Given that is continuous at , differentiable at , , .
Does there always exist a such that
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Let g ( x ) = f ( x ) ( b − x ) a , defined on [ a , b ] .
g is continuous within the interval [ a , b ] , differentiable within the interval ( a , b ) , with
g ′ ( x ) = f ′ ( x ) ( b − x ) a + f ( x ) [ ( b − x ) a ] ′ = f ′ ( x ) ( b − x ) a + f ( x ) [ a ( b − x ) a − 1 ( b − x ) ′ ] = ( b − x ) a − 1 [ f ′ ( x ) ( b − x ) − a f ( x ) ] Let h ( x ) = x − a f ( x ) , x ∈ ( a , b ] .
Then,
f ( x ) = ( x − a ) h ( x ) ⇒ x → a lim f ( x ) = x → a lim [ ( x − a ) h ( x ) ] = x → a lim ( x − a ) ⋅ x → a lim h ( x ) = 0 ⋅ 1 = 0 Since f is continuous, f ( a ) = x → a lim f ( x ) = 0 . Thus, we have g ( a ) = f ( a ) ( b − a ) a = 0 g ( b ) = f ( b ) ( b − b ) a = 0 Hence, by Rolle’s theorem , there exists a ξ ∈ ( a , b ) such that
g ′ ( ξ ) = 0 ⇒ ( b − ξ ) a − 1 [ f ′ ( ξ ) ( b − ξ ) − a f ( ξ ) ] = 0 ⇒ f ( ξ ) = a b − ξ f ′ ( ξ )
The answer is Yes, always .