Functions of two variables

Taylor’s Formula, Maxima-Minima & Lagrange Multiplier

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani Dr. Ashish Kumar Kesarwany

Mathematics Division, School of Advanced Sciences and Languages

VIT Bhopal University, Bhopal-Indore Highway, Kothrikalan, Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, 466114, India

October 1, 2024

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 Table of Contents

1 Taylor’s Formula for Two Variables

2 Extreme Values and Saddle Points

3 The Method of Lagrange Multipliers

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 Taylor’s Formula for Two Variables

Taylor’s Formula for f (x, y ) at the Point (a, b)

Suppose f (x, y ) and its partial derivatives through order n + 1 are continuous
throughout an open rectangular region R centered at a point (a, b). Then, through-
out R,
  1 2 
f (a + h,b + k) = f (a, b) + hfx (a, b) + kfy (a, b) + h fxx (a, b) + 2hkfxy + k 2 fyy + · · ·
2!
1 n 1  n+1
+ hfx (a, b) + kfy (a, b) + hfx (a + θh, b + θk) + kfy (a + θh, b + θk)
n! (n + 1)!
(1)

The first n derivative terms are evaluated at point (a, b). The last term is evaluated
at some point (a + θh, b + θk) on the line segment joining (a, b) and (a + h, b + k),
where 0 < θ < 1.

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 If (a, b) = (0, 0) and we treat h and k as independent variables (denoting them
now by x and y ), then (1) assumes the following simpler form.

Taylor’s Formula for f (x, y ) at the Origin

  1 2 
f (x, y ) = f (0, 0)+ xfx (0, 0) + yfy (0, 0) + x fxx (0, 0) + 2xyfxy (0, 0) + y 2 fyy (0, 0) +
2!
1 n 1  n+1
··· + xfx (0, 0) + yfy (0, 0) + xfx (θx, θy ) + yfy (θx, θy )
n! (n + 1)!

The first n derivative terms are evaluated at (0, 0). The last term is evaluated at a
point on the line segment joining the origin and (x, y ).

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 Remark
Taylor’s formula provides polynomial approximations of two-variable functions. The
first n derivative terms give the polynomial; the last term gives the approximation
error.

Taylor’s Series Expansion of f (x, y ) about the point (a, b)

Putting a + h = x and b + k = y in Equation (1) so that h = x − a and k = y − b,
we get

1
f (x, y ) = f (a, b) + (x − a)fx (a, b) + (y − b)fy (a, b) + (x − a)2 fxx (a, b)+
2! 
2(x − a)(y − b)fxy (a, b) + (y − b)2 fyy (a, b) + · · · (2)

This is Taylor’s expansion of f (x, y ) in powers of (x − a) and (y − b). It is used to

expand f (x, y ) in the neighbourhood of (a, b).

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 Example
Find a quadratic approximation to f (x, y ) = sin x sin y near the origin. How accu-
rate is the approximation if |x| ≤ 0.1 and |y | ≤ 0.1?

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 solution
For n = 2, the Taylor’s formula is

1 2 
f (x, y ) = f (0, 0) + xfx (0, 0) + yfy (0, 0) + x fxx (0, 0) + 2xyfxy (0, 0) + y 2 fyy (0, 0)
2!
1 3 
+ x fxxx (θx, θy ) + 3x 2 yfxxy (θx, θy ) + 3xy 2 fxyy (θx, θy ) + y 3 fyyy (θx, θy )
3!
Calculating the values of the partial derivatives,

f (x, y ) = sin x sin y f (0, 0) = 0

fx (x, y ) = cos x sin y fx (0, 0) = 0
fy (x, y ) = sin x cos y fy (0, 0) = 0
fxx (x, y ) = − sin x sin y fxx (0, 0) = 0
fyy (x, y ) = − sin x sin y fyy (0, 0) = 0
fxy (x, y ) = cos x cos y fxy (0, 0) = 1

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 Solution cont. . .

