9.7 Second-Order Differentiation, Turning Points, Maximum and Minimum Points

(A) Second-Order Differentiation

1. When a function y = x3 + x2 – 3x + 6 is differentiated with respect to x, the derivative  d y d x = 3 x 2 + 2 x 3

2. The second function   d y d x can be differentiated again with respect to x. This is called the second derivative of y with respect to and can be written as d 2 y d x 2 .

3. Take note that   d 2 y d x 2 ( d y d x ) 2 .

For example,
If y = 4x3 – 7x2 + 5x – 1,

The first derivative   d y d x = 12 x 2 14 x + 5

The second derivative    d 2 y d x 2 = 24 x 14

(B) Turning Points, Maximum and Minimum Points



(a) At Turning Points A and B,




(b) At Maximum Point A



(c) At Minimum Point B,