MATH1013 Tutorial 8

Linear Approximation and Differentials

• The tangent line of y = f (x) at (a, f (a)) has equation y = f (a) + f 0 (a)(x − a).
• Treat the right hand side as a function, L(x) = f (a) + f 0 (a)(x − a) is the linear approximation of f at a.
– The linear approximation can be used to approximate the value of f (x) when x is close to a.

• The differential of f is df = f 0 (x) dx

– The differential can be used to approximate the change in f : ∆f = f (x + dx) − f (x) when dx is small.

Example 1. Approximate 1.9994 by linear approximation.

Let f (x) = x4 , then f 0 (x) = 4x3 . So f (2) = 16 and f 0 (2) = 32.
The linear approximation of f at x = 2 is

L(x) = f (2) + f 0 (2)(x − 2)

L(x) = 16 + 32(x − 2)

The value of 1.9994 is approximately

L(1.999) = 16 + 32(1.999 − 2) = 15.968

Note that the exact value is 1.9994 = 15.968023992001.

Example 2. Estimate the amount of paint needed to apply a coat of paint 0.0005 m thick on a spherical ball with
diameter 4 m.
Denote the volume of a sphere of radius r m by V (r).
The amount of paint can be interpreted as V (2.0005) − V (2).
4
Since V (r) = πr3 , so V 0 (r) = 4πr2 and
3
dV = 4πr2 dr
When r = 2 and dr = 0.0005,

dV = 4π(2)2 (0.0005)
= 0.008π

So that the paint needed is approximately 0.008π m3 .

Note that the exact value is 0.0080020017π.

1
Finding Absolute Maximum/Minimum Values
• If f is continuous on a closed and bounded interval [a, b], it must attain absolute maximum and minimum in
[a, b].
• To find the absolute maximum and minimum values of f on [a, b],

– First locate the critical points of f in the interior interval (a, b), where f 0 (c) = 0 or f 0 (c) does not exist,
– then evaluate f (x) at all critical points and the two endpoints a and b,
– among the values evaluated, the largest value is the absolute maximum and smallest value is the absolute
minimum value of f .

Example 3. Let f (x) = |x2 − 5x + 4| be defined on [2, 5]. Find the absolute maximum and absolute minimum of f .
Since x2 − 5x + 4 = (x − 1)(x − 4) ≥ 0 when x ≤ 1 or x ≥ 4,
(
x2 − 5x + 4 if 4 ≤ x ≤ 5
f (x) =
−x2 + 5x − 4 if 2 ≤ x < 4

so (
0 2x − 5 if 4 < x < 5
f (x) =
−2x + 5 if 2 < x < 4
note that f 0 (4) does not exist because

f (x) − f (4) x2 − 5x + 4
lim+ = lim+ = lim+ (x − 1) = 3
x→4 x−4 x→4 x−4 x→4

but
f (x) − f (4) −x2 + 5x − 4
lim− = lim− = lim− (1 − x) = −3
x→4 x−4 x→4 x−4 x→4
5
Therefore the critical points of f in (2, 5) are 2 and 4.

f (2) = −22 + 5(2) − 4 = 2

5 5 5 9
f ( ) = −( )2 + 5( ) − 4 =
2 2 2 4
f (4) = 0
f (5) = 52 − 5(5) + 4 = 4

The absolute maximum of f is 4 and the absolute minimum of f is 0.

2
Example 4. Find the point on the line segment between (0, 0) and (4, 0) in the plane, such that the sum of its
distance from (0, 1) and its distance from (4, 2) is smallest.
Consider the point (x, 0), where 0 ≤ x ≤ 4. The sum of its distance from (0, 1) and its distance from (4, 2) is
p p
f (x) = x2 + 12 + (4 − x)2 + 22
p p
= x2 + 1 + x2 − 8x + 20

so
x x−4
f 0 (x) = √ +√
x2 + 1 x2 − 8x + 20
√ √
x x2 − 8x + 20 + (x − 4) x2 + 1
= √ √
x2 + 1 x2 − 8x + 20
and solve for the critical point when f 0 (x) = 0,
p p
x x2 − 8x + 20 + (x − 4) x2 + 1 = 0
p p
x x2 − 8x + 20 = (4 − x) x2 + 1
x2 (x2 − 8x + 20) = (4 − x)2 (x2 + 1)
x4 − 8x3 + 20x2 = x4 − 8x3 + 17x2 − 8x + 16
3x2 + 8x − 16 = 0
(3x − 4)(x + 4) = 0
4
x=
3
the only critical point is at x = 43 .
p p √
f (0) = 02 + 1 +
(4 − 0)2 + 4 = 1 + 20
r r
4 4 2 4
f ( ) = ( ) + 1 + (4 − )2 + 4 = 5
3 3 3
p p √
2 2
f (4) = 4 + 1 + (4 − 4) + 4 = 17 + 2

the smallest value is f ( 43 ) = 9, so f attains absolute minimum at x = 43 . The required point is ( 43 , 0).

3
Mean Value Theorem
f (b) − f (a)
Suppose f is continuous on [a, b] and differentiable on (a, b), then there is a number c ∈ (a, b) such that f 0 (c) = .
b−a

• Geometrically, this means the slope of tangent line at x = c is the same as the slope of the line joining (a, f (a))
and (b, f (b)).

Example 5. Use the Mean Value Theorem to show that −x ≤ sin x ≤ x for all x ≥ 0.
Let f (t) = sin t be defined on the interval [0, x], then f is indeed differentiable everywhere. By the Mean Value
Theorem, there is a number c ∈ (0, x) such that

f (x) − f (0)
f 0 (c) =
x−0
sin x
cos c =
x
sin x = x cos c

but since −1 ≤ cos c ≤ 1 for any c,

−x ≤ x cos c ≤ x
−x ≤ sin x ≤ x

Example 6. Suppose that f is a function such that f 00 is continuous on [a, b], and p, q, r are three roots of f such
that f (p) = f (q) = f (r) = 0, where a < p < q < r < b. Show that f 00 (c) = 0 for some c ∈ (a, b).

Applying the Mean Value Theorem to f on [p, q], there exists s ∈ (p, q) such that

f (q) − f (p) 0
f 0 (s) = = =0
q−p q−p

Applying the Mean Value Theorem to f on [q, r], there exists t ∈ (q, r) such that

f (r) − f (q) 0
f 0 (t) = = =0
r−q r−q
Note that s < t since s < q < t.
Then applying the Mean Value Theorem to f 0 on [s, t], there exists c ∈ (s, t) such that

f 0 (t) − f 0 (s) 0
f 00 (c) = = =0
t−s t−s