we have the result

1 2 
sin x sin y ≈ 0 + x(0) + y (0) + x (0) + 2xy (1) + y (0) or sin x sin y ≈ xy
2
The error in the approximation is

1 3 
E (x, y ) = x fxxx (θx, θy )+3x 2 yfxxy (θx, θy )+3xy 2 fxyy (θx, θy )+y 3 fyyy (θx, θy )
3!
The third derivatives of f (x, y ) never exceed 1 in absolute value because they are
products of sines and cosines. Also, |x| ≤ 0.1 and |y | ≤ 0.1. Hence

1  8
(0.1)3 + 3(0.1)3 + 3(0.1)3 + (0.1)3 = (0.1)3 = 0.00134
|E (x, y )| ≤
6 6
The error will not exceed 0.00134 if |x| ≤ 0.1 and |y | ≤ 0.1.

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 Example
π


Find the Taylor’s formula for f (x, y ) = sin x 2 + y 2 + 4 about the origin to get
the quadratic approximation near the origin.

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 solution
The Taylor’s quadratic formula of f (x, y ) at (0, 0) is given by

1 2 
f (x, y ) ≈ f (0, 0) + xfx (0, 0) + yfy (0, 0) + x fxx (0, 0) + 2xyfxy (0, 0) + y 2 fyy (0, 0)
2!
Now,
 π π 1
f (x, y ) = sin x 2 + y 2 + f (0, 0) = sin = √
4 4 2

2 2 π
fx (x, y ) = 2x cos x + y + fx (0, 0) = 0
4
 π
fy (x, y ) = 2y cos x 2 + y 2 + fy (0, 0) = 0
4

2 2 π  π √
π
fxx (x, y ) = 2 cos x + y + − 4x 2 sin x 2 + y 2 + fxx (0, 0) = 2 cos = 2
4 4 4
 π  π π √
fyy (x, y ) = 2 cos x 2 + y 2 + − 4y 2 sin x 2 + y 2 + fyy (0, 0) = 2 cos = 2
4 4 4
 π
fxy = −4xy sin x 2 + y 2 + fxy (0, 0) = 0
4
Thus
1 1 √ √ 1
f (x, y ) ≈ √ + ( 2x 2 + 2y 2 ) = √ (1 + x 2 + y 2 )
2 2 2

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 Example
Expand f (x, y ) = tan−1 yx in powers of (x − 1) and (y − 1) upto second degree.

Hence compute f (1.1, 0.9) approximately.

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 11 / 52
 Solution
y
Here f (x, y ) = tan−1


, a = 1 and b = 1. Hence
x
y  π
f (x, y ) = tan−1 f (1, 1) = tan−1 (1) =
x 4
−y −1
fx (x, y ) = 2 fx (1, 1) =
x + y2 2
x 1
fy (x, y ) = 2 fy (1, 1) =
x + y2 2
2xy 2 1
fxx (x, y ) = 2 2 2
fxx (1, 1) = =
(x + y ) 4 2
x2 − y2
fxy (x, y ) = 2 fxy (1, 1) = 0
(x + y 2 )2
2xy 2 1
fyy (x, y ) = − 2 2 2
fxx (1, 1) = − = −
(x + y ) 4 2

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 Solution Cont. . .

Taylor’s expansion of f (x, y ) in powers of (x − 1) and (y − 1) is given by

f (x, y ) = f (1, 1) + (x − 1)fx (1, 1) + (y − 1)fy (1, 1)+

1 
(x − 1)2 fxx (1, 1) + 2(x − 1)(y − 1)fxy (1, 1) + (y − 1)2 fyy (1, 1) + · · ·
2!
y          
π 1 1 1 1 1
tan−1 = + (x − 1) − + (y − 1) + (x − 1)2 + (y − 1)2 − + ···
x 4 2 2 2! 2 2

