Exercise · ZW-LOCAL-AND-GLOBAL-MINIMA-OF-CONVEX-FUNCTIONS-002 · ★☆☆ Basic

Is the point \(x=3\) a global minimum of \(f(x)=(x-3)^2\) over \(\mathbb{R}\)?

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • C. Yes, because f(3)=0 and f(x)≥0 for all x

Explanation

The function is convex and its value at \(x=3\) is 0, which is never undercut. The option saying the gradient is nonzero confuses the gradient at the point with the optimality condition.

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Review the concept: Local and global minima of convex functions

A local minimum of a function is a point where no sufficiently small neighborhood contains smaller values, while a global minimum is a point where the function attains the lowest value over its entire domain.

\[f(x^*) \le f(x) \quad \forall x \in \mathrm{dom}\, f\]

More practice problems: local and global minima of convex functions

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