Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Concave down refers to the shape of a graph where it curves downward, resembling a frowning face. It indicates that the second derivative of a function is negative.
The second derivative test is used to determine whether a critical point on a graph corresponds to a local maximum or minimum by examining the sign of the second derivative.