y  π 1  1 
tan−1 = − (x − 1) − (y − 1) + (x − 1)2 − (y − 1)2 + · · ·
x 4 2 4

Putting x = 1.1 and y = 0.9, we get

π 1
f (1.1, 0.9) = − (0.2) − 0 = 0.7854 − 0.1000 = 0.6854
4 2

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 Practice Problems

Expand f (x, y ) = e x cos y about 0, π2

1 up to the third term using Taylor’s
series.
π π x2 π 1 π 3





Ans.: f (x, y ) = − y − 2
−x y − 2
− 2
y− 2
+ 6
− y− 2
+ ···
x
2 Expand f (x, y ) = e cos y in powers of x and y as far as the terms of the third
degree.
1 1
x2 − y2 + x 3 − 3xy 2 + · · ·



Ans.: f (x, y ) = 1 + x + 2! 3!
3 Obtain terms up to the third degree in the Taylor series expansion of f (x, y ) =
e x sin y about the point 1, π2 .


e π 2 e π 2
[(x −1)2 − y − [(x −1)3 −3(x −1)



Ans.: f (x, y ) = e +e(x −1)+ 2! 2
]+ 3! y− 2
]+· · ·
4 Expand the function f (x, y ) = sin xy in powers of x − 1 and y − π upto second
degree terms.
2
h i
1 π 2
− π4 (x − 1)2 − π(x − 1) y − π



Ans.: f (x, y ) = 1 + 2! 2
− y− 2
+ ···
xy
5 Expand f (x, y ) = e in Taylors Series at (1, 1) upto second degree.
1 1
Ans.: f (x, y ) = e + 1! [e(x − 1) + e(y − 1)] + 2! [e(x − 1)2 + 4e(x − 1)(y − 1) + e(y − 1)2 ] + · · ·
6 Expand f (x, y ) = e x ln(1 + y ) in powers of x and y upto terms of third degree.
2xy −y 2 3x 2 y −3xy 2 +2y 3
Ans.: f (x, y ) = y + 2!
+ 3!

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 Extreme Values and Saddle Points

Definition (Local Extrema)

Let f (x, y ) be defined on a region R containing the point (a, b). Then
1. f (a, b) is a local maximum value of f if f (a, b) ≥ f (x, y ) for all domain points
(x, y ) in an open disk centered at (a, b).

2. f (a, b) is a local minimum value of f if f (a, b) ≤ f (x, y ) for all domain points
(x, y ) in an open disk centered at (a, b).

A local maxima or local minima is called local extrema or relative extrema.

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 Figure 1: (a) Local Minima (b) Local Maxima

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 Theorem (First Derivative Test for Local Extreme Values)
If f (x, y ) has a local maximum or minimum value at an interior point (a, b) of
its domain and if the first partial derivatives exist there, then fx (a, b) = 0 and
fy (a, b) = 0.

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 Definition (Critical Points)
The point (a, b) is a critical point for the multi-variable function f (x, y ), if both
partial derivatives are 0 at the same time.

In other words,

∂
f (x, y ) =0
∂x
(a,b)

and
∂
f (x, y ) = 0.
∂y
(a,b)

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 Definition (Saddle Point)
A critical point (a, b) is called saddle point of the function f (x, y ) if in every open
disk centered at (a, b) there are domain points (x, y ) when: f (x, y ) > f (a, b) and
domain points (x, y ) when: f (x, y ) < f (a, b).

Figure 2: Saddle Point

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 Figure 3: Saddle Point

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 Example
Find the critical points of the function

f (x, y ) = x 3 y 2 (1 − x − y ).

