proof of mean value theorem
Define on by
Clearly, is continuous on , differentiable
on , and
Notice that satisfies the conditions of Rolle’s Theorem. Therefore, by Rolle’s Theorem there exists such that .
However, from the definition of we obtain by differentiation that
Since , we therefore have
as required.
References
- 1 Michael Spivak, Calculus, 3rd ed., Publish or Perish Inc., 1994.