical numbers.
5. The following is a test that will help us locate intervals of concavity for a function by means of its
second derivative. It is called the Concavity Test:

(i) If f 00 (x) > 0 for all x on an interval, then f is concave upward on that interval.
(ii) If f 00 (x) < 0 for all x on an interval, then f is concave downward on that interval.

In an upcoming Take-Home Assessment, you will examine why the Concavity Test works. For now,
let’s just assume it. Again, the Concavity Test links the sign of the second derivative to the concavity
of f in much the same way that the sign of the first derivative is linked to the direction of f .
Go back to the function f (x) = x4 − 2x2 + 3. You found the intervals of increase and decrease for this
function and found all its local extrema earlier in this activity. Now let’s use the Concavity Test to
find where it is concave upward and downward, and find its inflection points.
(a) Calculate f 00 (x) (the second derivative) and find where f 00 (x) = 0. You should find two points;
these split the x-axis into three intervals. On each interval, the second derivative cannot change
sign. Why not?
(b) Choose a point from each of the three intervals and evaluate into f 00 (x). Record the sign. Based on
the Concavity Test, tell whether the original function f is concave upward or concave downward
on the interval.
Interval Point chosen Sign of f 00 Concavity of f

(c) Use the chart above to state the location of the inflection points of f .
(d) Look at a computer-generated graph of f and see if the graph agrees with your calculations.

Discuss your work with your partner until you can both see clearly why the main results of this section
work. We will stop and debrief once everyone is done with this part.

4 How can f 00 be used to find local extrema?

1. By hand on paper, draw the graph of a function f that satisfies two conditions: f 0 (2) = 0, and f is
concave upward at x = 2. Try to draw 2–3 different functions that meet these conditions. What do
you notice about the function at x = 2 no matter how you draw it?
2. By hand on paper, draw the graph of a function f that satisfies two conditions: f 0 (4) = 0, and f is
concave downward at x = 4. Try to draw 2–3 different functions that meet these conditions. What do
you notice about the function at x = 4 no matter how you draw it?
3. Based on your drawings, fill in the blanks below to create a second tool for classifying critical numbers
as local minima, local maxima, or neither:
(i) If f 0 (c) = 0 and f 00 (c) > 0 (that is, f is concave upward at c), then f has a
at c.
(ii) If f 0 (c) = 0 and f 00 (c) < 0 (that is, f is concave downward at c), then f has a
at c.

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4. Use the result you just came up with to find the local extreme values of f (x) = 4x2 + on the interval
x
(0, ∞) by following these steps:
(a) Find f 0 (x) and get the critical number for f on (0, ∞). (There is just one.)
(b) Find f 00 (x) and plug the critical number into it, and record the sign of the result. (In fact, notice
that you do not even have to plug the critical number in — f 00 always has the same sign, and you
should be able to tell what that sign is just by looking at f 00 .)
(c) According to the result in the previous question, what kind of extreme value does f have at this
critical number? Check your result with a graph.
Discuss your work with your partner until you can both see clearly why the main results of this section
work. We will stop and debrief once everyone is done with this part.

5 Summarizing the main concepts

Having seen the major results of this section through your group work, write up answers to the following
questions and hand them in for your graded in-class work. Be brief, but also be as complete as possible.
1. How do you use derivatives to tell where a function is increasing or decreasing?
2. How do you use derivatives to classify the critical numbers of a function? Note: There are two answers
to this. Make sure you address both of them.
3. How do you use derivatives to determine where a function’s graph is concave upward and concave
downward?
4. How do you use derivatives to find the inflection points of the graph of a function?

6 Application: Making highly accurate sketches of graphs without

technology
Now it’s time to put all of this information together with other means of finding information about a
function’s graph. Our goal is to produce a highly accurate sketch of the graph of a function without using
any technology. This is important because (1) we do not always have technology to work with, (2) technology
can obscure or even fail to show important aspects of a function’s behavior, and (3) many times we want
more precision than a computer-generated graph can provide.
Your group will be given the formula for a function, f (x). Do the following for your function WITHOUT
USING WINPLOT or other graphing tools:
1. Find the domain of f .
2. Find the vertical and horizontal intercepts of f . Remember the vertical intercept is where x = 0, and
the horizontal intercepts are where f (x) = 0.
3. Find the horizontal and vertical asymptotes of f (if it has any). Remember that horizontal asymptotes
are found by looking at lim f (x) and lim f (x). Vertical asymptotes are found by looking for
x→−∞ x→∞
undefined points for the function and evaluating the limit of the function as x approaches those points.
4. Find the intervals of increase or decrease of f .
5. Find and classify the local extrema of f .
6. Find the intervals of concavity and the inflection points of f .
7. Sketch the curve so as to integrate all of the above information correctly.