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Rolle's theorem

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Rolle's theorem

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on stationary points between two equal values of a real differentiable function

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

If the real function f is continuous on the proper closed interval [a, b], differentiable on the open interval (a, b), and f(a) = f(b), then there exists c in (a, b) such that f′(c) = 0.

In calculus and real analysis, Rolle's theorem (or lemma) states that a real-valued differentiable function which attains equal values at two distinct points must have a stationary point somewhere between them, that is, a point where its derivative is zero. The theorem is named after Michel Rolle.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rolle's theorem” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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