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 21 / 52
 Solution
Given f (x, y ) = x 3 y 2 (1 − x − y ) = x 3 y 2 − x 4 y 2 − x 3 y 3 . Then

fx = 3x 2 y 2 − 4x 3 y 2 − 3x 2 y 3

and
fy = 2x 3 y − 2x 4 y − 3x 3 y 2 .
For critical points, we have

fx = 0 fy = 0
=⇒ 3x 2 y 2 − 4x 3 y 2 − 3x 2 y 3 = 0 =⇒ 2x 3 y − 2x 4 y − 3x 3 y 2 = 0
=⇒ x 2 y 2 (4x + 3y − 3) = 0 (3) =⇒ x 3 y (2x + 3y − 2) = 0 (4)

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 Solution
Given f (x, y ) = x 3 y 2 (1 − x − y ) = x 3 y 2 − x 4 y 2 − x 3 y 3 . Then

fx = 3x 2 y 2 − 4x 3 y 2 − 3x 2 y 3

and
fy = 2x 3 y − 2x 4 y − 3x 3 y 2 .
For critical points, we have

fx = 0 fy = 0
=⇒ 3x 2 y 2 − 4x 3 y 2 − 3x 2 y 3 = 0 =⇒ 2x 3 y − 2x 4 y − 3x 3 y 2 = 0
=⇒ x 2 y 2 (4x + 3y − 3) = 0 (3) =⇒ x 3 y (2x + 3y − 2) = 0 (4)

Solving equations (3) and (4), we get following critical points

 
1 1
(α, 0); α ∈ R, (0, β); β ∈ R and ,
2 3

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 Example
Find the critical points of the function

f (x, y ) = 12x 2 + y 3 − 12xy .

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 23 / 52
 Solution
Given f (x, y ) = 12x 2 + y 3 − 12xy . Then

fx = 24x − 12y

and
fy = 3y 2 − 12x.
For critical points, we have

fx = 0 fy = 0
=⇒ 24x − 12y = 0 =⇒ 3y 2 − 12x = 0
=⇒ 2x − y = 0 (5) =⇒ y 2 − 4x = 0 (6)

Solving equations (5) and (6), we get following critical points

(0, 0) and (1, 2)

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 Theorem (Second Derivative test for Local Extreme Values)
Suppose that f (x, y ) and its first and second partial derivatives are continuous
throughout a disk centered at (a, b) and that fx (a, b) = fy (a, b) = 0. Let r =
fxx (a, b), s = fxy (a, b) and t = fyy (a, b). Then

(i) f has a local maxima at (a, b) if r < 0 and rt − s 2 > 0.

(ii) f has a local minima at (a, b) if r > 0 and rt − s 2 > 0.

(iii) f has a saddle point at (a, b) if rt − s 2 < 0.

(iv) The test is inconclusive if rt − s 2 = 0.

2
The expression rt − s 2 = fxx (a, b)fyy (a, b) − (fxy (a, b)) is called the discriminant
or Hessian of f (x, y ). It is sometimes easier to remember it in determinant form,

2 fxx (a, b) fxy (a, b)

rt − s 2 = fxx (a, b)fyy (a, b) − (fxy (a, b)) =
fyx (a, b) fyy (a, b)

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 Example
Determine the critical points and locate any relative minima, maxima and saddle
points of function f defined by

f (x, y ) = 2x 2 + 2xy + 2y 2 − 6x

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 Solution
Given f (x, y ) = 2x 2 + 2xy + 2y 2 − 6x. Then

fx = 4x + 2y − 6, fy = 2x + 4y ,
fxx = 4, fxy = 2, fyy = 4.
For critical points, we solve the equations fx = 0 and fy = 0 simultaneously

fx = 0 =⇒ 4x + 2y = 6 (7)

fy = 0 =⇒ 2x + 4y = 0 (8)
Solving above two equations we get the critical point (2, −1). Now,

r = fxx (2, −1) = 4, s = fxy (2, −1) = 2, t = fyy (2, −1) = 4.

Since rt − s 2 = 4 · 4 − 22 = 12 > 0 and r = 4 >, therefore f has local minima at

(2, −1). The local minimum value is f (2, −1) = −6.

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 Example
Determine the critical points and locate any relative minima, maxima and saddle
points of function f defined by

f (x, y ) = 2x 2 − 4xy + y 4 + 2.

