The twice-differentiable function \( f \) is shown below on the domain \( (-9,9) \). The function \( f \) has points of inflection at \( x=-7.5, x=-2 ; x=1.4, x=7.4 \), shown with small green circies on the graph. Determine what could be said about the values of \( f(-2), f^{\prime}(-2) \), and \( f^{\prime \prime}(-2) \).
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The Deep Dive
At the point of inflection \( x = -2 \), the second derivative \( f''(-2) \) must be equal to zero or change signs, indicating a change in concavity. This tells us that \( f(-2) \) is just the value of the function at that point, which we can assume is finite based on its definition, while \( f'(-2) \), the first derivative, could be anything—it may be positive, negative, or zero—reflecting how the function behaves around that point. Since it's a point of inflection, we can infer that \( f'(-2) \) is not necessarily zero, reflecting that the function could still be increasing or decreasing at that point despite the change in concavity. So, in summary, we could say \( f(-2) \) is determined, \( f'(-2) \) could vary, and \( f''(-2) = 0 \) or changes sign.