Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In an analogous way, one can obtain finite difference approximations to higher order derivatives and differential operators. For example, by using the above central difference formula for f ′(x + h / 2 ) and f ′(x − h / 2 ) and applying a central difference formula for the derivative of f ′ at x, we obtain the central difference approximation of the second derivative of f:
For arbitrary stencil points and any derivative of order < up to one less than the number of stencil points, the finite difference coefficients can be obtained by solving the linear equations [6] ( s 1 0 ⋯ s N 0 ⋮ ⋱ ⋮ s 1 N − 1 ⋯ s N N − 1 ) ( a 1 ⋮ a N ) = d !
Their algorithm is applicable to higher-order derivatives. A method based on numerical inversion of a complex Laplace transform was developed by Abate and Dubner. [21] An algorithm that can be used without requiring knowledge about the method or the character of the function was developed by Fornberg. [4]
The higher-order derivatives are less common than the first three; [1] [2] thus their names are not as standardized, though the concept of a minimum snap trajectory has been used in robotics. [ 3 ] The fourth derivative is referred to as snap , leading the fifth and sixth derivatives to be "sometimes somewhat facetiously" [ 4 ] called crackle ...
The higher-order derivative test or general derivative test is able to determine whether a function's critical points are maxima, minima, or points of inflection for a wider variety of functions than the second-order derivative test. As shown below, the second-derivative test is mathematically identical to the special case of n = 1 in the ...
In other words, the matrix of the second-order partial derivatives, known as the Hessian matrix, is a symmetric matrix. Sufficient conditions for the symmetry to hold are given by Schwarz's theorem , also called Clairaut's theorem or Young's theorem .
The higher order derivatives can be applied in physics; for example, while the first derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity, how the position changes as time advances, the second derivative is the object's acceleration, how the velocity changes as time advances.
The second derivative of a function f can be used to determine the concavity of the graph of f. [2] A function whose second derivative is positive is said to be concave up (also referred to as convex), meaning that the tangent line near the point where it touches the function will lie below the graph of the function.