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In mathematics, the derivative is a fundamental tool that quantifies the sensitivity to change of a function's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point.
In calculus, the differential represents the principal part of the change in a function = with respect to changes in the independent variable. The differential is defined by = ′ (), where ′ is the derivative of f with respect to , and is an additional real variable (so that is a function of and ).
More generally, the differential or pushforward refers to the derivative of a map between smooth manifolds and the pushforward operations it defines. The differential is also used to define the dual concept of pullback. Stochastic calculus provides a notion of stochastic differential and an associated calculus for stochastic processes.
Calculus is of vital importance in physics: many physical processes are described by equations involving derivatives, called differential equations. Physics is particularly concerned with the way quantities change and develop over time, and the concept of the " time derivative " — the rate of change over time — is essential for the precise ...
The derivatives in the table above are for when the range of the inverse secant is [,] and when the range of the inverse cosecant is [,]. It is common to additionally define an inverse tangent function with two arguments , arctan ( y , x ) . {\displaystyle \arctan(y,x).}
for the first derivative, for the second derivative, for the third derivative, and for the nth derivative. When f is a function of several variables, it is common to use "∂", a stylized cursive lower-case d, rather than "D". As above, the subscripts denote the derivatives that are being taken.
A similar formulation of the higher-dimensional derivative is provided by the fundamental increment lemma found in single-variable calculus. If all the partial derivatives of a function exist in a neighborhood of a point x 0 and are continuous at the point x 0, then the function is differentiable at that point x 0.
In mathematics, the total derivative of a function f at a point is the best linear approximation near this point of the function with respect to its arguments. Unlike partial derivatives, the total derivative approximates the function with respect to all of its arguments, not just a single one. In many situations, this is the same as ...