Newton, Leibniz and The History of Calculus: Mathematics 6 Project

NEWTON, LEIBNIZ AND
THE HISTORY OF
CALCULUS
Mathematics 6 Project
SUBMITTED BY:
ALYSSA JAN MARIE G. VALDEZ
SUBMITTED TO:
MRS. MARICEL D. BATA
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Calculus is different from other different branches of mathematics; it is less static and
more dynamic. Calculus is the branch of mathematics that is concerned with the computation
and the properties of derivatives and integrals of functions through methods based on the
summation of infinitesimal differences. More specifically, it deals with rate of change.
English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton and German mathematician Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibniz developed calculus independently in the 17 th century. However, this fact is not
sufficient. Their concepts were built on earlier studies of motion and area, so it is also useful to
have an overview of the subject and to study the origin of calculus, particularly the essential
ideas of the subject founded by earlier mathematicians including Eudoxus, Archimedes, Fermat,
Cavalieri, Barrow, and others. The techniques developed by these mathematicians enabled
people to solve the volume of a solid, the length of a curve, the force of water against a dam,
the mass and center of gravity of a rod, and the work done in pumping water out of a tank.
In contrast to how courses in calculus usually start, the origin of calculus started with
integration and then came later to integration.
The area problem is the chief problem in integral calculus. In the earliest years,
geometry problems such as computing areas, volumes and lengths of circles were the first
problems encountered by mathematicians in the history of calculus. Some ancient Greeks
developed and used clever techniques of solving these problems.
Greek mathematicians are recognized for being able to use infinitesimals, which is
defined as things that are very small that there is no method to measure them. Democritus is
recognized as the first person to think that the division of objects into infinite number of cross-
sections. At approximately the same time, Zeno of Elea questioned Democritus’ works; he
devised his paradoxes and argued that change, particularly motion is impossible. Later, Zeno,
Aristotle, and Plato discussed and developed the concept of infinity, which is a precursor to
limits.
Eudoxus used the method of

exhaustion, which eventually led to limits, to
calculate area and volume of curved shapes;
he filled in the area with a sequence of
successively smaller triangles and finding
the sum of the area of these triangles. Eudoxus' idea of the area of curved shapes
Archimedes, one of the most notable mathematicians in the history of Calculus, went on
to continue Eudoxus’ ideas successfully and invented heuristics, which resembles integration, to
calculate the approximate area and the length of a circle. This contribution of Archimedes led to
approximate values of π. Archimedes further developed his works and found the areas of
ellipses, parabolic segments and other of curved shapes. He proved that the area of a segment
of parabola is 4/3 the area of a triangle having the same base and vertex, and 2/3 the area of
the circumscribed parallelogram by adding infinite series of the areas of the triangles—the first
known example of the summation of an infinite series.
No further development was made until the early 1600s when problems regarding the
center of gravity of planes and solid figures, and the ideas of Archimedes were further
developed. Luca Valerio published De quadratura parabolae in which he solved for the
approximate area of curves using the sum of circumscribed and inscribed rectangles. His works
were further developed the Greeks’ techniques in solving area problems.
The astronomer and mathematician Johann Kepler used conic sections

to describe the solar system by calculating the area of the planets’ orbits
(ellipses) by using Archimedes’ methods. Kepler imagined the area of a circle
as being comprised of an infinite number of triangles with the short straight
lines as their bases. His concept can be described by the equation:
Kepler's idea of the
Area o =( area of first triangle )+ ( area of first triangle )+ … area of a circle
¿ ( 12 ∙ base ∙ height )+( 12 ∙ base ∙ height )+…

