Practice question · True or false
At any point where and , the function has a local maximum or minimum.
Hints
- Consider at the origin.
- A saddle satisfies both conditions.
Show the answer
False
Why
False. Both partials vanish at a saddle point too, at the origin is a minimum along and a maximum along . Classifying a critical point needs the second-derivative test, and where its discriminant is zero even that is inconclusive.
Practise Optimization: Critical Points and Lagrange Multipliers
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More questions on Optimization: Critical Points and Lagrange Multipliers
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