14. Finding Increasing and Decreasing with Derivatives

The first derivative test process:

1. Take the derivative

2. Find the critical points.

3. Test values in between all of the critical points to see if the function is increasing or decreasing.

4. Increasing to Decreasing is a maximum, Decreasing to Increasing is a minimum.

There are 3 different types of questions I am likely to ask in this section.

First: Finding the intervals in which a function is increasing or decreasing.

Second: Using the first derivative test to find maximums and minimums

Third: Using a position function to determine whether a thing is speeding up or slowing down.

Practice Worksheet #1

Practice Worksheet #2

For more resources, see here:

Khan Academy Quiz #1

Khan Academy Quiz #2

Khan Academy Quiz #3