What is the slope of #f(x)=-e^(x-3x^3) # at #x=-2#?
1 Answer
Feb 5, 2016
The slope of
Explanation:
To calculate the slope of
Use the chain rule for that:
#f(x) = - e^(x- 3x^3) = -e^u" "# where#" "u = x - 3x^3#
Thus, the derivative of
#f'(x) = [-e^u]' * u' = -e^u * (1 - 9 x^2) = -e^(x - 3x^3) (1 - 9x^2)#
#= (9x^2 - 1) e^(x - 3x^3)#
Now, you will find the slope of
#f'(-2) = (9 (-2)^2 -1) e^(-2 - 3 * (-2)^3) = 35 e^(22)#
#~~125471949614.6 ~~1.25 * 10^11#
This is extremely steep. Let's plot the function to see if this number might make sense:
graph{- e^(x- 3x^3) [-14.03, 18.01, -13.49, 2.53]}
The function looks very steep indeed for