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Glossary:AQuickGuidetotheMathematicalJargon

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Glossary:AQuickGuidetotheMathematical
Jargon
absolutemaximum.Thealltime,oneandonly,single,absoluteandtotalmaximumvalueofa
functionoveraspecifieddomainofthefunction.(Althoughitistheuniquemaximumvalue,itcould
occuratmorethanonepoint,aswhenyouhavetwomountainpeaksofexactlythesameheight.)Not
tobeconfusedwithalocalmaximum,whichistotheabsolutemaximumasthepolicechiefistothe
armychiefofstaff.Theabsolutemaximumissometimesalsocalledtheglobalmaximum.
absoluteminimum.Samedefinitionasfortheabsolutemaximum,onlysubstitutetheword
``minimum''everywherethewordmaximumoccurs.Alsosubstitute``lawyer''for``policechief''and
(optionally,dependingonyourpolitics)``politician''for``chiefofstaff''.
Onagraph,itisapointthatishavingareallybadday.Aslowasitcanget.
absolutevalueDropthenegativesignifthereisone.Otherwise,justleavethenumberalone.
acceleration.Accelerationistherateofchangeofthevelocity.Itcausesthatfunnyfeelinginthepit
ofyourstomachasyouaremushedbackwardintotheseatwhensomebodyreallyputsthepedaltothe
metal.Sincetherateofchangeofafunctionisitsderivative,theaccelerationisthederivativeofthe
velocityfunction.Sincethevelocityfunctionisitselfthederivativeofthefunctiongivingyour
position,theaccelerationfunctionisthesecondderivativeofthefunctiongivingyourposition.(In
mathese,a=dv/dt=d2s/dt2,wheresisthepositionfunction).
algebra.Holdit.Ifyoudon'tknowwhatalgebrais(abunchofletterslikexandyandabunchof
rulesforplayingaroundwiththem),thenyoushouldn'tbetakingcalculus.ReturntoGO,donot
collect$200.
antiderivative.Youguessedit.Thisistheoppositeofthederivative.Doesn'tdeservethenegative
connotationsassociatedtosomeoftheother`anti'wordslike`antichrist',`antisocial'or`antimacassar'
(thatlittlelacedoilyyouusedtoseeonyourgrandma'scouchmadeobsoletebyplasticslipcovers).
Theantiderivativeofafunctionf(x)isanotherfunctionF(x)whosederivativeisf(x).Alsocalledthe
indefiniteintegraloff(x).The`antiderivative'terminologyistraditionallyusuallyusedjustbeforethe
introductionofindefiniteintegrals,andthenneverusedagain,havingbeenforeverreplacedwiththe
term`indefiniteintegral'.
antidifferentiation.Theprocessoftakinganantiderivative.Alsoastrongaversiontodistinguishing
betweendifferentpeople,aswithparentswhoinsistoncallingallfiveoftheirchildren`Frank'.
asymptote.Anasymptoteislikeoneofthosepeopleyoumeetatapartywhoisdevastatingly
attractiveandyoujustwanttogetclose.Youmaneuveryourwaynexttothemandcasuallystrikeupa
conversation.Makinggoodtime,yougetcloserandcloser,tillyou'repracticallyknockingknees.In
calculus,youjustkeepgettingcloser.Intherealworld,youstartexplainingyourloveofpartial
fractions,theyexcusethemselvestogetadrink,andyouseethemdrivingawaythroughthewindow.
Anasymptoteforthegraphofafunctionisalinesittinginthexyplanethatthegraphofthefunction
approaches,gettingcloserandcloseraswetravelalongtheline.Functionsthathavehadonetoomany
mayweavebackandforthacrossanasymptote,butstill,thefurtheroutyougo,theclosertheyget.
callipygian.Appearsnear`calculus'inthedictionary.Checkitout.
carbondating.Thisistheessenceofthesociallifeofgeologists.Theygettogether,crushabunchof
rocks,andthendeterminetheamountsofvarioustypesofcarbonintherock.Sincecarbon12doesnot
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decayovertime,andcarbon14doesdecayovertime,theycantellbytheratioofcarbon14tocarbon
12howoldtherocksare.Whatisthistopicdoinginacalculusbook?Therateofdecayofthecarbon
14andanyotherradioactivesubstanceisexponential.Thatistosay,theamountattimetisgivenby
f(t)=Coekt.Agreatsourceofproblemsandexamples.
Cartesiancoordinates.Thesearejustthestandardcoordinatesintheplane.Youknow,theones
whereyouhaveanxaxisandayaxis,andeachpointisgivenbyspecifyingtwonumbers(7,4),
whichmeansgoout7unitsinthexdirectionandthen4unitsintheydirection.Whythefunnyname?
TheyarenamedaftertheFrenchmathematicianReneDescartes,whoseLatinnamewasCartesius.
Cartesianplane.That'saplaneuponwhichwehaveCartesiancoordinates.Italsodescribesthe
entireAirForceofthecountryofCartesia.
chainrule.``Neverallowyourselftobechainedupbysomeonewhosebodyiscoveredbymore
tattoosthanlatex.''Themathematicalversionstates
(f(g(x))'=f'(g(x))g'(x)
or

