Calculus is a famously difficult type of mathematics. As noted earlier, calculus is the study of continuous change. There are two main branches of calculus: differential calculus and integral calculus.
- differential calculus
- integral calculus
- derivative
- integral (∫)
- slope
- prime
- delta (Δ)
- interval
Differential Calculus
Differential calculus is the branch of calculus that examines parts to find out how the whole changes. It includes topics like limits (explained in Lesson 9-1) and derivatives.
Derivatives
In Lesson 3-2 for Math, we studied the word slope in connection to straight lines. The slope of a line is how steep the line is, or the rate at which the line changes.
In calculus, we can also try to measure slope for other kinds of lines, not just straight lines. However, if the line is curved, then the rate of the slope continuously changes. We have to measure the slope for a specific point on the line.
A derivative is the slope (rate of change) for a function at a specific point.
Prime and Delta
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