THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
MATH1013 University Mathematics II
Tutorial 6
x2 + sin x
1. Find all vertical, horizontal and oblique asymptotes of the graph of f (x) = .
x
2. Define
⎧ 1 x
⎪ x2 sin +
⎪ if x ≠ 0,
f (x) = ⎨ x 2
⎪
⎩ 0
⎪ if x = 0.
(a) Prove that f is differentiable at 0 and f ′ (0) > 0.
(b) Prove that there is no open interval I containing 0 such that f is strictly increasing on I.
(c) Does the above result give a counterexample to proposition 4.6?
3. (Second derivative test) Let f be a twice differentiable function defined on some open interval
I, and let c ∈ I be a critical point of f . Suppose f ′′ (c) > 0.
(a) Show that f ′ (x) < 0 if x is slightly smaller than c, and f ′ (x) > 0 if x is slightly larger than
c.
(b) Show that c is a local minimum point of f .
(Similarly, if c is a critical point such that f ′′ (c) < 0, then c is a local maximum point.)
x−1
4. Let f (x) = .
x2
(a) Determine all x-intercepts and y-intercepts of the graph of f .
(b) Determine all intervals where f has a positive sign and all intervals where f has a negative
sign.
(c) Find all vertical, horizontal and oblique asymptotes of the graph of f .
(d) Determine all intervals where f is monotonic increasing and all intervals where f is mono-
tonic decreasing.
(e) Determine all local extremum points of f .
(f) Determine all intervals where f is convex and all intervals where f is concave.
(g) Determine all inflexion points of f .
(h) Sketch the graph of f .
1
Additional problems:
5. For each of the following functions, find all vertical, horizontal and oblique asymptotes of its
graph.
4x2
(a) f (x) =
x+1
(x2 − 1) ∣2x − 1∣
(b) g(x) = 3
6x − x2 + 3x − 2
∣x − 2∣ + ∣x + 2∣
(c) h(x) =
2x
6. For each of the following functions, determine all intervals where the function is monotonic
increasing and all intervals where the function is monotonic decreasing.
√
(a) f (x) = 4 − 2x
(b) g(x) = x + e−x
ln x
(c) h(x) =
x
7. Let f (x) = 2x3 − 5x2 + 4x + 7 be a function defined on the domain [0, 2].
(a) Determine all interior local extremum points of f .
(b) Find the global extrema of f .
ex + e2
8. Define f (x) = for x > 0.
x
(a) Show that f ′ is strictly increasing on (0, ∞).
(b) Show that f attains a global minimum at x = 2.
2x + 1
9. Find the global minimum of f (x) = .
(x − 1)2
10. Let f (x) = (3 − x)ex .
(a) Determine all intervals where f is monotonic increasing and all intervals where f is mono-
tonic decreasing.
(b) Determine all local extremum points of f .
(c) Determine all intervals where f is convex and all intervals where f is concave.
(d) Determine all inflexion points of f .
2
11. Let f (x) = x ln x.
(a) Find all vertical, horizontal and oblique asymptotes of the graph of f .
(b) Determine all global extrema of f .
(c) Determine all intervals where f is convex and all intervals where f is concave.
1
12. Let f (x) = (x + 2)e x .
(a) Determine all x-intercepts and y-intercepts of the graph of f .
(b) Determine all intervals where f has a positive sign and all intervals where f has a negative
sign.
(c) Find all vertical, horizontal and oblique asymptotes of the graph of f .
(d) Determine all intervals where f is monotonic increasing and all intervals where f is mono-
tonic decreasing.
(e) Determine all local extremum points of f .
(f) Determine all intervals where f is convex and all intervals where f is concave.
(g) Determine all inflexion points of f .
(h) Sketch the graph of f .
