{"id":10705,"date":"2017-07-17t12:42:46","date_gmt":"2017-07-17t19:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=10705"},"modified":"2017-07-15t17:44:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-16t00:44:53","slug":"ap-calculus-review-intermediate-value-theorem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/ap\/ap-calculus-review-intermediate-value-theorem\/","title":{"rendered":"ap calculus review: intermediate value theorem"},"content":{"rendered":"
what is the intermediate value theorem<\/strong>? basically, it’s the property of continuous functions<\/em> that guarantees no gaps in the graph between two given points. in this article, what you need to know about intermediate value theorem for the ap calculus exams.<\/p>\n here’s the statement of the theorem:<\/p>\n \nsuppose f<\/em> is a function that is continuous<\/a><\/strong> on the closed interval [a<\/em>, b<\/em>]. if l<\/em> is any number between f<\/em>(a<\/em>) and f<\/em>(b<\/em>), then there must be a value, x<\/em> = c<\/em>, where a<\/em> < c<\/em> < b<\/em>, such that f<\/em>(c<\/em>) = l<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n so what does this theorem really say? wrapped up within the mathematical language, there is a simple core idea. if there are two points (a, p) and (b, q) on the graph of a continuous function, and all of the y-coordinates between p and q must also be represented on that function. here, p<\/em> = f<\/em>(a<\/em>) and q<\/em> = f<\/em>(b<\/em>) as in the theorem.<\/p>\n it may help to think of “l<\/em>” as a target<\/em> value. then the ivt is a statement about whether a function is guaranteed to hit that target value.<\/p>\n it’s as easy as crossing the street…<\/p>\n suppose you’re standing on one side of a busy street and your friend is standing on the other side, but much further down the street. as you walk toward your friend, you know that you must cross the street at some point in your journey to meet your friend, right? <\/p>\n think of you and your friend as the two given points in the plane. your path as you walk down the street is like the graph of a function. the street is simply an “intermediate value” that your path must cross if you want to meet up with your friend.<\/p>\n the intermediate value theorem is true so long as the conditions (or, hypotheses<\/em>) are met. in the case of the ivt, there is one condition: the function must be continuous<\/strong> on the given closed interval, [a<\/em>, b<\/em>].<\/p>\n so what happens if a function fails to meet those conditions? basically, all bets are off.<\/p>\n for example, the function f<\/em>(x<\/em>) = 1\/x<\/em> is not continuous<\/strong> on the interval [-1, 1]. therefore, we cannot expect there to be a value x<\/em> = c<\/em> such that f<\/em>(c<\/em>) = l<\/em> for any number l<\/em> between f<\/em>(a<\/em>) and f<\/em>(b<\/em>).<\/p>\n in this case, f<\/em>(a<\/em>) = f<\/em>(-1) = -1, and f<\/em>(b<\/em>) = f<\/em>(1) = 1. so, in particular, there’s no guarantee that f<\/em>(c<\/em>) = 0 for any value c<\/em> in [-1, 1]. in fact, the graph of 1\/x<\/em> shows how it completely misses y<\/em> = 0.<\/p>\n the intermediate value theorem is useful for a number of reasons.<\/p>\nthe intermediate value theorem (ivt)<\/h2>\n
intuitive understanding of the ivt<\/h3>\n
what could go wrong?<\/h3>\n
what’s it good for?<\/h3>\n