Question

1. A function has a second rate of change of -4. Does the function have a maximum or a minimum?

Answer 1

This function would have a maximum.

Since we are subtracting by a -4 for each increase in x, we know that the numbers will continue to go down. Given this fact, we know the number will never be higher than when we started, but the number could go infinitely low. As a result we have a maximum and no minimum.