Thomas' Calculus 13th Edition

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32187-896-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-32187-896-0

Chapter 4: Applications of Derivatives - Section 4.2 - The Mean Value Theorem - Exercises 4.2 - Page 197: 5

Answer

$c=\dfrac{1+\sqrt 7}{3}, \dfrac{1-\sqrt 7}{3}$

Work Step by Step

Since, the function $f(x)=x^3-x^2$ is continuous on $[-1,2]$ and differentiable on $(-1,2)$ and $f'(x)=3x^2-2x$ . The Mean value Theorem states that there is a point $c$ and $c \in (-1,2)$ such that $f'(c)=\dfrac{f(2)-f(-1)}{[2-(-1)]}=\dfrac{6}{3}=2$ Now,we have $f'(x)=3x^2-2x$ so, $f'(c)=3c^2-2c=2$ or, $3c^2-2c-2=0$ Thus, $c=\dfrac{1+\sqrt 7}{3}, \dfrac{1-\sqrt 7}{3}$
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