First Derivative and Stationary Points
www.sydney.edu.au › content › damThe nature of stationary points The first derivative can be used to determine the nature of the stationary points once we have found the solutions to dy dx =0. Relative maximum Consider the function y = −x2 +1.Bydifferentiating and setting the derivative equal to zero, dy dx = −2x =0 when x =0,weknow there is a stationary point when x =0.