completingthesquare.Here'saphrasethatgetsthrownaroundalotandisthekindofthingthat
everyteacherassumessomeotherteacherhasshownyoubefore.It'sbestdemonstratedbyexample.If
wewanttocompletethesquareonx2+8x+10,wewriteitas:

Whywouldwewanttocompletethesquareonaquantity?Foroneexample,supposethatyouwantto
graphx2+8x+10+y2=0.Bycompletingthesquare,thisbecomes:
(x+4)2+y2=6.Thisistheequationofacircleofradius6centeredatthepoint(4,0).
completingthesquaredance.``We'renotplayingmusicanymore,soswingyourbuttsrightoutthe
door.''
complexnumber.Anumberthatneglectedto`getreal'.Currentlyintherapy.
It'salsooneofthosenumberslike7+6i,whereiisthenumber

.Weknow,everybodysaysyou

can'ttakethesquarerootofanegativenumber,butwhattheyreallymeanisthatyoucan'ttakethe
squarerootofanegativenumberandexpecttogetarealnumber.No,yougetacomplexnumber
instead.Givenacomplexnumberoftheforma+bi,aiscalledtherealpartandbiiscalledthe
imaginarypart.Normallydoesn'tcomeupinafirstcalculuscourse.
compositionoffunctions.Applyingonefunctiontoanother.Forinstance
compositionof

with

isthe

.Ifsuccessful,thetwofunctionsarethenperformedbyanorchestra.

concavity.Apartofthegraphofafunctionissaidtobeconcavedownifitlookslikepartofafrown,
andconcaveupifitlookslikepartofacup(up...cup...,there'samnemonicdevice).Inordertotell
whetherafunctionisconcaveupordown,oneusestheinfamoussecondderivativetest,whichis
discussedindetailelsewhereinthisbook.
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constant.Afixednumber,like3or

.Tobedistinguishedfromavariable,whichhasnosingle

value.Whenyousay,``Myspousewasmyconstantsupporter,"youmeanthatheorshenever
wavered,despiteyourconvictionforarmsdealingandtaxevasion,yourdecisiontocomeoutofthe
closet,andyourinvolvementinthePerotforPresidentcampaign.
continuity.Youknow,nobigsurprises.Everythingkeepsgoingforwardonanevenkeel.Here'sthe
technicaldefinition:Afunctionf(x)iscontinuousatapointaif

Moreover,afunctioniscontinuousif

holdsforallvaluesofawheref(x)isdefined.Nowforalesstechnicaldefinition:afunctionis
continuouseverywhereifyoucandrawtheentiregraphofthefunctionwithoutliftingyourpencil
fromthepage.(Okay,youcanliftyourpencillongenoughtodrawtheaxes.)Seethesectionon
continuityformoredetails.
criticalpoint.Thepointthatwasmadewhenyouweren'tpayingattention.Also,avalueofxthat
makesthederivativef'(x)ofafunctioneitherequalto0ornonexistent.Itcomesupeitheringraphing
functions,tellingyouwherethecriticalchangesinthegraphoccur,orinappliedmax/minproblems,
whereittellswherethepotentialmaximaorminimaareoccurring.
definiteintegral.Thedefiniteintegralofafunctionf(x)overaninterval

