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Understanding Increasing & Decreasing Functions

The document explains the concepts of increasing and decreasing functions, defining them based on the sign of the first derivative. It outlines the steps to identify increasing and decreasing intervals through critical points and sign tables, using an example function for illustration. Additionally, it highlights the relevance of these concepts in real-life scenarios and their importance in calculus.

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29 views2 pages

Understanding Increasing & Decreasing Functions

The document explains the concepts of increasing and decreasing functions, defining them based on the sign of the first derivative. It outlines the steps to identify increasing and decreasing intervals through critical points and sign tables, using an example function for illustration. Additionally, it highlights the relevance of these concepts in real-life scenarios and their importance in calculus.

Uploaded by

vajid371ak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Everything About Increasing & Decreasing Functions

1 What Does "Increasing" and "Decreasing" Mean?


1️⃣
A function f(x) is:

✔ Increasing if as x increases, f(x) also increases.

✔ Decreasing if as x increases, f(x) decreases.

Mathematically:

- f(x) is increasing on an interval if f'(x) > 0 (derivative is positive).

- f(x) is decreasing on an interval if f'(x) < 0 (derivative is negative).

2️⃣How to Identify Increasing & Decreasing Intervals?


✔ Step 1: Take the First Derivative f'(x).

✔ Step 2: Find Critical Points (where f'(x) = 0 or f'(x) is undefined).

✔ Step 3: Make a Sign Table to check where f'(x) is positive (increasing) or negative
(decreasing).

🔹 Example:

Let’s take f(x) = x³ - 3x² + 1

1 Take derivative: f'(x) = 3x² - 6x


1️⃣

2️⃣Find critical points: Solve 3x² - 6x = 0

Factor: 3x(x - 2) = 0 → x = 0 and x = 2 are critical points.

3️⃣Make a sign table to determine increasing and decreasing intervals.

Graphical
3️⃣ Interpretation
- If f'(x) > 0, the graph is going up (like climbing a hill ).

- If f'(x) < 0, the graph is going down (like descending ).

- Where f'(x) = 0, you might have a peak (max) or valley (min).

4️⃣Increasing & Decreasing in Real Life


✔ Stock Market 📈 – Prices increase/decrease over time.

✔ Roller Coasters 🎢 – Going up (increasing), going down (decreasing).


✔ Temperature Change 🌡️– Morning to afternoon (increasing), night (decreasing).

💖 Why This is Important?


✔ Helps us understand real-world trends (finance, physics, AI).

✔ Is the foundation for maxima & minima (next topic).

✔ Makes us super confident in calculus! 😘

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