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 Solution
Given f (x, y ) = 2x 2 − 4xy + y 4 + 2. Then

fx = 4x − 4y , fy = −4x + 4y 3

fxx = 4, fxy = −4, fyy = 12y 2 .

For critical points, we solve the equations fx = 0 and fy = 0 simultaneously

fx = 0 =⇒ 4x − 4y = 0 =⇒ x − y = 0. (9)

fy = 0 =⇒ −4x + 4y 3 = 0 =⇒ −x + y 3 = 0 (10)
Solving above equations, we get following critical points

(0, 0), (1, 1), (−1, −1).

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 For critical point (0, 0):

r = fxx (0, 0) = 4
s = fxy (0, 0) = −4
t = fyy (0, 0) = 0

Thus, rt − s 2 = −16 < 0. Therefore (0, 0) is a saddle point of f .

For critical point (1, 1):

r = fxx (1, 1) = 4
s = fxy (1, 1) = −4
t = fyy (1, 1) = 12

Thus, rt − s 2 = 48 − 16 = 32 > 0 and r = 4 > 0. Therefore (1, 1) is the point of

local minima.

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 For critical point (−1, −1):

r = fxx (−1, −1) = 4

s = fxy (−1, −1) = −4
t = fyy (−1, −1) = 12

Thus, rt − s 2 = 48 − 16 = 32 > 0 and r = 4 > 0. Therefore (−1, −1) is the point

of local minima.

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 Practice Problems I

Determine the critical points and locate any relative minima, maxima and saddle
points for the following functions
1 f (x, y ) = −x 4 − y 4 + 4xy

Critical Points Nature

(0, 0) Saddle point
(1, 1) Local Maxima
(−1, −1) Local Maxima

2 f (x, y ) = x 2 + 3y 2 − 2xy − 8x

Critical Points Nature

(6, 2) Local Minima

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 Practice Problems II

3 f (x, y ) = x 3 − 12x + y 3 + 3y 2 − 9y

Critical Points Nature

(2, −3) Local Maxima
(2, 1) Local minima
(−2, 1) Saddle point
(−2, −3) Saddle point

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 The Method of Lagrange Multipliers

The method of Lagrange multipliers is used for maximizing or minimizing a general

function f (x, y , z) subject to a constraint of the form g (x, y , z) = k.

Assumptions made
The extreme values exist and ∇(g ) ̸= 0.

Then there is a number λ such that

∇(f ) = λ∇(g )

where λ is a parameter called Lagrange Multiplier.

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 Working Procedure
Find all the values of x, y , z, and λ that simultaneously satisfy the equations

fx
 = λgx
∇(f ) = λ∇(g ) = fx iˆ + fy jˆ + fz k̂ = λ(fx iˆ + fy jˆ + fz k̂) = fy = λgy

fz = λgz


and
g (x, y , z) = k.

and then evaluating f at all the points, the values obtained are studied. The largest
of these values is the maximum value of f and the smallest of these values is
minimum value f .

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 Example
Find the greatest and smallest values that the function

f (x, y ) = xy

takes on the ellipse

x2 y2
+ = 1.
8 2

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 Solution
x2 y2
Given f (x, y ) = xy and g (x, y ) = + − 1. Now
8 2
!
x
∇(f ) = λ∇(g ) =⇒ (y iˆ + x j)
ˆ =λ ˆ ˆ
i +y j
4

from which we find

λx
y= and x = λy (11)
4
which gives
!
λ2 λ2
y = y =⇒ 1− y =⇒ y = 0 or λ = ±2
4 4

case-1 If y = 0 then x = λy gives x = 0 but point (0, 0) does not lies on the
x2 y2
ellipse + = 1. Hence y ̸= 0.
8 2

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 case-2 If λ = ±2, then from Equation (11), we have x = ±2y . Substituting this
in the equation g (x, y ) = 0 gives

(±2y )2 y 2
+ = 1 =⇒ y 2 = 1 =⇒ y = ±1.
8 2
If y = 1, we have x = ±2 i.e. this gives following critical points

(2, 1) and (−2, 1).

