Exercise · ZW-LOCAL-AND-GLOBAL-MINIMA-OF-CONVEX-FUNCTIONS-010 · ★★★ Advanced

Let \(f(x,y)=x^2+2y^2\) on the line \(x+y=3\). Find the global minimum of f restricted to that line.

Choose one option.

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  • C. 6 at (2,1)

Explanation

Substituting \(y=3-x\) gives \(g(x)=x^2+2(3-x)^2\), which is convex; its derivative \(6x-12=0\) yields x=2, so y=1 and f=4+2=6. The option with coordinates (1,2) swaps the roles of x and y.

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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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