Finding Extrema

Local Extrema

We discuss how to find and evaluate local extrema of a function using derivatives.

Extreme Value Theorem

We develop the Extreme Value Theorem, a way to know when an absolute extrema must exist without doing calculus.

Absolute Extrema

We discuss how to find and evaluate absolute extrema of a function using derivatives.

Concavity

Geometric View

We present the visual interpretation of concavity and how it is determined by the second derivative.

Analytic View

We discuss how to determine where a function is concave up or concave down.

Points of Inflection Geometric View

We discuss the real world and visual interpretation of a point of inflection.

Points of Inflection Analytic View

We discuss how to find points of inflection of a function using the second derivative.

Second Derivative Test

We discuss how to use the second derivative to classify extrema of a function.

Practical Applications

Newtonian Mechanics

We discuss one of the original uses for calculus, how position, velocity, and acceleration are related.

Graphing Functions

We discuss how to use our tools to create detailed sketches of functions beyond the ability of precalc tools.

Geometric View of Linear Approximation

We discuss how to visualize linear approximation as a tangent line application.

Analytic View of Linear Approximation

We discuss to actually apply linear approximation to approximate a value.

Related Rates

We discuss how to solve real world style problems that involve interrelated rates of change.

Optimization

We discuss how to model and then optimize that model, for real world style problems.

You can download a Certificate as a record of your successes.