How do you determine the concavity of a

Nevaeh Glass

Nevaeh Glass

Answered question

2022-04-18

How do you determine the concavity of a quadratic function?

Answer & Explanation

Buizzae77t

Buizzae77t

Beginner2022-04-19Added 13 answers

Step 1
For a quadratic function ax2+bx+c, we can determine the concavity by finding the second derivative.
f(x)=ax2+bx+c
f(x)=2ax+b
f(x)=2a
In any function, if the second derivative is positive, the function is concave up. If the second derivative is negative, the function is concave down.
Since the second derivative of any quadratic function is just 2a the sign of a directly correlates with the concavity of the function, in that if a is positive, 2a is positive so the function is concave up, and the same can be said for a negative a value making 2a negative resulting in the function being concave down.
This can be shown graphically:
The function f(x)=6x2+3x5, where a>0, should be concave up.
The function f(x)=12x27x+1, where a<0 should be concave down.
dizzydevila6cm

dizzydevila6cm

Beginner2022-04-20Added 10 answers

Step 1
For a quadratic function f(x)=ax2+bx+c
if a>0, then f is concave upward everywhere,
if a<0, then f is concave downward everywhere.

Do you have a similar question?

Recalculate according to your conditions!

Ask your question.
Get an expert answer.

Let our experts help you. Answer in as fast as 15 minutes.

Didn't find what you were looking for?