isanumber,

sometimesthoughtofastheareaunderagraph.Nottobeconfusedwiththeindefiniteintegral,which
givesafunction.
derivative.Hey,thisisthemostimportantideainallofcalculus.Youshouldn'tbelookingupthe
definitionasifit'ssomewordinthedictionarylike``apothecary''.Youshouldbereadingaboutitin
thisbook.But,ifyouinsistonanutshelldefinition,thederivativeoff(x)istherateofchangeoff(x).
Geometrically,italsorepresentstheslopeofthetangentlinetothegraphofthefunctiony=f(x)atthe
point(x,f(x)),butthat'samouthful.
dictionarytabletennis.Seelexiconpingpong.
differentiablefunction.Afunctionisdifferentiableatapointifitsderivativeexistsatthatpoint.For
instance,f(x)=x2isdifferentiableeverywhere,whereasg(x)=|x|isdifferentiableeverywhereexcept
x=0.Whydon'twesay``derivativeable''?Becauseitsoundsridiculous.
differential.Ithassomethingtodowiththetransmissionofyourcar,butit'swaytoocomplicatedfor
ustounderstand.Oh,yeah,adifferentialisalsoasmallchangeinavariable.Forinstance,dyisa
smallchangeinthevalueofy.Althoughdyoftenoccursaspartofthesymbolforthederivativeandas
partofthesymbolfortheintegral,andalthoughinthoseotherguises,dyplaysaroleverysimilarto
theoneintendedwhenwecallitadifferential,itisbesttojustthinkofthedifferentialdyasavery
smallchangeiny.
differentialequation.Anequationthatinvolvesderivatives,asin

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Theseequationsgovernmostofthephysicalworld,sotreatthemwithrespect.
domainofafunction.Adog'sdomainisallofthelandthathecantraverseinaday,startingwithone
fullbladder.Afunction'sdomainisjustthesetofallvaluesforxthatitmakessensetoplugintof(x).
Forinstance,thedomainof
isall
.
doubleintegration.Calmdown.It'sokay.Ifyouarelookingupthisword,thenthatmeanssomejerk
frommultivariablecalculushassaidtoyou,``Ifyouthinkintegration'shard,waituntilyouhitdouble
integration.''Firstofall,it'salie.Doubleintegrationisn'tthathard.Andsecondly,youdon'tneedto
worryaboutitforquiteawhileyet.Backtothegoodstuff.
e.eisoneofthosenumbersthatissoimportant,itgetsit'sveryownname.Infact,e=2.71828....
Whyisitsoimportant?Haveyouevertriedtowriteasentencewithoutit?Itcomesupalloverthe
place.Infactit'sthemostcommonlyoccurringletterinthewholealphabet!Samethingincalculus.
Onetantalizingtidbitisthatitistheonlynumberyoucouldpicksuchthat

ellipse.Steponacircleuntilitsquawks,andyou'vegotanellipse.It'sabitlongerthanitiswide.The
generalformulaisliketheformulaforacircleonlywithafewextraa'sandb'sthrownin,asinx2/a2+
y2/b2=1.
exponent.Thatlittlenumberthatappearsasasuperscriptnexttoanothernumberorfunction.Also
calledthepower.Ifyouaredivorced,thisisnotwhatpeoplearereferringtowhentheysay,``How's
your`ex'"?
exponentialfunction.Thisisthefunctionf(x)=ex.It'smostfamousproperty?Itisitsown
derivative.That'slikebeingyourownmother,notsoeasytodo.
exponentialgrowth.Exponentialgrowthis``VERYVERYFASTGROWTH''.Whenpeoplesay
exponentialgrowth,theyaretryingtoimpressthehelloutofyou.Afunctionexperiencesexponential
growthifitisatleastasbigasafunctionoftheformCKx,whereC>0andK>1.Forexample,the
function2xexperiencesexponentialgrowth.Noticethatthefunction2xdoublesinvalueeachtimex
increasesbyone.Soalthough21isonly2,210isalready1024,and220is1,048,576.Thatis``VERY
VERYFASTGROWTH''.
extrema(orextremum).(extremaisthepluralform.)Justawordforeitheramaximumora
minimum.Let'sfaceit:Amaximumoraminimumisapointwhereahighorlowextremeoccurs.
factorial.

