Introduction to

Calculus
Introduction
Much of calculus is:

really just very advanced algebra,

geometry, and trig. It builds upon
and is a logical extension aof those
subjects. If you can do algebra,
geometry, and trig, you can do
calculus. You should know at least
the basics of algebra, geometry, and
trig.
Calculus is manageable, doable. You
made it through algebra, geometry,
and trigonometry. Calculus picks up
where they leave off — it’s the next
step in a progression.
Table of contents

01 02
What is calculus? Where can you see calculus?

03
What is differentiation?
 01
What is calculus?
How does it work? (Background: Calculus deals with
curves and things that are constantly changing. And it works
by zooming in on curves because when you zoom in on
curves from infinitely far, they become straight. Algebra,
Trigonometry and Geometry principles can then come in.
Zooming in is the key.)
Calculus
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The difference between regular math and calculus in one word is the curve.

Real work example: considering the energy required to push the crate up the slope.

For the straight incline, the man will push with an unchanging force, therefore the crate
will go up at an unchanging speed. The amount of energy expended each second then
remains the same.
For the curving incline, steepness is constantly changing. And the man
pushes with a constantly changing force — the steeper the incline, the
harder the push. As a result, the amount of energy expended is also
changing, not every second or every thousandth of a second, but
constantly changing from one moment to the next. This is what makes the
given condition a calculus problem.

In contrast to the straight incline problem, which you can solve in a single
shot to get the energy — you’ve to break up the curving incline problem
into small chunks and do each chunk separately. Then just add up all the
chunks.
Calculus then…
is “the mathematics of change.” Calculus
takes regular rules of math and applies them
to evolving problems.

Calculus thus gives ordinary algebra and

geometry the power to handle complicated
problems involving changing quantities (which
on a graph show up as curves.)
 02
Where can you see calculus?
Examples
Examples
Examples
 03
What is differentiation?
WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION?
Again, differentiation is the process
of finding the derivative of a curve.
And the word “derivative” is just the
fancy calculus term for the curve’s
slope or steepness. The slope of a
curve is equivalent to a simple rate
(like miles per hour or profit per
item), the derivative is a rate as
well as a slope.

In algebra, you learned about the slope of a line — it’s equal to the ratio of the
rise to the run. In other words,
The name of the particular rate simply depends
on the units used on the x- and y-axes.
Examples
For the figure on the left, if you know the x- and
y-coordinates of points A and B, you can use the
slope formula
to calculate the slope between A and B, a
this problem, that slope will already give
average rate in miles per hour for the inte
from A to B.

For the problem on the right, you need calculus. You can’t use the slope
formula because there is only one point given. Using the derivative of the
curve, you can determine the exact slope or steepness at point C. To the
left of C on the curve, the slope is slightly lower, and to the right of C on
the curve, the slope is slightly higher. At C,
for a single infinitesimal moment, you get a slope that’s different
from the neighboring slopes. The slope for this single infinitesimal point
on the curve gives you the instantaneous rate in miles per hour at point C.
WHAT IS INTEGRATION?
Integration is the process of cutting up an area into tiny sections, figuring the
areas of the small sections, and then adding up the little bits of area to get the
whole area.
Because you can compute the areas of rectangles, triangles,
and trapezoids with ordinary geometry, you can get the area of
this and all the other thin strips and then add up all these areas
to get the total area. That’s integration.
Do you have any questions?