Reviewer BSEE (Calculus)

What is Calculus?
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals,
and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of mathematics, and underpins many of
the equations that describe physics and mechanics.
Calculus is a branch of mathematics that looks at numbers and lines, usually from the real world,
and maps out how they are changing. Calculus is one of the most widely used branches of
mathematics in the world. Imagine having the tools to examine how quickly your business is
growing at any time, or plotting the course of a spaceship and how fast it is burning fuel.
Calculus is an important tool in engineering, economics, statistics, chemistry, and physics, and
has helped create many real-world inventions and discoveries.

Review Topics:

Absolute Value
The concept of absolute value has many applications in the study of calculus. The
absolute value of a number x, written | x| may be defined in a variety of ways. On a real number
line, the absolute value of a number is the distance, disregarding direction that the number is
from zero. This definition establishes the fact that the absolute value of a number must always be
nonnegative—that is, | x|≥0.

A common algebraic definition of absolute value is often stated in three parts, as follows:

  

Another definition that is sometimes applied to calculus problems is

  

or the principal square root of x 2. Each of these definitions also implies that the absolute value of
a number must be a nonnegative.

Functions
A function is defined as a set of ordered pairs ( x,y), such that for each first element x, there
corresponds one and only one second element y. The set of first elements is called the domain of
the function, while the set of second elements is called the range of the function.
 The domain variable is referred to as the independent variable, and the range variable is
referred to as the dependent variable. The notation f( x) is often used in place of y to indicate the
value of the function f for a specific replacement for x and is read “ f of x” or “ f at x.”
Geometrically, the graph of a set or ordered pairs ( x,y) represents a function if any vertical line
intersects the graph in, at most, one point.

If a vertical line were to intersect the graph at two or more points, the set would have
one x value corresponding to two or more y values, which clearly contradicts the definition of a
function. Many of the key concepts and theorems of calculus are directly related to functions.

Example 1: The following are some examples of equations that are functions.

Example 2: The following are some equations that are not functions; each has an
example to illustrate why it is not a function. 
Linear Equations
A linear equation is any equation that can be expressed in the form ax + by = c,
where a and b are not both zero. Although a linear equation may not be expressed in this form
initially, it can be manipulated algebraically to this form. The slope of a line indicates whether
the line slants up or down to the right or is horizontal or vertical. The slope is usually denoted by
the letter m and is defined in a number of ways: 

Note that for a vertical line, the x value would remain constant, and the horizontal change
would be zero; hence, a vertical line is said to have no slope or its slope is said to be nonexistent
or undefined. All nonvertical lines have a numerical slope with a positive slope indicating a line
slanting up to the right, a negative slope indicating a line slanting down to the right, and a slope
of zero indicating a horizontal line.

Example 1: Find the slope of the line passing through (−5, 4) and (−1, −3).

  

The line, then, has a slope of −7/4.

Some forms of expressing linear equations are given special names that identify how the
equations are written. Note that even though these forms appear to be different from one another,
they can be algebraically manipulated to show they are equivalent.

Any nonvertical lines are parallel if they have the same slopes, and conversely lines with
equal slopes are parallel. If the slopes of two lines L 1 and L 2 are m 1 and m 2, respectively,
then L 1 is parallel to L 2 if and only if m 1 = m 2.

Two nonvertical, nonhorizontal lines are perpendicular if the product of their slopes is
−1, and conversely, if the product of their slopes is −1, the lines are perpendicular. If the slopes
of two lines L 1 and L 2 are m 1 and m 2, respectively, then L 1 is perpendicular to L 2 if and only
if m 1 · m 2 = −1.

You should note that any two vertical lines are parallel and a vertical line and a horizontal line
are always perpendicular.

The general or standard form of a linear equation is ax + by = c, where a and b are not

both zero. If b = 0, the equation takes the form x = constant and represents a vertical line. If a =
0, the equation takes the form y = constant and represents a horizontal line.

Example 2: The following are some examples of linear equations expressed in general form:

  

Trigonometric Functions
In trigonometry, angle measure is expressed in one of two units: degrees or radians. The
relationship between these measures may be expressed as follows: 180° = π radians.

To change degrees to radians, the equivalent relationship 1° = π/180 radians is used, and
the given number of degrees is multiplied by π/180 to convert to radian measure. Similarly, the
equation 1 radian = 180°/π is used to change radians to degrees by multiplying the given radian
measure by 180/π to obtain the degree measure.

The six basic trigonometric functions may be defined using a circle with
equation x 2 + y 2 = r 2 and the angle θ in standard position with its vertex at the center of the
circle and its initial side along the positive portion of the x‐axis (see Figure ).

Figure 1 Defining the trigonometric functions

The trigonometric functions sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant are defined as
follows:
  

It is essential that you be familiar with the values of these functions at multiples of 30°,
45°, 60°, 90°, and 180° (or in radians, π/6, π/4, π/3, π/2, and π (See Table .) You should also be
familiar with the graphs of the six trigonometric functions. Some of the more common
trigonometric identities that are used in the study of calculus are as follows:

The relationship between the angles and sides of a triangle may be expressed using the Law of
Sines or the Law of Cosines (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 Relations between sides and angles of a triangle.

    Table 1 Values of Sine, Cosine and Tangent at Common Angles

Interval Notation
The set of real numbers ( R) is the one that you will be most generally concerned with as
you study calculus. This set is defined as the union of the set of rational numbers with the set of
irrational numbers. Interval notation provides a convenient abbreviated notation for expressing
intervals of real numbers without using inequality symbols or set‐builder notation.

