Chapter 15
Previewing Calculus
IN THIS CHAPTER
Using different techniques to find limits of functions
Applying limit laws to find limits of combined functions
Discovering continuity and discontinuity in functions
The study of mathematics usually begins with Algebra I. Some of the information learned there is repeated in Algebra II and presented again in pre-calculus (each time with some more challenging aspects than found in the previous courses). The end of pre-calculus is the beginning of calculus.
Calculus is the study of change. Before calculus, much of the material used to solve problems is constant, not changing over time. For example, up until calculus, in a distance problem, the rate at which a car is moving remains constant. The slope of a straight line is always a constant. The volume of a shape is always a constant. But in calculus, all these can move and grow and change. For example, the car can accelerate, decelerate, and accelerate again, all within the same problem, which changes the whole outcome. The line can now be a curve so that its slope changes over time. The shape that you’re trying to find the volume of can get bigger or smaller, so that the volume changes ...
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