What is Calculus?

Calculus is the branch of mathematics that studies

how things change, and what the effects of changes
are on a system. Calculus is derived from the Latin
word 'calculus', which means 'a small pebble used
for counting'.

Calculus has two main branches: differential

calculus and integral calculus. Differential calculus
studies how things change when considering the
whole to be made up of small quantities. In other
words, differential calculus deals with all the small
components or parts that make up the whole
system. Integral calculus is complementary to
differential calculus: it studies the whole system as
an accumulation of small quantities or components.

In simple terms, differential calculus breaks things

up into smaller quantities to determine how small
changes affects the whole. Integral calculus puts
together small quantities to determine how the whole
is formed from the small quantities and is affected by
the small changes.
Mathematicians use calculus to find information
about changes to a system or whole, in addition
to many other uses. These findings are useful in all
sorts of different areas; that means calculus has
many applications in real life.

Calculus in Everyday Life

The Swimming Pool
Consider a swimming pool that is filled by water
dripping from a tap. At any point in time, you can
theoretically add up all small drops of find the total
volume of water in the tank. This is an application of
integral calculus, because it uses small droplets of
water to determine the whole volume of water at any
point in time.
On the other hand, if you would like to know the rate
at which water is filling the pool, you could count the
number of drops per second that drip from the tap.
This is differential calculus, since it considers how
small droplets fills the tank without actually
determining the total volume of water in the tank.

The Volume of a Box

Imagine you have a piece of cardboard, of which
you already know the length and width. You want to
build a box with the cardboard, and you're trying to
determine what dimensions will give you the
maximum possible volume for the box.

This can be solved using differential calculus. Start

with a small box with a length, width, and height of 1
unit (1x1x1). Keep increasing the height, width and
length in small increments until you find the ideal
dimensions using the piece of cardboard where the
volume will be the maximum. Here you are
considering small changes in dimension to identify
the ideal dimension.

Calculus in the Business World

The Grocery Store
A grocery store owner wants to find the optimal time
to display berries. She knows that berries will sell
better if they're on display at a certain time, but since
they're perishable she doesn't want to leave them
out all day to ensure they're on display at the ideal
moment. How can the owner find the right time to
display her product?
This can be solved using differential calculus.
 Application in Engineering
1. An Architect Engineer uses integration in
determining the amount of the necessary materials
to construct curved shape constructions (e.g. dome
over a sports arena) and also to measure the weight
of that structure. Calculus is used to improve the
architecture not only of buildings but also of
important infrastructures such as bridges.
2. In Electrical Engineering, Calculus (Integration) is
used to determine the exact length of power cable
needed to connect two substations, which are miles
away from each other.
3. Space flight engineers frequently use calculus when
planning for long missions. To launch an exploratory
probe, they must consider the different orbiting
velocities of the Earth and the planet the probe is
targeted for, as well as other gravitational influences
like the sun and the moon.

Application in Medical Science

1. Biologists use differential calculus to determine the
exact rate of growth in a bacterial culture when
different variables such as temperature and food
source are changed.
 Application in Physics
1. In Physics, Integration is very much needed. For
example, to calculate the Centre of Mass, Centre of
Gravity and Mass Moment of Inertia of a sports
utility vehicle.
2. To calculate the velocity and trajectory of an object,
predict the position of planets, and understand
electromagnetism.

Application in Statistics
1. Statisticians use calculus to evaluate survey data to
help develop business plans for different companies.
Because a survey involves many different questions
with a range of possible answers, calculus allows a
more accurate prediction for the appropriate action.

Application in Research Analysis

1. An operations research analyst will use calculus
when observing different processes at a
manufacturing corporation. By considering the value
of different variables, they can help a company
 improve operating efficiency, increase production,
and raise profits.

Application in Graphics
1. A graphics artist uses calculus to determine how
different three-dimensional models will behave
when subjected to rapidly changing conditions. It
can create a realistic environment for movies or
video games.

Application in Chemistry
1. It is used to determine the rate of a chemical
reaction and to determine some necessary
information of Radioactive decay reaction.

Let’s take a look at some other examples.

 Credit card companies use calculus to set the
minimum payments due on credit card statements at
the exact time the statement is processed by
considering multiple variables such as changing
interest rates and a fluctuating available balance.
 Doctors and lawyers use calculus to help build the
discipline necessary for solving complex problems,
 such as diagnosing patients or planning a
prosecution case.
 The field of epidemiology — the study of the spread
of infectious disease — relies heavily on calculus. It
can be used to determine how far and fast a disease
is spreading, where it may have originated from and
how to best treat it.
For most professions, this topic is very important.
So, this is why you can’t dismiss it as just another
subject. Despite its mystique as a more complex
branch of mathematics, it touches our lives each day,
in ways too numerous to calculate.
You can find tips from our experts here to become
super at calculus.

Search Engines

Algorithms are used every day by major search

engine companies to help refine searches for the
person behind the keyboard. Algorithms are
calculations used to compile a large amount of data
and variables into an equation, spitting out the best
possible answer. These algorithms are what makes
search engines so adept at finding the precise
answer quickly. They take into account variables
such as the user's geographic location, web history
and how useful other users have found similar
webpages to create an appropriate search result. All
of these variables are utilized to define the rules
and constraints of sequent calculus equations that
produce the most logical and effective results.

Weather Models
Weather is more accurately predicted than ever
before. Part of the improvement is thanks to
technology, such as computer modeling that uses
calculus and is able to more meticulously predict
upcoming weather. These computer programs also
use types of algorithms to help assign possible
weather outcomes in a region. Much like in the
computer algorithms, weather forecasts are
determined by considering many variables, such as
wind speed, moisture level and temperature.
Though computers do the heavy lifting of sifting
through massive amounts of data, the basics of
meteorology are grounded in differential equations,
helping meteorologists determine how changes in
the temperatures and pressures in the atmosphere
may indicate changes in the weather.
Improving Public Health
The field of epidemiology -- the study of the spread
of infectious disease -- relies heavily on calculus.
Such calculations have to take three main factors
into account: those people who are susceptible to a
disease, those who are infected with the disease
and those who have already recovered from it. With
these three variables, calculus can be used to
determine how far and fast a disease is spreading,
where it may have originated from and how to best
treat it. Calculus is especially important in cases
such as this because rates of infection and recovery
change over time, so the equations must be
dynamic enough to respond to the new models
evolving every day.

Architecture
Calculus is used to improve the architecture not
only of buildings but also of important infrastructures
such as bridges. Bridges are complex constructions
because they have to be able to support varying
amounts of weight across large spaces. When
designing a bridge, one must take into account
factors including weight, environmental factors and
distance. Because of this, maths such as differential
calculus and integral calculus are often used to
create the most robust design. The use of calculus
is also creating a change in the way other
architecture projects are designed, pushing the
frontier of what sorts of shapes can be used to
create the most beautiful buildings. For example,
though many buildings have arches with perfect
symmetry, calculus can be used to create archways
that are not symmetric along with other odd shapes
that are still able to be structurally sound.

References
•http://www.physicstutorials.org/home/optics/reflectio
n-of-light/curved-mirrors/concave-mirrors/image-
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•http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/302l/lectures/no
de137.html
•http://www.tutorvista.com/content/science/science-
ii/reflection-light/formation-concave-mirror.php