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 Maxima and Minima of
Functions of Two
Variables
Locate relative maxima, minima and saddle
points of functions of two variables. Several
examples with detailed solutions are presented.
3-Dimensional graphs of functions are shown to
conrm the existence of these points. More on
Optimization Problems with Functions of Two
Variables in this web site.

Theorem
Let f be a function with two variables with
continuous second order partial derivatives fxx,
fyy and fxy at a critical point (a,b). Let

Rs 999

D = fxx(a,b) fyy(a,b) - fxy2(a,b)

a. If D > 0 and fxx(a,b) > 0, then f has a

relative minimum at (a,b).
b. If D > 0 and fxx(a,b) < 0, then f has a
relative maximum at (a,b).
c. If D < 0, then f has a saddle point at (a,b).
d. If D = 0, then no conclusion can be drawn.
 Rs 1,999
Rs 900

We now present several examples with detailed

solutions on how to locate relative minima,
maxima and saddle points of functions of two
variables. When too many critical points are
found, the use of a table is very convenient.

Example 1: Determine the critical points and

locate any relative minima, maxima and saddle
points of function f dened by

f(x , y) = 2x2 + 2xy + 2y2 - 6x

.

Solution to Example 1:

Find the rst partial derivatives fx and fy.

fx(x,y) = 4x + 2y - 6

fy(x,y) = 2x + 4y

The critical points satisfy the equations fx(x,y) =

0 and fy(x,y) = 0 simultaneously. Hence.

4x + 2y - 6 = 0

2x + 4y = 0

The above system of equations has one

solution at the point (2,-1).

We now need to nd the second order partial

derivatives fxx(x,y), fyy(x,y) and fxy(x,y).

fxx(x,y) = 4

fyy(x,y) = 4

fxy(x,y) = 2
We now need to nd D dened above.

D = fxx(2,-1) fyy(2,-1) - fxy2(2,-1) = ( 4 )( 4 ) - 22 =

12

Since D is positive and fxx(2,-1) is also positive,

according to the above theorem function f has a
local minimum at (2,-1).

The 3-Dimensional graph of function f given

above shows that f has a local minimum at the
point (2,-1,f(2,-1)) = (2,-1,-6).

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Example 2: Determine the critical points and

locate any relative minima, maxima and saddle
points of function f dened by

f(x , y) = 2x2 - 4xy + y4 + 2

.

Solution to Example 2:

Find the rst partial derivatives fx and fy.

fx(x,y) = 4x - 4y

fy(x,y) = - 4x + 4y3

Determine the critical points by solving the

equations fx(x,y) = 0 and fy(x,y) = 0
simultaneously. Hence.

4x - 4y = 0

- 4x + 4y3 = 0

The rst equation gives x = y. Substitute x by y

in the equation - 4x + 4y3 = 0 to obtain.

- 4y + 4y3 = 0

Factor and solve for y.

4y(-1 + y2) = 0

y = 0 , y = 1 and y = -1

We now use the equation x = y to nd the critical

points.
(0 , 0) , (1 , 1) and (-1 , -1)

We now determine the second order partial

derivatives.

fxx(x,y) = 4

fyy(x,y) = 12y2

fxy(x,y) = -4

We now use a table to study the signs of D and

fxx(a,b) and use the above theorem to decide on
whether a given critical point is a saddle point,
relative maximum or minimum.

critical point (a,b)

(0,0)
(1,1)
(-1,1)
fxx(a,b)
4
4
4
fyy(a,b)
0
12

12
fxy(a,b)
-4
-4
-4
D
-16
32
32
saddle point
relative minimum
relative minimum

A 3-Dimensional graph of function f shows that

f has two local minima at (-1,-1,1) and (1,1,1)
and one saddle point at (0,0,2).

Example 3: Determine the critical points and

locate any relative minima, maxima and saddle
points of function f dened by

f(x , y) = - x4 - y4 + 4xy
.

Solution to Example 3:

First partial derivatives fx and fy are given by.

fx(x,y) = - 4x3 + 4y

fy(x,y) = - 4y3 + 4x

We now solve the equations fy(x,y) = 0 and

fx(x,y) = 0 to nd the critical points..

- 4x3 + 4y = 0

- 4y3 + 4x = 0

The rst equation gives y = x3. Combined with

the second equation, we obtain.

- 4(x3)3 + 4x = 0

Which may be written as .

x(x4 - 1)(x4 + 1) = 0

Which has the solutions.

x = 0 , -1 and 1.

We now use the equation y = x3 to nd the

critical points.

(0 , 0) , (1 , 1) and (-1 , -1)

We now determine the second order partial

derivatives.

fxx(x,y) = -12x2

fyy(x,y) = -12y2

fxy(x,y) = 4

The table below shows the signs of D and

fxx(a,b). Then the above theorem is used to
decide on what type of critical points it is.

critical point (a,b)

(0,0)
(1,1)
(-1,1)
fxx(a,b)
0
-12
-12
fyy(a,b)
0
-12
-12
fxy(a,b)
4
4
4
D
-16
128
128
saddle point
relative maximum
 relative maximum

A 3-Dimensional graph of function f shows that

f has two local maxima at (-1,-1,2) and (1,1,2)
and a saddle point at (0,0,0).

Exercise: Determine the critical points of the

functions below and nd out whether each point
corresponds to a relative minimum, maximum,
saddle point or no conclusion can be made.

1. f(x , y) = x2 + 3y2 -2xy - 8x

2. f(x , y) = x3 - 12x + y3 + 3y2 - 9y

Answer to Above Exercise:

1. relative maximum at (1,1) and (-1,-1) and a

saddle point at (0,0)

2. relative maximum at (2,-3), relative minimum

at (2,1), saddle points at (-2,-3) and (-2,1).

More on partial derivatives and mutlivariable

functions. Multivariable Functions

 Rs 999

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