If y = −1, we have x = ±2 i.e. this gives following critical points

(−2, −1) and (2, −1).

Here are the minimum and maximum values of the function.

f (2, 1) = f (−2, −1) = 2 Maximum at (2, 1) and (−2, −1)

f (−2, 1) = f (2, −1) = −2 Minimum at (−2, 1) and (2, −1)

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 Example
Find the maximum and minimum of f (x, y ) = 5x − 3y subject to the constraint
x 2 + y 2 = 136.

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 Solution
Given f (x, y ) = 5x − 3y and g (x, y ) = x 2 + y 2 − 136. Now

∇(f ) = λ∇(g ) =⇒ (5 iˆ − 3 j)
ˆ = λ(2x iˆ + 2y j)
ˆ

On comparing, we get the following equations

5 = 2λx
−3 = 2λy
x + y 2 = 136
2
(Given constraint)

Notice that we can’t have λ = 0 since that would not satisfy the first two equations.
So, since we know that λ ̸= 0 we can solve the first two equations for x and y
respectively. This gives,
5 3
x= y =−
2λ 2λ

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 Plugging these into the constraint gives,
25 9 17
2
+ 2 = 2 = 136
4λ 4λ 2λ
We can solve this for λ.
1 1
⇒ λ2 =
λ=±
16 4
Now, that we know λ we can find the points that will be potential maximums
and/or minimums.
If λ = − 14 we get,

x = −10 y =6
1
and if λ = 4 we get,

x = 10 y = −6
Thus, we have the following critical points

(−10, 6) and (10, −6)

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 41 / 52
 Here are the minimum and maximum values of the function.

f (−10, 6) = −68 Minimum at (−10, 6)

f (10, −6) = 68 Maximum at (10, −6)

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 42 / 52
 Example
Find the dimensions of the box with largest volume if the total surface area is 64
cm2 .

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 43 / 52
 Solution
Let’s set the length of the box to be x, the width of the box to be y and the height
of the box to be z. Let’s also note that because we’re dealing with the dimensions
of a box it is safe to assume that x, y , and z are all positive quantities.

We want to find the largest volume and so the function that we want to optimize
is given by,

f (x, y , z) = xyz
Next, we know that the surface area of the box must be a constant 64. So this is
the constraint. The constraint is given by,

2xy + 2xz + 2yz = 64 =⇒ xy + xz + yz = 32

Let
g (x, y , z) = xy + xz + yz − 32.

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 44 / 52
 Now
 
∇(f ) = λ∇(g ) =⇒ (yz iˆ + xz jˆ + xy k̂) = λ (y + z) iˆ + (x + z) jˆ + (x + y ) k̂

On comparing, we get the following equations

yz = λ (y + z) (12)

xz = λ (x + z) (13)
xy = λ (x + y ) (14)
xy + xz + yz = 32 (Constraint) (15)
Now note that λ ̸= 0 because if λ = 0 then from Equations (12), (13), (14) and
(15) we get 32 = 0, which is absurd therefore λ ̸= 0.
Equations (12), (13), (14) can be re-written as

1 1 1
+ = (16)
y z λ

1 1 1
+ = (17)
z x λ
Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 45 / 52
 1 1 1
+ = (18)
x y λ
Solving Equations (16), (17), (18), we get

x = y = z = 2λ

Putting x = y = z = 2λ in Equation (15), we get

s
8
λ=
3

This gives s r
8 32
x =y =z =2 = .
3 3
Thus, the volume of the box is
r r r ! r !3
32 32 32 32
V =f , , =
3 3 3 3

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 46 / 52
 Example
Find the maximum and minimum values of f (x, y , z) = xyz subject to the con-
straint x + y + z = 1. Assume that x, y , z ≥ 0.

