Illustrated · 1 min
Previously, we talked about Rolle's Theorem, which states that given a function continuous on and differentiable on , if then there exists a constant in such that Cauchy's Mean Value Theorem is a natural generalization of Rolle's Theorem (and also the Mean Value Theorem), involving two functions. It specifically states the following:
Cauchy's Mean Value Theorem: Suppose functions are continuous on and differentiable on . Then there exists in such that Or, if and if , then we can also say Okay, so this resembles the regular Rolle's Theorem and Mean Value Theorem algebraically, but what does this mean geometrically? Well, we get a hint from the previous section on "parametric" Rolle's Theorem, which suggests that we consider the two functions and as parameters: i.e. setting and . Using this idea, see if you can visualize this theorem geometrically:
Any ideas? Let's work on this together: suppose we plot the graph of the curve parametrized by and . One example is shown below:
We notice that the right hand side of the equation above is imply the expression of the slope of the line containing and . So geometrically, the theorem tells us that there is a value in for which the tangent line to the curve at is parallel to the line connecting the two endpoints.