Will differentiation always give us the maxima and minima

calculusderivatives

If a given a curve with a maxima and a minima will differentiation always give us the maxima and minima values ?

Is it possible that the curve will have the critical points and derivatives won't give us those values ?

Sorry if this seems to simple ,I am a newbie at calculus.

Edit : my question does not seem to be clear ," if a function has a maxima and minima will differentiation ALWAYS give us the critical points .

Best Answer

Here is an extract from an educational source on this topic:

Since the derivative is zero or undefined at both local maximum and local minimum points, we need a way to determine which, if either, actually occurs. The most elementary approach, but one that is often tedious or difficult, is to test directly whether the y coordinates "near" the potential maximum or minimum are above or below the y coordinate at the point of interest. Of course, there are too many points "near'' the point to test, but a little thought shows we need only test two provided we know that f is continuous (recall that this means that the graph of f has no jumps or gaps).

So apparently, one of the key points for being able to ascertain that the inflexion point(s) constitutes the existence of local maximum (minimum) points is based on a continuity assumption.

Note, one of this thread's questions is "Is it possible that the curve will have the critical points and derivatives won't give us those values ?" and there is nowhere use of the term "differentiable function".

Whereupon, per Wikipedia, to quote:

In particular, any differentiable function must be continuous at every point in its domain. The converse does not hold: a continuous function need not be differentiable. For example, a function with a bend, cusp, or vertical tangent may be continuous, but fails to be differentiable at the location of the anomaly.

So, I would answer yes, as in the event the derivative cannot be computed at the anomaly (may not exist), one needs to inspect to the right and left of the curve (permissible per the continuity assumption) to determine the true nature of the inflexion point.