Can someone help me maximize a function?

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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I am trying to maximize the function on the interval -Pi/2..Pi/2

y = 1-4x^2/Pi^2 - cos(x)

When I get the derivative, I get:

dy/dx = -8x/Pi^2 + sin(x)

I have no idea how to solve that when dy/dx = 0. Can someone help me by putting me on the right track? Thanks in advance.
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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well the answer is zero, cause i graphed the derivative.... your derivative is right at least.
 

PowerMacG5

Diamond Member
Apr 14, 2002
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Originally posted by: Triumph
well the answer is zero, cause i graphed the derivative.... your derivative is right at least.
Zero is a minimum. There are two maximum, around 1.1, and -1.1 (those are not exact, just what I get when I look at the graph). In Mathematica, I get a numerical approximation as +/-1.09882 when I use the Maximize function, but I need exact values.