MCQ
The minimum value of sin x + cos x is
  • A
    $-2 \sqrt{2}$
  • B
    $\sqrt{2}$
  • C
    $0$
  • D
    $-\sqrt{2}$

Answer

(d) $-\sqrt{2}$
Explanation: Let $f(x)=\sin x+\cos x$
$\begin{array}{l}\therefore f^{\prime}(x)=\cos x-\sin x \\ \Rightarrow f^{\prime \prime}(x)=-\sin x-\cos x\end{array}$
Now, $f^{\prime}(x)=0$
$\begin{array}{l}\Rightarrow \cos x-\sin x=0 \Rightarrow \sin x=\cos x \Rightarrow \tan x=1 \\ \Rightarrow x=n \pi+\frac{\pi}{4}, n \in z \end{array}$
$\begin{array}{l}\text { At } x=\pi+\frac{\pi}{4} \\ f^{\prime \prime}(x)=-\sin \left(\pi+\frac{\pi}{4}\right)-\cos \left(\pi+\frac{\pi}{4}\right)\end{array}$
$=\sin \left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right)+\cos \left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}+\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}=\sqrt{2}>0$
$\therefore x =\pi+\frac{\pi}{4}$ is point of minimum
$\begin{array}{l}\text { Minimum value }=\sin \left(\pi+\frac{\pi}{4}\right)+\cos \left(\pi+\frac{\pi}{4}\right) \\
=-\sin \left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right)-\cos \left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) \\
=-\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}-\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}=-\frac{2}{\sqrt{2}}=-\sqrt{2}\end{array}$

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