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stretchad
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This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with 28 Nov 2005, 19:27
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This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with this question while studying (albeit while trying to watch my COLTS play the Steelers in Monday night football!!)

Problem Solving question #55 in the OG 11th ed. is a minimizing question and the explanation in the OG doesn't explain it very well for me. Isn't there some rule for easily calculating the value of X that minimizes or maximizes a given formula or am I thinking of something else?

How do I go about handling these questions?

Thanks!



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gamjatang
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This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with 28 Nov 2005, 19:31
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stretchad
This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with this question while studying (albeit while trying to watch my COLTS play the Steelers in Monday night football!!)

Problem Solving question #55 in the OG 11th ed. is a minimizing question and the explanation in the OG doesn't explain it very well for me. Isn't there some rule for easily calculating the value of X that minimizes or maximizes a given formula or am I thinking of something else?

How do I go about handling these questions?

Thanks!
Show more


Please let me know what question it is.
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ywilfred
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This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with 28 Nov 2005, 19:50
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Do post the question, as not everybody owns a copy of the 11th Ed. OG. This way, more people can answer your question.

Thanks !
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stretchad
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This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with 28 Nov 2005, 21:00
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Sorry about that.

I think this one is a fairly simple one, but i feel like there must be an easy rule to remember as problems get increasingly difficult...

If y = 4 + (x - 3)^2, then y is lowest when x =
a - 14
b - 13
c - 0
d - 3
e - 4
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This is one of my first posts on the board and came up with 29 Nov 2005, 03:56
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stretchad
Sorry about that.

I think this one is a fairly simple one, but i feel like there must be an easy rule to remember as problems get increasingly difficult...

If y = 4 + (x - 3)^2, then y is lowest when x =
a - 14
b - 13
c - 0
d - 3
e - 4
Show more


the rule is to spread the condensed expression into the form of a quadratic expression IN CASE it's originally in condensed form
For example: y=ax^2+bx+c . This is a parabola. The biggest/ smallest of y then is the peak/ nadir of the parabola. The formula for this point is :
-( b^2-4ac)/ (-4a) ( if i remember correctly, i'll double-check it)

1) if the expression contains -x^2, the question asks for the peak/ the biggest value.
2) if the expression contains x^2, the question asks for the nadir/ the smallest value.

For example: y=x^2 - 6x + 12
the nadir is -[((-6)^2- 4*12*1)/ 4*1] = 3 --> the smallest value of y is 3


OR you can solve it another way by trying to group the expression into froms of - (ax+b)^2 +c OR (ax+b)^2 +c
For example: x^2-6x+12= (x-3)^2+3



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Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Quantitative Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!