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 199: 60

Answer

See graph and explanations.

Work Step by Step

Step 1. Draw two functions ($f(x)$ and $g(x)$) as shown in the figure. They have two intersection points where $f(a)=g(a)$ and $f(b)=g(b)$ ($a\lt b$). Step 2. We need to find a point $c$ between $a$ and $b$ such that $f'(c)=g'(c)$ or $f'(c)-g'(c)=0$ Step 3. Consider the difference of the two functions $h(x)=f(x)-g(x)$; we have $h(a)=h(b)=0$. Based on Rolle's Theorem, there must be a point $c$ in $(a,b)$ such that $h'(c)=0$. Thus, we have $f'(c)-g'(c)=0$ or $f'(c)=g'(c)$, indicating two parallel or identical tangent lines.
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