Final Answer:
The critical points for the function f(x, y) = x² + y³ - 9x² - 12y - 4 are (3, -2) and (0, -4). The classification of each critical point is as follows:
(3, -2) is a local minimum.
(0, -4) is a saddle point.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the critical points, we need to find the partial derivatives of the function f(x, y) with respect to x and y and then set them equal to zero:
Calculate ∂f/∂x and ∂f/∂y:
∂f/∂x = 2x - 18x
∂f/∂y = 3y² - 12
Set the partial derivatives equal to zero and solve for x and y:
2x - 18x = 0 → x = 0
3y² - 12 = 0 → y = ±2
So, we have critical points at (0, 2) and (0, -2).
Evaluate the second-order partial derivatives:
∂²f/∂x² = 2 - 18 = -16
∂²f/∂y² = 6y
Use the second-order partial derivatives in the Second Derivative Test to classify the critical points:
At (0, -2), ∂²f/∂x² is negative, so it's a local maximum.
At (0, 2), ∂²f/∂x² is negative, so it's a local maximum.
Therefore, the critical points are (0, 2) and (0, -2), and they are both local maxima.