The Kurvendiskussion, the discussion of a curve, is a standard topic of school mathematics. It is the investigation of the graph of a function by working through a standard set of properties. They include the domain, symmetry, the points where the graph crosses the axes, high and low points, inflection points, asymptotes and the behavior at infinity. It is relatively popular with weaker pupils and students as an exam topic that can be prepared for with relative certainty. It is also criticized as a purely computational routine that conveys little understanding. In central Abitur exams, such schematic tasks are now set only rarely.