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Find inflection points and describe concavity

Consider the function f(x)=x4−4x3f(x) = x^4 - 4x^3, defined for all real numbers.

Find all inflection points of f(x)=x4−4x3f(x) = x^4 - 4x^3, and determine the intervals on (−∞,∞)(-\infty, \infty) where ff is concave up and where it is concave down. State the xx-coordinates of the inflection points and describe the concavity behavior on each resulting interval.

Hint

Compute f′′(x)f''(x), set it equal to zero to find candidate points, then check whether the sign of f′′(x)f''(x) actually changes at each candidate to confirm an inflection point.

Step-by-step solution

First compute the derivatives: f′(x)=4x3−12x2f'(x) = 4x^3 - 12x^2 and f′′(x)=12x2−24x=12x(x−2)f''(x) = 12x^2 - 24x = 12x(x-2). Setting f′′(x)=0f''(x) = 0 gives x=0x = 0 and x=2x = 2 as candidate inflection points, since f′′f'' is a polynomial and defined everywhere.

Testing signs of f′′(x)=12x(x−2)f''(x) = 12x(x-2) on the three intervals: for x<0x < 0, both factors are negative so f′′(x)>0f''(x) > 0 (concave up); for 0<x<20 < x < 2, x>0x>0 and x−2<0x-2<0 so f′′(x)<0f''(x) < 0 (concave down); for x>2x > 2, both factors positive so f′′(x)>0f''(x) > 0 (concave up).

Since the sign of f′′f'' changes at both x=0x=0 (from + to -) and x=2x=2 (from - to +), both are genuine inflection points. Evaluating ff there: f(0)=0f(0) = 0 and f(2)=16−32=−16f(2) = 16 - 32 = -16, giving inflection points (0,0)(0,0) and (2,−16)(2,-16).

Find inflection points and describe concavity — solution graph

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