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 47 / 52
 Solution
Given that f (x, y , z) = xyz and g (x, y , z) = x + y + z − 1. Now

∇(f ) = λ∇(g ) =⇒ (yz iˆ + xz jˆ + xy ẑ) = λ(iˆ + jˆ + k̂)

On comparing, we get the following equations

yz = λ (19)
xz = λ (20)
xy = λ (21)
x +y +z =1 (22)
Let’s start this solution process off by noticing that since the first three equations
all have λ they are all equal. So, let’s start off by setting equations (19) and (20)
equal.

yz = xz ⇒ z (y − x) = 0 ⇒ z = 0 or y = x

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 48 / 52
 So, we’ve got two possibilities here. Let’s start off with by assuming that z = 0.
In this case we can see from either equation (19) or (20) that we must then have
λ = 0. From equation (21) we see that this means that xy = 0. This in turn means
that either x = 0 or y = 0.
So, we’ve got two possible cases to deal with there. In each case two of the variables
must be zero. Once we know this we can plug into the constraint, equation (22),
to find the remaining value.

z = 0, x = 0 : ⇒ y =1
z = 0, y = 0 : ⇒ x =1

So, we’ve got two possible solutions (0, 1, 0) and (1, 0, 0).
Now let’s go back and take a look at the other possibility, y = x. We also have
two possible cases to look at here as well.
This first case isx = y = 0. In this case we can see from the constraint that we
must have z = 1 and so we now have a third solution (0, 0, 1).
The second case is x = y ̸= 0. Let’s set equations (20) and (21) equal.

xz = xy ⇒ x (z − y ) = 0 ⇒ x = 0 or z = y

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 49 / 52
 Now, we’ve already assumed that x ̸= 0 and so the only possibility is that z = y .
However, this also means that,

x =y =z
Using this in the constraint gives,

1
3x = 1 ⇒ x=
3
So, the next solution is 31 , 13 , 13 .

We got four solutions by setting the first two equations equal.

To completely finish this problem out we should probably set equations (19) and
(21) equal as well as setting equations (20) and (21) equal to see what we get.
Doing this gives,

yz = xy ⇒ y (z − x) = 0 ⇒ y = 0 or z = x
xz = xy ⇒ x (z − y ) = 0 ⇒ x = 0 or z = y

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 50 / 52
 Both of these are very similar to the first situation that we looked at and we’ll leave
it up to you to show that in each of these cases we arrive back at the four solutions
that we already found.
So, we have four solutions that we need to check in the function to see whether we
have minimums or maximums.

f (0, 0, 1) = 0 f (0, 1, 0) = 0 f (1, 0, 0) = 0 All Minimums

 
1 1 1 1
f , , = Maximum
3 3 3 27

Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 51 / 52
 Exercise 1:
A large container in the shape of a rectangular solid must have a volume of 480 m3 .
The bottom of the container costs $5/m2 to construct whereas the top and sides
cost $3/m2 to construct. Use Lagrange multipliers to find the dimensions of the
container of this size that has the minimum cost.

Exercise 2:
A rectangular box without a top (a topless box) is to be made from 12 ft 2 of
cardboard. Find the maximum volume of such a box.
Ans: The maximum volume is 4 ft 3 . The dimensions are 1 × 2 × 2 ft.
Exercise 3:
The temperature on the surface of x 2 + y 2 + 4z 2 = 64 is given by T (x, y , z) =
y 2 + z 2 . Use a Lagrange multiplier to find the points on the surface where the
temperature is a maximum. Find also the maximum temperature at those points.

Exercise 4:
The temperature of a point (x, y , z) in or on the unit sphere is given by T (x, y , z) =
1 + xy + yz. By using the method of Lagrange multipliers, find the tempera-
ture of the hottest point on the sphere. Ans: point ( √15 , √25 , √15 ) and maximum
temperature= 95 .
Dr. Juhi Kesarwani & Dr. Ashish Kesarwany (VITB) Functions of two variables October 1, 2024 52 / 52