Calculus

Calculus is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations.

Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", it has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus. The former concerns instantaneous rates of change, and the slopes of curves, while the latter concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves. These two branches are related to each other by the fundamental theorem of calculus, and they make use of the fundamental notions of convergence of infinite sequences and infinite series to a well-defined limit.[1]

Infinitesimal calculus was developed independently in the late 17th century by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.[2][3] Later work, including codifying the idea of limits, put these developments on a more solid conceptual footing. Today, calculus has widespread uses in science, engineering, and social science.[4]

  1. ^ DeBaggis, Henry F.; Miller, Kenneth S. (1966). Foundations of the Calculus. Philadelphia: Saunders. OCLC 527896.
  2. ^ Boyer, Carl B. (1959). The History of the Calculus and its Conceptual Development. New York: Dover. OCLC 643872.
  3. ^ Bardi, Jason Socrates (2006). The Calculus Wars : Newton, Leibniz, and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-706-7.
  4. ^ Hoffmann, Laurence D.; Bradley, Gerald L. (2004). Calculus for Business, Economics, and the Social and Life Sciences (8th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-242432-X.

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