Part I
An Overview of Calculus
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In this part …
- A brief and straightforward explanation of just what calculus is. Hint: it’s got a lot to do with curves and with things that are constantly changing.
- Examples of where you might see calculus at work in the real world: curving cables, curving domes, and the curving path of a spacecraft.
- The first of the two big ideas in calculus: differentiation, which means finding a derivative. A derivative is basically just the fancy calculus version of a slope; and it’s a simple rate — a this per that.
- The second big calculus idea: integration. It’s the fancy calculus version of adding up small parts of something to get the total.
- An honest-to-goodness explanation of why calculus works: In short, it’s because when you zoom in on curves (infinitely far), they become straight.
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