,thatistosay,thefactorialofanintegernissimplythe

productofalloftheintegersfrom1ton.Agoodquestiontostumpyourprofessorwithis,``Howdo
youtakethefactorialofanumberlike3/2or2?''
function.Functionsaresomethingthatjustabouteveryoneencountersduringthefouryearsof
college,eventheTVmajorsandthedramatypeswhoavoidanyclasswherethewordcalculateis
used.Therearetwotypesoffunctionsocialfunctionsandmathematicalfunctions.Though
completelydifferent,theyusemuchofthesameterminology.
Socialfunctionsarealsocalledmixersorgatherings.Usuallytheyinvolvepartieshostedbydormitory
floors(orassistantdeans)withkegsofbeer(orlittlecucumbersandwiches).Thelocationwherethe
functiontakesplaceisknownasthedomainofthefunction.Theplacewherethefoodiscookedis
knownastherangeofthefunction.Afunctionthatlastsuntilmorningissaidtobecontinuous.One
thatisbrokenupbythepoliceandresumedthenextdayiscalleddiscontinuous.Thephonenumberof
thedreamboatyoumetiscalledthevalueofthefunction.Itoftenwindsupintherange.
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Thesameterminologyisusedbymathematicianstodescribewhattheycallafunction.Themain
differenceisthatwhenamathematicianhasafunction,everyonegetsexactlyonevalue!Noone
leaveswithtwonumbersatamathematicalfunction,andnooneleaveswithnone.
Amathematicalfunctionisamachinewhereyouputinarealnumber(oftendenotedbyavariablex,
butsometimesbytorsomeotherletter)anditspitsoutanewrealnumber.Forinstance,f(x)=x2.You
putinthenumber3forxanditspitsoutthenumber9.It'sdomainisthesetofvaluesthatarelegalto
putin,anditsrangeisthesetofpossiblevaluesitcanspitout.
FundamentalTheoremofCalculus.Thistheoremisusuallystatedintwoparts.Onepartstatesthat
findingareasundercurvescanbedonebytakingantiderivativesandplugginginthelimits.
,whereF(x)isanyfunctionwhosederivativeisf(x),F'(x)=f(x).Thiscan
alsobestatedas:

Ifyouintegratethederivativeofafunctionoveranintervalfromatob,youjustgettheoriginal
functionevaluatedatbminustheoriginalfunctionevaluatedata.Theotherpartstatesthat

Bothpartsshowthatderivativesandintegralsareintimatelyrelated,andwedon'tjustmeanonafirst
namebasis.Ifitweren'tforthistheorem,calculuscourseswouldbehalfaslongastheyare.
global(extremum,maximum,minimum,warming).Anotherexpressionfortheabsoluteextremum,
maximumorminimum.Itcomesfromthefactthatthisextremumisthemostextremeextremumon
theglobe.Forinstance,thecoldestplaceonearth,emotionallyspeaking,isWashingtonD.C.Itisa
globalextremum.
graph.Apictorialrepresentationofafunctionformedbyplottingf(x)intheydirectiononthexy
plane.Veryuseful,becausewhilepicturessayathousandwords,agraphgivesaninfinitenumberof
functionvalues.
Givenafunctionf(x),thegraphofthefunctionissimplythesetofpoints(x,y)intheCartesianplane
thatsatisfytheequationy=f(x).Mostimportantproperty?Anyverticallinecanintersectthegraphat
mostonce,sinceaverticallineisdefinedbyaparticularvalueofx.Butforaparticularvalueofx,
thereisonlyonevalueofysuchthaty=f(x).
hyperbolictrigonometricfunctions.Well,thismeansyouareinaslightlymoreheavydutycalculus
course.Mostcalculuscoursesskipthismaterial,justbecauseitisexpendableandtheyrunoutoftime.
Butyourcourseisn'tskippingit.That'sokay,becausetheyareactuallyacinchtodealwith.The
hyperbolicsineofx,denoted
(pronouncedlikecinchanditis)isdefinedtobe
whilethehyperboliccosine

