Find all maxima and minima for the function $f(x,y) = x^2 + y^2 -xy + 2x + 2y -4$

derivativesmaxima-minimamultivariable-calculuspartial derivative

Find all maxima and minima for the function $f(x,y) = x^2 + y^2 -xy + 2x + 2y -4$.

Here's what I attempted:

I first find the first order partial derivative $f_x(x,y) = 2x-y+2$ and $f_y(x,y) = 2y-x+2$.

Then, I equated both equations to $0$ and managed to find $x = -2 \ , \ y =-2$.

So, the critical point is $(-2,-2)$. To determine the nature of the point,

I find $D$ which is, $D = (f_{xx}(x,y))(f_{yy}(x,y)) – (f_{xy}(x,y))^2$ so

$D = (2)(2) – (-1)^2 = 3 > 0$

Since $D > 0$ and $f_{xx}(x,y) > 0$, we can conclude that the point $(-2,-2)$ is the minima.

The question mentioned find all maxima and minima but I only found the minima. Am I missing something in my answer?

Best Answer

What you did is correct. You can confirm it noticing that$$f(x,y)=\frac34(x-y)^2+\frac14(x+y+4)^2-4.$$

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