Math Is Fun Forum

gourish

Member

Registered: 2013-05-28

Posts: 153

basic calculus

i have heard all about extremely uneasy things about calculus... "it's a throat-chocking concept and so on" but, thank god that few people have also said things like "basic calculus is all you need and it isn't a big deal". i have heard few things about integration and differentiation and also read the topic of limits on mathisfun.com.... i would like to learn basic calculus and learn to apply them in any type question for exams or real life situaions...:)

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"The man was just too bored so he invented maths for fun"
-some wise guy

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

Hi;

basic calculus is all you need

Welcome! Who said that? Need for what? For physics? Yep! For computer science? Nope!

learn to apply them in any type question for exams or real life situaions

That will take a bit longer. I have been trying for 86 years!

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

Bob

Administrator

Registered: 2010-06-20

Posts: 10,626

Re: basic calculus

hi gourish

Welcome to the forum.

You've made the right decision by looking at the MIF pages.  A good one to start with is:

http://www.mathsisfun.com/calculus/introduction.html

If you find something that is not quite clear, post on the forum and we'll try to help.

Bob

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Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything;  you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you!  …………….Bob

Agnishom

Real Member

From: Riemann Sphere

Registered: 2011-01-29

Posts: 24,996

Website

Re: basic calculus

I wanted you to read "Calculus made Easy"

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'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

That is the way for all self taught people.

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: basic calculus

I like "Calculus Made Easy" but Martin needs to do a bit more renovation again. His methodology (Thompson's) is quite good but he doesn't cover the geometrical meaning of a derivative until much later. And I would really like to remove some of Liebniz's notation into f'. Also, as a guy pursuing a doctorate in physics, much more then basic calculus is required. Look at this problem for example:

An object with weight W is dragged along a horizontal plane by a force acting along a rope attached to the object. If the rope makes an angle θ with the plane, then the magnitude of the force is given by the following equation, where μ is a constant called the coefficient of friction.

F = (muW)/(mu sin(theta) + cos(theta))

(a) Find the rate of change of F with respect to θ. (Use mu for μ and theta for θ as necessary.)
(b) When is this rate of change equal to 0? (Use mu for μ and theta for θ as necessary.)
(c) If W = 40 lbs and μ = 0.6, draw the graph of F as a function of θ and use it to locate the value of θ for which dF / dθ = 0. (Round the answer to two decimal places).

Physics, analytical chemistry (which is heavily reliant on stats), biology and comp.sci all require basic calculus  knowledge at the start. Later though, a through knowledge of calculus will be almost certainly required. Then again, don't think of calculus as an extremely difficult discipline. It is just a very abstract concept which may take some getting used to. The MIF tutorials on it are just great, but if you need some more visual help you should check out Sal's videos.  Also, bobbym, you have been doing calculus since you were around 6?

Last edited by Shivamcoder3013 (2013-05-29 00:24:00)

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

No, problem solving since I was six.

---

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: basic calculus

Some age to be problem solving.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

I was always jumping ahead and doing things my own way. I hated the way they went over the same things again and again at school. My mind would wander or daydream about what I thought were more interesting problems.

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: basic calculus

That's true until you hit university. Until then, I was bored but I have to participate due to pressure.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

Libraries were always my favorite place to be. I was on the reclusive side. Not necessarily a good thing.
A lot of pressure on you?

---

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

{7/3}

Member

Registered: 2013-02-11

Posts: 210

Re: basic calculus

Why do some people like calculus so much?one of my friends is eager to learn calculus,but he hates other maths!

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world,people who understand binary and people who don't.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

It is the notation that attracts a lot of people to it.

---

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: basic calculus

7/3, I for one was so excited about learning calculus was purely for the sake of learning. I had no interest in calculus whatsoever, at least not at the start. Later on as time progressed, I became much more attracted to calculus. And what I meant by pressure was the constant fear of not getting in to a top university, or not achieving a 100% average.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

I knew it could solve problems that I wanted answers to. Algebra, can only do so much. And again, I loved the Sigma sign!

---

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

Agnishom

Real Member

From: Riemann Sphere

Registered: 2011-01-29

Posts: 24,996

Website

Re: basic calculus

Why do some people like calculus so much?one of my friends is eager to learn calculus,but he hates other maths!

to impress others.... and have a proud feeling inside....

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'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.

{7/3}

Member

Registered: 2013-02-11

Posts: 210

Re: basic calculus

I agree with you bobbym.my friend constantly asks me what the notations mean.

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world,people who understand binary and people who don't.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

I do not mean it is the only reason, they gave other good reasons. It was mine that is all.

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

gourish

Member

Registered: 2013-05-28

Posts: 153

Re: basic calculus

thanks guys..... i will surely look into it and where can i find "sal's videos" @Shivamcoder3013....

---

"The man was just too bored so he invented maths for fun"
-some wise guy

gourish

Member

Registered: 2013-05-28

Posts: 153

Re: basic calculus

Hi;

basic calculus is all you need

Welcome! Who said that? Need for what? For physics? Yep! For computer science? Nope!

learn to apply them in any type question for exams or real life situaions

That will take a bit longer. I have been trying for 86 years!

t
well, i need it for physics and one of my friends, Mohit said me that...

---

"The man was just too bored so he invented maths for fun"
-some wise guy

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

Hi gourish;

This might be oversimplified but it seems that for physics the number one operation is differentiation. You can learn that.

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: basic calculus

Take Maxwell's equations for example. And bobbym, I know a computer programmer who believes computer science requires no knowledge of maths greater then 6th-7th grade,

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

Hi;

Here is the killer question. Is he any good?

---

In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: basic calculus

Maxwell? If you mean the programmer, it's a she and she is not very good. She does claim to code in every single language I have heard of, but I highly doubt it. However, I know other programmers who are quite decent and do not think math is too important either.

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: basic calculus

Depends on the type of programmer and what they are asked to do. Generally, programmers are better at math than mathematicians are at programming.

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In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.