A student claims: 'Every cubic polynomial has at least one stationary point.' Which cubic is a counterexample?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C.

  1. Step 1: A stationary point needs to have a real solution.
  2. Step 2: For , for all real , so there is no stationary point.
  3. Step 3: The other cubics have derivatives , , and , each of which has a real root.
Answer
.
Why not the others: A cubic's derivative is a quadratic, which has real roots only when its discriminant is non-negative; for the discriminant is negative.

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