By completing the square, find (for real $x$) the minimum value of: $$x^4 + 2x^2 + 2.$$
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1As all terms are non-negative, the minimum must be when $x=0$... For a change completing the square seems overkill! – Macavity Aug 30 '14 at 15:27
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take $y=x^2$ and complete the square, just a tip – Aaron Maroja Aug 30 '14 at 16:08
3 Answers
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We can observe that $$x^4+2x^2\geq 0$$ for all $x\in\mathbb R$ and so, $$x^4+2x^2+2\geq 2$$ for all $x\in \mathbb R$. Moreover, for $x=0$, we have that $$0^4+2\cdot 0^2+2=2$$ and so $2$ is the minimum.
idm
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$$ x^4+x^2+2=(x^2+1)^2+1\\x^2\geq 0\\x^2+1 \geq 0+1 \\(x^2+1)^2 \geq (1)^2\\so\\(x^2+1)^2+1\geq 1+1 $$
Khosrotash
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