Using f”(x) to interpret f’(x)

By Tutor GuyNo Comments

 

You know that the second derivative of a function is used to characterize the concavity of the function. But did you know that the second derivative also gives you information about the first derivative? Well, of course it does, because the second derivative is the first derivative of the first derivative. To put it simply, when the second derivative is positive, that means the first derivative is increasing. When the second derivative is negative, the first derivative is decreasing.

But wait, I thought when the second derivative is positive, that means the original function is concave up! Well, yes, that’s true too. So that means wherever a function is concave up, its first derivative is increasing. And wherever a function is concave down, the first derivative is decreasing.

This is another way you can analyze the behavior of a function.

Calculus
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