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Differential calculus is the study of the definition, properties, and applications of the derivative of a function. The process of finding the derivative is called differentiation . Given a function and a point in the domain, the derivative at that point is a way of encoding the small-scale behavior of the function near that point.
The higher order derivatives can be applied in physics; for example, while the first derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity, how the position changes as time advances, the second derivative is the object's acceleration, how the velocity changes as time advances.
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.
Snap, [6] or jounce, [2] is the fourth derivative of the position vector with respect to time, or the rate of change of the jerk with respect to time. [4] Equivalently, it is the second derivative of acceleration or the third derivative of velocity, and is defined by any of the following equivalent expressions: = ȷ = = =.
The partial derivative generalizes the notion of the derivative to higher dimensions. A partial derivative of a multivariable function is a derivative with respect to one variable with all other variables held constant. [1]: 26ff A partial derivative may be thought of as the directional derivative of the function along a coordinate axis.
Because science and engineering often relate quantities to each other, the methods of related rates have broad applications in these fields. Differentiation with respect to time or one of the other variables requires application of the chain rule, [1] since most problems involve several variables.
Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach; Nonstandard calculus; Infinitesimal; Archimedes' use of infinitesimals; For further developments: see list of real analysis topics, list of complex analysis topics, list of multivariable calculus topics
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.