Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Critical Points
Critical points of a function occur where its derivative is either zero or undefined. These points are essential for identifying local maxima and minima, as they represent potential locations where the function's behavior changes. To find critical points, one must first compute the derivative of the function and solve for the values of x that satisfy these conditions.
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Absolute Maximum and Minimum
The absolute maximum and minimum values of a function on a closed interval are the highest and lowest values that the function attains within that interval. To determine these values, one must evaluate the function at its critical points and at the endpoints of the interval. The largest and smallest of these values will indicate the absolute maximum and minimum, respectively.
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Closed Interval
A closed interval, denoted as [a, b], includes all numbers between a and b, as well as the endpoints a and b themselves. This is significant in calculus because the Extreme Value Theorem states that a continuous function on a closed interval must attain both an absolute maximum and minimum. Thus, when analyzing functions over closed intervals, one must consider the behavior of the function at both the endpoints and any critical points within the interval.
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