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The Six Pillars of Calculus

The Pillars: A Road Map
A picture is worth 1000 words

Trigonometry Review

The basic trig functions
Basic trig identities
The unit circle
Addition of angles, double and half angle formulas
The law of sines and the law of cosines
Graphs of Trig Functions

Exponential Functions

Exponentials with positive integer exponents
Fractional and negative powers
The function $f(x)=a^x$ and its graph
Exponential growth and decay

Logarithms and Inverse functions

Inverse Functions
How to find a formula for an inverse function
Logarithms as Inverse Exponentials
Inverse Trig Functions

Intro to Limits

Overview
Definition
One-sided Limits
When limits don't exist
Infinite Limits
Summary

Limit Laws and Computations

Limit Laws
Intuitive idea of why these laws work
Two limit theorems
How to algebraically manipulate a 0/0?
Indeterminate forms involving fractions
Limits with Absolute Values
Limits involving indeterminate forms with square roots
Limits of Piece-wise Functions
The Squeeze Theorem

Continuity and the Intermediate Value Theorem

Definition of continuity
Continuity and piece-wise functions
Continuity properties
Types of discontinuities
The Intermediate Value Theorem
Summary of using continuity to evaluate limits

Limits at Infinity

Limits at infinity and horizontal asymptotes
Limits at infinity of rational functions
Which functions grow the fastest?
Vertical asymptotes (Redux)
Summary and selected graphs

Rates of Change

Average velocity
Instantaneous velocity
Computing an instantaneous rate of change of any function
The equation of a tangent line
The Derivative of a Function at a Point

The Derivative Function

The derivative function
Sketching the graph of $f'$
Differentiability
Notation and higher-order derivatives

Basic Differentiation Rules

The Power Rule and other basic rules
The derivative of $e^x$

Product and Quotient Rules

The Product Rule
The Quotient Rule

Derivatives of Trig Functions

Necessary Limits
Derivatives of Sine and Cosine
Derivatives of Tangent, Cotangent, Secant, and Cosecant
Summary

The Chain Rule

Two Forms of the Chain Rule
Version 1
Version 2
Why does it work?
A hybrid chain rule

Implicit Differentiation

Introduction
Examples
Derivatives of Inverse Trigs via Implicit Differentiation
A Summary

Derivatives of Logs

Formulas and Examples
Logarithmic Differentiation

Derivatives in Science

In Physics
In Economics
In Biology

Related Rates

Overview
How to tackle the problems
Example (ladder)
Example (shadow)

Linear Approximation and Differentials

Overview
Examples
An example with negative $dx$

Differentiation Review

How to take derivatives
Basic Building Blocks
Advanced Building Blocks
Product and Quotient Rules
The Chain Rule
Combining Rules
Implicit Differentiation
Logarithmic Differentiation
Conclusions and Tidbits

Absolute and Local Extrema

Definitions
The Extreme Value Theorem
Critical Numbers
Steps to Find Absolute Extrema

The Mean Value and other Theorems

Rolle's Theorems
The Mean Value Theorem
Finding $c$

$f$ vs. $f'$

Increasing/Decreasing Test and Critical Numbers
Process for finding intervals of increase/decrease
The First Derivative Test
Concavity
Concavity, Points of Inflection, and the Second Derivative Test
The Second Derivative Test
Visual Wrap-up

Indeterminate Forms and L'Hospital's Rule

What does $\frac{0}{0}$ equal?
Examples
Indeterminate Differences
Indeterminate Powers
Three Versions of L'Hospital's Rule
Proofs

Optimization

Strategies
Another Example

Newton's Method

The Idea of Newton's Method
An Example
Solving Transcendental Equations
When NM doesn't work

Anti-derivatives

Antiderivatives
Common antiderivatives
Initial value problems
Antiderivatives are not Integrals

The Area under a curve

The Area Problem and Examples
Riemann Sum Notation
Summary

Definite Integrals

Definition of the Integral
Properties of Definite Integrals
What is integration good for?
More Applications of Integrals

The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

Three Different Concepts
The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (Part 2)
The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (Part 1)
More FTC 1


Idea, Strategy and Example

Idea

Solving practical problems that ask us to maximize or minimize a quantity are typically called optimization problems in calculus. These problems occur perhaps more than any others in the real world (of course, our versions used to teach these methods are simpler and contrived.) 

One of the main reasons we learned to find maximum and minimum values in the previous sections was so that we could use this skill to optimize functions.  Keep in mind:  we find the maximum or minimum value of a function by differentiating, finding critical numbers, and determining if these yield extreme values.  At the heart of each of these optimization problems is differentiation.

Strategy

The videos on this and following pages will illustrate different examples where we are asked to minimize or maximize a quantity. Make sure to pay attention to constraints that are naturally implied in the problem and to follow the strategy outlined below:

Process:
  1. Determine that this is an optimization problem (wording includes words like "largest," "smallest," "greatest," "least," etc.).
  2. Draw a picture (as always when working with word problems)
  3. Identify what is known and unknown, and assign variables to the unknown quantities.
  4. Determine what value needs to be optimized (maximized or minimized).
  5. Find a function that models the value to be maximized or minimized.
  6. If this function has two variables, use additional information in the problem to eliminate one of the variables.  To do this, find a relationship between the two variables, usually given by some constraint in the problem, and solve for one variable in terms of the other.
  7. Find the absolute extreme value(s) of the function of one variable, as you have learned to do previously.
  8. Determine the answer by re-reading the question, and using your extreme value(s) found to find the answer. 
  9. Check that your answer makes sense.


Example

 

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