Brandy is asked to sketch a graph of m(x)=(2x+5)(x−3)^3(8x+1)^5. How many turning points should her sketch include?

10 at most

seven at most

two at most

eight at most

1 answer

The turning points of a graph correspond to the points where the graph changes from increasing to decreasing or from decreasing to increasing. These points occur where the derivative of the function is equal to zero.

To find the number of turning points of the function m(x), we need to find the derivative of m(x) and count the number of zeros of the derivative.

Taking the derivative of m(x) using the product rule and chain rule, we get:

m'(x) = (2x+5)(3(x-3)^2)(8x+1)^5 + (2x+5)(x-3)^3(5(8x+1)^4)(8) + (2)(x-3)^3(8x+1)^5

Simplifying this, we get:

m'(x) = (2x+5)(3(x-3)^2)(8x+1)^5 + 8(2x+5)(x-3)^3(8x+1)^4 + 2(x-3)^3(8x+1)^5

Now we need to find the zeros of m'(x). Since m'(x) is a polynomial, we can use any method that finds the roots of polynomials, such as factoring, graphing, or using the rational root theorem. However, for simplicity, we can plug in some values of x to see if m'(x) equals zero at any of these values:

m'(-2) = (2(-2)+5)(3((-2)-3)^2)(8(-2)+1)^5 + 8(2(-2)+5)((-2)-3)^3(8(-2)+1)^4 + 2((-2)-3)^3(8(-2)+1)^5
= (1)(3)(-15)^5 + 8(1)(-5)(-15)^4 + (-5)^3(-15)^5
= -1125 + 14400 - 16875
= -2250

m'(0) = (2(0)+5)(3((0)-3)^2)(8(0)+1)^5 + 8(2(0)+5)((0)-3)^3(8(0)+1)^4 + 2((0)-3)^3(8(0)+1)^5
= (5)(3)(-9)^5 + 8(5)(-3)^4 + (-3)^3
= -2430 + 1440 - 27
= -1017

m'(1) = (1)(3)(8)^5 + 8(1)(-2)^4 + (-2)^3
= 12288 + 128 - 8
= 12408

From these calculations, we can see that m'(-2) and m'(0) are negative while m'(1) is positive. This suggests that m'(x) has at least 2 zeros, indicating the presence of at least 2 turning points in the graph of m(x).

Therefore, the correct answer is: two at most.