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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.
For a real-valued function of a single real variable, the derivative of a function at a point generally determines the best linear approximation to the function at that point. Differential calculus and integral calculus are connected by the fundamental theorem of calculus. This states that differentiation is the reverse process to integration.
The ancient period introduced some of the ideas that led to integral calculus, but does not seem to have developed these ideas in a rigorous and systematic way. . Calculations of volumes and areas, one goal of integral calculus, can be found in the Egyptian Moscow papyrus (c. 1820 BC), but the formulas are only given for concrete numbers, some are only approximately true, and they are not ...
Greek mathematics refers to mathematics texts and ideas stemming from the Archaic through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly from the 5th century BC to the 6th century AD, around the shores of the Mediterranean.
Here is a particular example, the derivative of the squaring function at the input 3. Let f(x) = x 2 be the squaring function. The derivative f′(x) of a curve at a point is the slope of the line tangent to that curve at that point. This slope is determined by considering the limiting value of the slopes of the second lines.
In mathematics, differential refers to several related notions [1] derived from the early days of calculus, put on a rigorous footing, such as infinitesimal differences and the derivatives of functions. [2] The term is used in various branches of mathematics such as calculus, differential geometry, algebraic geometry and algebraic topology.
There are many alternatives to the classical calculus of Newton and Leibniz; for example, each of the infinitely many non-Newtonian calculi. [1] Occasionally an alternative calculus is more suited than the classical calculus for expressing a given scientific or mathematical idea.
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.