| Introduction to Optimization | More Practice |
| Absolute Extrema | |
| Optimization Problems |
Introduction to Optimization
As we’ve seen before, there are many useful applications of differential calculus. One that is very useful is to use the derivative of a function (and set it to 0) to find a minimum or maximum to find either the smallest something can be, or the largest it can be. We call this optimization, since we are typically finding the optimal or “best value” for something. Some examples of optimization include finding the greatest profit, least cost, greatest volume, optimum size, greatest strength, and so on.
Absolute Extrema
Let’s first revisit absolute extrema, which are the absolute minimum and maximum of a function on an interval. We first learned about Relative and Absolute Minimums and Maximums here in the Advanced Functions section.
In the Curve Sketching section here, we learned that a critical number is where the function’s derivative is 0, or not defined and from the First Derivative Test, critical numbers exist at relative minimums or maximums (also called local minimums or maximums). We can also take the second derivative of the function to verify that the function is a minimum (“cup up”, or positive 2nd derivative) or maximum (“cup down” or negative 2nd derivative).
With optimization, if we have more than one critical point, we need to check the candidates to see which one is the absolute extrema in the possible domain (values that the “$ x$” can be). Typically, to get the domain of a problem, we find the $ x$-values that would “make sense”; for example, we can’t have a dimension of 0 or less. It’s also important to check the endpoints of an interval, if these make sense in the context of the problem, since these points could also be the minimum or maximum to get the absolute extrema.
When we solve optimization problems, we typically put everything in terms of one variable (the “constraint”), determine what we want the maximize (the “objective”), and then take the derivative, and set to 0 to get the minimum or maximum. And in the case of a closed interval (for example, when we could have a 0-value for an amount), we need to check the endpoints of the interval to make sure they aren’t lower (in the case of a minimum) or higher (in the case of a maximum).
Optimization Problems
Here are some problems; the first have to do with area and volume. Remember to always draw a picture first!
Area and Volume Optimization Problems
Endpoint Candidates Problem
Here is a difficult optimization problem where we need to use the Pythagorean Theorem. Note that since the domain can actually contain endpoints, we have to check the endpoint candidates to make sure we have the minimum distance we need:
Learn these rules, and practice, practice, practice!
For Practice: Use the Mathway widget below to try a problem. Click on Submit (the blue arrow to the right of the problem) and click on Find the Local Maxima and Minima to see the answer.
You can also type in your own problem, or click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner and click on “Examples” to drill down by topic.
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On to Differentials, Linear Approximation and Error Propagation – you are ready!