Suppose that the mean value theorem is violated. Let Lbe the set of all xin the interval from ato bsuch that y(x) < , and likewise let Mbe the set with y(x) > . If the theorem is violated, then the union of these two sets covers the entire interval from ato b. Neither one can be empty; if, for example, M was empty, then we would have y< everywhere and also , but it follows directly from the definition of the definite integral that when one function is less than another, its integral is also less than the other’s. Since y takes on values less than and greater than , it follows from the intermediate value theorem that y takes on the value somewhere (intuitively, at a boundary between L and M).
- 1668 reads