AP CALCULUS AB Scoring Guide
Unit 5 Progress Check: MCQ Part A
1. Let be the function given by . The derivative of is given by
. What value of satisfies the conclusion of the Mean Value Theorem
applied to on the interval ?
(A) 2.132 because
(B) 2.749 because
(C) 3.042 because
(D) 3.252 because
Answer B
Correct. The Mean Value Theorem guarantees that there is a value of in the interval where
. The calculator is used to find that .
2. The derivative of the function is given by . On which of the following intervals
in is decreasing?
(A) , , and
(B) and
(C) and
(D) and
Answer C
Correct. The function will be decreasing where is negative. The calculator is used to graph on the
interval and to find the zeros of that bound the two intervals on which is negative.
3. The temperature inside a vehicle is modeled by the function , where is measured in degrees Fahrenheit
and is measured in minutes. The first derivative of is given by . At what times , for
, does the temperature attain a local minimum?
(A) 0.354 only
(B) 1.962
(C) 3.299 only
(D) 0.354 and 3.299
AP Calculus AB Page 1 of 6
Scoring Guide
Unit 5 Progress Check: MCQ Part A
Answer C
Correct. The function will have a local minimum where the derivative, , changes from negative to
positive. On the interval , this happens between 3 and 4. The calculator is used to find the
zero of on this interval.
4. Let be the function given by on the closed interval . Of the following intervals, on
which can the Mean Value Theorem be applied to ?
I. because is continuous on and differentiable on .
II. because is continuous on and differentiable on .
III. because is continuous on and differentiable on .
(A) None
(B) I only
(C) I and II only
(D) I, II, and III
Answer C
Correct. The Mean Value Theorem can be applied on the closed interval , since the function is
continuous on the closed interval and differentiable on the open interval . The Mean
Value Theorem can also be applied on the closed interval , since the function is continuous on the
closed interval and differentiable on the open interval .
5. Let be a differentiable function with and . Which of the following must be true for
some in the interval ?
(A) , since the Extreme Value Theorem applies.
(B) , since the Mean Value Theorem applies.
(C) , since the Mean Value Theorem applies.
(D) , since the Intermediate Value Theorem applies.
Answer C
Correct. Since is differentiable, it is continuous on the closed interval and differentiable on the
Page 2 of 6 AP Calculus AB
Scoring Guide
Unit 5 Progress Check: MCQ Part A
open interval . Therefore, the Mean Value Theorem guarantees a point in the open interval
where the instantaneous rate of change equals the average rate of change over the interval. The
instantaneous rate of change is given by the derivative , and the average rate of change over the
interval is . Therefore, the equation is guaranteed to
have at least one solution in the interval .
6. Let be the function given by on the closed interval . On which of the following
closed intervals is the function guaranteed by the Extreme Value Theorem to have an absolute maximum and an
absolute minimum?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Answer C
Correct. The Extreme Value Theorem guarantees that a function that is continuous on a closed interval
has both an absolute maximum and an absolute minimum on that closed interval. The rational function
is continuous on the closed interval because this interval does not contain or ,
where is undefined.
7. Let be the function defined by with domain . The function has no absolute minimum
and no absolute maximum on its domain. Why does this not contradict the Extreme Value Theorem?
(A) The domain of is not an open interval.
(B) The domain of is not a closed and bounded interval.
(C) The function is not continuous on its domain.
(D) The function is not differentiable on its domain.
Answer B
Correct. The Extreme Value Theorem applies to continuous functions over closed intervals of the form
, where . Although the function is continuous on its domain, the interval is not
closed and bounded. Therefore the Extreme Value Theorem does not apply.
AP Calculus AB Page 3 of 6
Scoring Guide
Unit 5 Progress Check: MCQ Part A
8.
Selected values of a continuous function are given in the table above. Which of the following statements could be
false?
By the Intermediate Value Theorem applied to on the interval , there is a value such that
(A)
.
(B) By the Mean Value Theorem applied to on the interval , there is a value such that .
By the Extreme Value Theorem applied to on the interval , there is a value such that
(C)
for all in .
By the Extreme Value Theorem applied to on the interval , there is a value such that
(D)
for all in .
Answer B
Correct. This is an attempt to use the Mean Value Theorem to conclude that there is a value for which
. However, that theorem requires that the function be differentiable on
the open interval . The only condition known about is that it is continuous, not that it is
differentiable, so this statement could be false. For example, if is piecewise linear on the intervals
, , and , there would be no value where .
9. Let be the function defined by for . Which of the following statements
is true?
(A) is decreasing on the interval because on the interval .
(B) is increasing on the interval because on the interval .
(C) is decreasing on the interval because on the interval .
(D) is decreasing on the interval because on the interval .
Answer D
Correct. Because , it follows that is negative on
the interval . Therefore is decreasing on this interval.
Page 4 of 6 AP Calculus AB
Scoring Guide
Unit 5 Progress Check: MCQ Part A
10. Let be the function defined by for . On what open interval is decreasing?
(A) only
(B)
(C)
(D) There is no such interval.
Answer A
Correct. A function is decreasing where .
Therefore for .
11. Let be a function with first derivative given by . At what values of does have a
relative maximum?
(A) only
(B) 0 only
(C) and 5 only
(D) , 0, and 5 only
Answer A
Correct. The function will have a relative maximum where the derivative changes from positive to
negative. The critical points of are at , , and . The only critical point where
changes from positive to negative is at .
AP Calculus AB Page 5 of 6
Scoring Guide
Unit 5 Progress Check: MCQ Part A
12.
The graph of , the derivative of the function , is shown above for . Which of the following
statements is true for ?
(A) has one relative minimum and two relative maxima.
(B) has two relative minima and one relative maximum.
(C) has two relative minima and two relative maxima.
(D) has three relative minima and two relative maxima.
Answer A
Correct. has a relative minimum where changes from negative to positive, and has a relative
maximum where changes from positive to negative. Therefore, has a relative minimum at
and relative maxima at and .
Page 6 of 6 AP Calculus AB