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ERIC Number: EJ1351181
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0020-739X
EISSN: EISSN-1464-5211
Available Date: N/A
How to Correctly Answer 'Is the Optimal Critical Point a Local Minimizer?' in Calculus Courses
Ribeiro, Ademir Alves; Barbosa, José Renato Ramos
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, v53 n6 p1664-1675 2022
This short note discusses how the optimality conditions for minimizing a multivariate function subject to equality constraints have been covered in some undergraduate Calculus courses. In particular, we will focus on the most common optimization problems in Calculus of several variables: the 2 and 3-dimensional cases. So, along with sufficient conditions for a critical point to be a local minimizer, we also present and discuss counterexamples for some statements that can be found in the literature of undergraduate Calculus related to Lagrange Multipliers, such as 'between the critical points, the ones which have the smallest image (under the function) are minimizers' or 'a single critical point (which is a local minimizer) is a global minimizer'.
Taylor & Francis. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A