1
¿ height ( base+base +… )
2
1
¿ r ( base+base +… )
2
circumference of the ¿˚
1
¿ r¿
2
1
¿ r (2 πr )
2
¿π r2
where r is the radius of the circle
Two decades after Kepler published his works about his

methods of solving area problems, Bonaventura Cavalieri,
who was a student of Galileo Galilei, invented methods of
indivisibles, which is a modern form of the ancient Greek
method of exhaustion, and made this concept a tool for
finding areas and volumes. He envisioned the area of a region Cavalieri's idea of the area under a curve
as being comprised of infinite number of ‘indivisibles’ or parallel lines rather than infinite
number of triangles.
The problems regarding tangent lines have given rise to differential calculus, which was
invented approximately 2000 years after integral calculus was developed. Although Newton and
Leibniz are recognized as the founders of calculus, Pierre Fermat certainly had a hand in it.
Fermat was one of many to notice the inverse relationship between derivatives and integrals.
He also found the minima and maxima of curves by finding a line tangent to the curve and
parallel to the x-axis. Some people consider him as the founder of calculus because of this
finding. Now, this method of Fermat is being written as the root of the derivative of the
function:
f ' ( x )=0
Additionally, Fermat did an important contribution to the theory of integration. He was

the first mathematician who had verified the power formula of integration for exponents that
are positive integers which today, we describe as:
a n +1
a
∫ x n dx= n+1
0
Another mathematician contributed to the progress of differential calculus. Rene

Descartes was the first to draw equations on a graph, and came up with the idea of the x-y
plane, which we now call as the Cartesian plane. More importantly, he invented an important
method of finding and calculating the slope of tangent lines, or rather the normal lines to some
curves by using geometry. In addition, his method together with the ancient Greek
mathematicians’ works gave rise to description of motion algebraically. Analytical geometry is
generally recognized as Descartes’ invention; however, Fermat had written his works before
Descartes did. Unluckily, Fermat did not publish his works, and it was only until his death that
his works were revealed.
In the timeline of Calculus, the next major step was provided by Isaac Barrow, who was
a mentor of Isaac Newton. In his manuscript Lectiones opticae et geometricae, Barrow
introduced a method of finding the tangent line of curves by considering the tangent as the
limit of the chord as the points approach each other. Most of his notable works include
indivisibility, infinitesimal ideas, and a full proof of the fundamental theorem of calculus.
Heavily influenced by Fermat’s discoveries, James Gregory provided a proof for the
restricted version of the Second Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.
In the late 1600s, English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton, who was
influenced by his teacher Barrow, founded fluxions or, as we now call it, calculus. Fluxion was
derived from a Latin word meaning continual change. Even though the
earlier mathematicians had already proven some of the essential ideas
of calculus, Newton managed to incorporate all of these contrasting
methods to his own findings. The primary intention of Newton was to
solve physics-related questions. His main idea of calculus was motion
and started with his questions regarding the acceleration of falling
objects. This started his development of new branch of mathematics
and later on, his development of a clear statement of the First
Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.
Using the concept of infinite series and the power rule for integrals, Newton provided a
way of finding the areas under curves, which the earlier mathematicians could not, and
improved Barrow’s method of finding the slope of tangents to these curves.
Newton’s Notations in Calculus

Newton's idea of tangent
lines
Newton’s Notation for Differentiation
ý – 1st order derivative
ý - 2nd order derivative
Newton’s Notation for Integration
x∨x
Furthermore, he later proved his theories of the universe that involve physics and
geometry using his concepts of calculus. More specifically, he was able to devise a method of
finding the speed of any moving body. In his work entitled Philosophiae Natualis Principia
Mathematica, he worked with the motions of heavenly bodies. However, since he did not want
to deal with controversies, none of his works were published until a much later date when he
was forced to do so.
Meanwhile, German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz worked independently in

