How do you know when to use the first derivative test and the second derivative test?
1 Answer
Sep 11, 2014
I would always use the first derivative test unless a problem asks you to use the second derivative test since you have to take the derivative only once, and it always gives us a conclusion. The second derivative test is convenient if it is easy to find the second derivative; however, it fails to yield a conclusion when the second derivative is zero at a critical value.