Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
v. t. e. The fundamental theorem of calculus is a theorem that links the concept of differentiating a function (calculating its slopes, or rate of change at each point in time) with the concept of integrating a function (calculating the area under its graph, or the cumulative effect of small contributions). Roughly speaking, the two operations ...
v. t. e. In mathematics, the derivative is a fundamental tool that quantifies the sensitivity of change of a function 's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point.
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.
Here is a particular example, the derivative of the squaring function at the input 3. Let f(x) = x 2 be the squaring function. The derivative f′(x) of a curve at a point is the slope of the line tangent to that curve at that point. This slope is determined by considering the limiting value of the slopes of the second lines.
Calculus. In calculus, the power rule is used to differentiate functions of the form , whenever is a real number. Since differentiation is a linear operation on the space of differentiable functions, polynomials can also be differentiated using this rule. The power rule underlies the Taylor series as it relates a power series with a function's ...
The slope field of () = +, showing three of the infinitely many solutions that can be produced by varying the arbitrary constant c.. In calculus, an antiderivative, inverse derivative, primitive function, primitive integral or indefinite integral [Note 1] of a continuous function f is a differentiable function F whose derivative is equal to the original function f.
A function f of x, differentiated once in Lagrange's notation. One of the most common modern notations for differentiation is named after Joseph Louis Lagrange, even though it was actually invented by Euler and just popularized by the former. In Lagrange's notation, a prime mark denotes a derivative.
The derivative of a function at a chosen input value describes the rate of change of the function near that input value. The process of finding a derivative is called differentiation . Geometrically, the derivative at a point is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point, provided that the derivative exists and is ...