Europe. The notations that are currently being used are some of the most notable contributions
of Leibniz in the branch of Calculus. While Newton studied calculus in terms of motions, Leibniz
thought of it in terms of sums and differences.
In his early years, he studied the sum of finite and infinite numbers first to calculate
areas under curves. After a series of discoveries, he introduced the notation:
∫ xdx
where ∫❑ was a representation of the first letter of the Latin word summa, which
means summation, and d was the first letter of the Latin word differentia, which means
differential or infinitesimal distance.
Through differential triangles, he provided a more logically adequate method of
determining the slope of a tangent line to a curve and thus led to the formulas for the power,
product, quotient and chain rules.
Leibniz was also well-known for providing appropriate symbols for notation sand paying
more attention to formality. Unlike Newton, Leibniz immediately published all of his works.
Leibniz’ Notations in Calculus
Notation for Differentiation

dy
– 1st order derivative
dx
d2 y
– 2nd order derivative
d x2
n
d y
– nth order derivative
d xn
Notation for Integration

b
∫ f ( x ) dx∨∫ f ( x ) dx
a
At that time, a bitter and long clash arose between the two mathematicians as each
founder argued that the other plagiarized his work. This dispute was later known as the “Great
Sulk.” With national pride at stake, the supporters of the two mathematicians also accused the
other of stealing even after the death of the two mathematicians. Now, historians acknowledge
that both founded calculus independently.
Several modern mathematicians continued to develop the works of the earlier

mathematicians. James Bernoulli was the first to expand equations by repeated integration by
parts. Approximately a decade after, English mathematician Brook Taylor devised the ideas of
integration by parts.
In the 17th century, Leonhard Euler explained the logarithms and the trigonometric
functions as we understand them today. Then, Joseph Louis-Lagrange tried to think functions as
power series instead of infinitesimals and limits and determined their derivatives; he was also
the one who introduced “derivative” and the notation f’(x). Later, Bernhard Riemann
approached the area of a curve between a certain interval as the approximate sum of areas of
inscribed and circumscribed rectangles. Thus, he invented the Riemann sums and devised the
nature of definite integrals.
At present time, calculus makes it possible to solve problems as diverse as measurement
of the orbits of satellites and spacecraft, prediction of population sizes, estimation of the rate of
oil prices, and weather forecast.
References
Allen, D. (1997). Early Calculus -- III. Retrieved from Tamu:
http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/history/precalc3/precalc3.html
Berggren, J. L. (n.d.). Calculus. Retrieved from Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/science/calculus-mathematics
Calculus Through History. (n.d.). Retrieved from Time Toast:
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/calculus-through-history
How Did Isaac Newton Invent Calculus? (n.d.). Retrieved from Reference:
https://www.reference.com/math/did-isaac-newton-invent-calculus-4c8717136d4e0f1d
Howling Pixel. (n.d.). History of calculus. Retrieved from Howling Pixel:
https://howlingpixel.com/i-en/History_of_calculus
Johnson, D. B., & Mowry, T. A. (2009). The Concepts and History of Calculus. In Mathematics: A
Practical Odyssey. Cengage Learning.
O'Connor, J. J., & Robertson, E. F. (n.d.). A history of the calculus. Retrieved from MacTutor
History of Mathematics: http://www-history.mcs.st-
andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/The_rise_of_calculus.html
Rosenthal, A. (2014). The History of Calculus. Retrieved from
http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/teaching/summer2014/exhibits/lagrange/history_
calculus_rosenthal.pdf
Thomas, M. (2014). How did Leibniz discover calculus? Retrieved from Quora:
https://www.quora.com/How-did-Leibniz-discover-calculus
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NEWTON, LEIBNIZ AND

Eudoxus used the method of

The astronomer and mathematician Johann Kepler used conic sections

¿ ( 12 ∙ base ∙ height )+( 12 ∙ base ∙ height )+…

Two decades after Kepler published his works about his

Additionally, Fermat did an important contribution to the theory of integration. He was

Another mathematician contributed to the progress of differential calculus. Rene

Newton’s Notations in Calculus

Meanwhile, German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz worked independently in

Leibniz’ Notations in Calculus

Notation for Differentiation

Notation for Integration

Several modern mathematicians continued to develop the works of the earlier

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