Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The concept of limit also appears in the definition of the derivative: in the calculus of one variable, this is the limiting value of the slope of secant lines to the graph of a function. History [ edit ]
In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) approaches as the argument (or index) approaches some value. [1] Limits of functions are essential to calculus and mathematical analysis, and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals.
In principle, the derivative of a function can be computed from the definition by considering the difference quotient and computing its limit. Once the derivatives of a few simple functions are known, the derivatives of other functions are more easily computed using rules for
This is the definition of the derivative. All differentiation rules can also be reframed as rules involving limits. For example, if g(x) is differentiable at x, (+) = ′ [()] ′ (). This is the chain rule.
In calculus, the quotient rule is a method of finding the derivative of a function that is the ratio of two differentiable functions. Let () = (), where both f and g are differentiable and () The quotient rule states that the derivative of h(x) is
The q-derivative of a function is defined by the formula () = () (). For x nonzero, if f is a differentiable function of x then in the limit as q → 1 we obtain the ordinary derivative, thus the q-derivative may be viewed as its q-deformation.
The derivative of the function at a point is the slope of the line tangent to the curve at the point. Slope of the constant function is zero, because the tangent line to the constant function is horizontal and its angle is zero. In other words, the value of the constant function, y, will not change as the value of x increases or decreases.
The "product limit" characterization of the exponential function was ... The exponential function ... = 1 and the definition of the derivative as ...