Rolle's Theorem Verification: Calculus Problems and Solutions

Published on July 10, 2025

Calculus

Verify Rolle's Theorem for two functions: f(x) = e^x(sin x - cos x) and f(x) = x^3 - 6x^2 + 11x - 6, by checking the conditions of the theorem and finding the value(s) of c where the derivative is zero.

Question

Answer

The user wants to solve a math problem related to Rolle’s Theorem. The problem has two parts.
Part 1: Verify Rolle’s Theorem for in .
Rolle’s Theorem states that if a function satisfies the following three conditions:
  1. is continuous on the closed interval .
  2. is differentiable on the open interval .
  3. .
    Then there exists at least one number in such that .
Let’s check these conditions for in .
Condition 1: Continuity
The functions , , and are continuous everywhere.
The product of continuous functions is continuous, and the difference of continuous functions is continuous.
Therefore, is continuous on .
Condition 2: Differentiability
We need to find the derivative .
Using the product rule , where and .

So,

Since and are differentiable everywhere, exists for all .
Therefore, is differentiable on .
Condition 3:
Here and .



We know that and .


Since and , we have .
All three conditions of Rolle’s Theorem are satisfied. Therefore, there exists at least one such that .
Let’s find :

Since for all real , we must have , which implies .
In the interval , the value of for which is .
Since and , and , we have .
Thus, Rolle’s Theorem is verified for the given function and interval.
Part 2: Verify Rolle’s Theorem for in .
Let’s check the conditions for in .
Condition 1: Continuity
is a polynomial function. All polynomial functions are continuous everywhere.
Therefore, is continuous on .
Condition 2: Differentiability
We need to find the derivative .


Since is a polynomial, it exists for all .
Therefore, is differentiable on .
Condition 3:
Here and .





Since and , we have .
All three conditions of Rolle’s Theorem are satisfied. Therefore, there exists at least one such that .
Let’s find :

This is a quadratic equation. We can use the quadratic formula .
Here , , .




We have two possible values for :
and
Let’s check if these values are in the interval .

Since , is in the interval.

Since , is in the interval.
Both values of are in the interval . Thus, Rolle’s Theorem is verified for the given function and interval.
The final answer is
For the first function, in :
  1. is continuous on because , , and are continuous everywhere.
  2. exists for all , so is differentiable on .
  3. .
    .
    So, .
    All conditions are met. Setting : . The value is in .
For the second function, in :
  1. is a polynomial, so it is continuous on .
  2. exists for all , so is differentiable on .
  3. .
    .
    So, .
    All conditions are met. Setting : .
    Using the quadratic formula, .
    Both and are in the interval .