Staff

Please select a resource from the list below.

Teach Yourself

• Applications of differentiation - maxima and minima
  This unit explains how differentiation can be used to locate turning points. It explains what is meant by a maximum turning point and a minimum turning point.

Test Yourself

• Diagnostic Test - Maxima and Minima
• Exercise - Maxima and Minima

Video

A transcript of each video should be available in the Teach Yourself section above.

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• Maxima and Minima
  In this unit we show how differentiation can be used to find the maximum and minimum values of a function. Because the derivative provides information about the gradient or slope of the graph of a function we can use it to locate points on a graph where the gradient is zero. We shall see that such points are often associated with the largest or smallest values of the function, at least in their immediate locality. In many applications, a scientist, engineer, or economist for example, will be interested in such points for obvious reasons such as maximising power, or profit, or minimising losses or costs. (Mathtutor Video Tutorial)