The following lists some common intervals of real numbers and their equivalent expressions,
using set‐builder notation: 

Note that an infinite end point (±∞) is never expressed with a bracket in interval notation because
neither +∞ nor −∞ represents a real number value.

Limits

Evaluating Limits
Limits of functions are evaluated using many different techniques such as recognizing a
pattern, simple substitution, or using algebraic simplifications. Some of these techniques are
illustrated in the following examples.

Example 1: Find the limit of the sequence: 

Because the value of each fraction gets slightly larger for each term, while the numerator is
always one less than the denominator, the fraction values will get closer and closer to 1; hence,
the limit of the sequence is 1.
Example 2: Evaluate  .

When x is replaced by 2, 3 x approaches 6, and 3 x − 1 approaches 5; hence,  .

Example 3: Evaluate  .

Substituting −3 for x yields 0/0, which is meaningless. Factoring first and simplifying, you find

that 

Example 4: Evaluate  .

Substituting 3 for x yields 0/0, which is meaningless. Simplifying the compound fraction, you
find that 

Example 5: Evaluate  .

Substituting 0 for x yields 0/5 = 0; hence, 

Example 6: Evaluate 

Substituting 0 for x yields 5/0, which is meaningless; hence,   DNE. (Remember,

infinity is not a real number.)
Infinite Limits
Some functions “take off” in the positive or negative direction (increase or decrease
without bound) near certain values for the independent variable. When this occurs, the function
is said to have an infinite limit; hence, you write  . Note also that
the function has a vertical asymptote at x = c if either of the above limits hold true.

In general, a fractional function will have an infinite limit if the limit of the denominator is zero
and the limit of the numerator is not zero. The sign of the infinite limit is determined by the sign
of the quotient of the numerator and the denominator at values close to the number that the
independent variable is approaching.

Example 1: Evaluate  .

As x approaches 0, the numerator is always positive and the denominator approaches 0 and is
always positive; hence, the function increases without bound and  . The function
has a vertical asymptote at x = 0 (see Figure ).

Figure 1 The graph of y = 1/ x 2.

Example 2: Evaluate  .

As x approaches 2 from the left, the numerator approaches 5, and the denominator approaches 0
through negative values; hence, the function decreases without bound and  .
The function has a vertical asymptote at x = 2.

Example 3: Evaluate  .

Rewriting 1/ x 2 − 1/ x 3 as an equivalent fractional expression ( x − 1)/ x 3, the numerator
approaches −1, and the denominator approaches 0 through positive values as x approaches 0
from the right; hence, the function decreases without bound and  . The
function has a vertical asymptote at x = 0.

A word of caution: Do not evaluate the limits individually and subtract because ±∞ are not real
numbers. Using this example,

  

which is meaningless.
Intuitive Definition
The concept of the limit of a function is essential to the study of calculus. It is used in
defining some of the most important concepts in calculus—continuity, the derivative of a
function, and the definite integral of a function.

The limit of a function f( x) describes the behavior of the function close to a particular x value. It

does not necessarily give the value of the function at x. You write  , which means that
as x “approaches” c, the function f( x) “approaches” the real number L (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 The limit of f(x) as x approaches c.

In other words, as the independent variable x gets closer and closer to c, the function value f( x)
gets closer to L. Note that this does not imply that f( c) = L; in fact, the function may not even
exist at c (Figure 2) or may equal some value different than L at c (Figure 3).

If the function does not approach a real number L as x approaches c, the limit does not exist;
therefore, you write   DNE (Does Not Exist). Many different situations could occur in
determining that the limit of a function does not exist as x approaches some value.

The Derivative

Chain Rule
The chain rule provides us a technique for finding the derivative of composite functions,
with the number of functions that make up the composition determining how many
differentiation steps are necessary. For example, if a composite function f( x) is defined as

  

Note that because two functions, g and h, make up the composite function f, you have to consider
the derivatives g′ and h′ in differentiating f( x).

If a composite function r( x) is defined as

  
Here, three functions— m, n, and p—make up the composition function r; hence, you have to
consider the derivatives m′, n′, and p′ in differentiating r( x). A technique that is sometimes
suggested for differentiating composite functions is to work from the “outside to the inside”
functions to establish a sequence for each of the derivatives that must be taken.

Example 1: Find f′( x) if f( x) = (3x 2 + 5x − 2) 8.

  

Differentiation of Inverse Trigonometric Functions

Each of the six basic trigonometric functions have corresponding inverse functions when
appropriate restrictions are placed on the domain of the original functions. All the inverse
trigonometric functions have derivatives, which are summarized as follows:

  
BSEE TRIGONOMETRY REVIEWER:
What is Trigonometry?
Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between the sides and
angles of triangles. Trigonometry is found all throughout geometry, as every straight-sided shape
may be broken into as a collection of triangles. Further still, trigonometry has astoundingly
intricate relationships to other branches of mathematics, in particular complex numbers, infinite
series, logarithms and calculus.

SOH CAH TOA

Just an easy way to remember how Sine, Cosine and Tangent work:

SOH > Sine =  Opposite / Hypotenuse

CAH > Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
TOA > Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent

Right Triangle:

Firstly, the names Opposite, Adjacent and Hypotenuse come from the right triangle:

 “Opposite" is opposite to the angle θ

 "Adjacent" is adjacent (next to) to the angle θ
 "Hypotenuse" is the long one.

Adjacent is always next to the angle

And Opposite is opposite the angle

Sine, Cosine and Tangent
And Sine, Cosine and Tangent are the three main functions in trigonometry.

They are often shortened to sin, cos and tan.

The calculation is simply one side of a right angled triangle divided by another side ... we just
have to know which sides, and that is where "sohcahtoa" helps.