(rhymeswithposh)isdefinedtobe

.Notethateachistheother'sderivative.Alloftheotherhyperbolictrigfunctions

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aredefinedintermsofthesetwoinexactlythesamewaytheothertrigfunctionsaredefinedinterms
ofthesineandcosinefunctions.
hypocycloid.Justkidding.Wedon'tknow,somekindofcycloid,probably.Shouldn'tyoubeworking
someproblems?
indefiniteintegral.Theindefiniteintegralofafunctionf(x)isanotherfunctionF(x)withthe
distinguishingfeaturethatthederivativeofF(x)isf(x).Nottobeconfusedwiththedefiniteintegral,
whichgivesanumberasananswer.Alsocalledtheantiderivativeoff(x).
integer....3,2,1,0,1,2,3,....(How'sthatforashortdefinition?)
integrable.Ifpeoplehaveintegrityyoucancountonthem.Ifpeoplehaveintegrabilityyoucantake
theirantiderivatives.Sameholdsforfunctions.
Afunctionisintegrableifitsintegralexists.Mostofthestandardfunctionsareintegrable.
integrand.Thefunctioninsidetheintegralthatisbeingintegrated.Foundbetweenthe andthedx.
integrandstand.Astanduponwhichtoputthefunctioninsidetheintegralthatisbeingintegrated.
inversetrigonometricfunction.
Aninversetrigonometricfunctionisthefunctionthatreversestheeffectoftheoriginaltrigfunction,
kindoflikethedemocratsandtherepublicans,whentheyaretakingturnsbeingelectedtopower.The
oneundoeswhatevertheotherhadaccomplishedwhileinoffice.Theinversefunctionforsinis
denoted
.Soif
,then
.Thenotation
isused,ratherthan
,
soastopreventpeoplefromconfusingtheinversetrigfunctionwith

irrationalnumber.Anumberthatisafewapplesshortofapicnic.
Also,arealnumberthatisnotrational,whichistosaythatitcannotbewrittenasafractionoftwo
integers.Classicexamplesinclude ,eand
.Everyirrationalnumberhasadecimalrepresentation
thatisnonrepeating.Therearetonsofthesenumbers,actuallymoreofthesethanthereareofthe
rationalnumbers.(Mathematicianssaythereareuncountablymanyofthese.)Ofcourse,youwouldbe
completelyjustifiedinnotingthatthereareinfinitelymanyrationalnumbers,sohowcouldthere
possiblybemoreofthesethanthereareoftherationalnumbers?Thatwouldbringustothetopicof
thedifferentkindsofinfinity,butthat'salittletoofarafieldforus.Goodquestiontoasktheprofessor
though.
lexiconpingpong.Seedictionarytabletennis.
limit.Thatboundyoucannotexceed,asin``Limitofthreetripstothesaladbarpercustomer."In
calculus,alimitisthenumberyouapproachasyouplugvaluesintoafunction,andthevaluesget
closerandclosertoagivennumber.
line.Whatwehopeyouwaitedintogetacopyofthisbook.
There'snotawholelotofquestionaboutwhatalineis.It'sthatstraightthingbetweenanytwopoints.
Theequationofalinehastwogeneralforms,thepointslopeformyy0=m(xx0),where(x0,y0)isa
pointonthelineandmistheslopeoftheline)andtheslopeyinterceptformy=mx+b,wherebisthe
ycoordinatewherethelineintersectstheyaxisandmistheslope).
linearequation.Anequationthatrepresentsaline.Lookssomethinglike3x+2y=4.Nox2or
orevenanxy.ItcanalwaysbeputinageneralformAx+By+C=0,whereA,BandCareconstants
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thatarepossiblyzero.(Notethatbothoftheequationsforlinesinthepreviousdefinitioncanbeputin
thisform.)
local(extremum,maximum,minimum).Ifyouwerenearsighted,thispointwouldlooklikeone
wherethegraphofourfunctionhasanextremum,namelyamaximumoraminimum.Possiblyifyou
expandedyourvisionyouwouldseealargerorsmallervaluesomewherefarawayonthegraph,but
comparingthispointonlytoitsnearneighbors,itcomesoutontop(inthecaseoflocalmaximum)or
onthebottom(inthecaseoflocalminimum).Thelocalmaximumisabigfishinasmallpond.A
localminimummaybeabletofindsomeoneevenlowerthanhimifhewandersoutofhis
neighborhood.
logarithm.ThebeatoftreesbeingcutdowninthePacificNorthwest.Alsoamathematicalfunction
thatistheinverseofbxforsomefixednumbercalledthe`base'ofthelogarithm.
map.Danger!Danger!Ifyourprofessorusesthiswordtorefertoafunction,thenyouareinserious
trouble.Thatmeansthattheyareatheoreticalmathematicianandtheyareincapableofseparatingtheir
theoreticalworldfromtheworldoftheclassroom.``Map''isanotherwordusedforafunction.Itcould
beusedasin``Thisisamapfromtherealstothereals,''translation,``Thisisafunctionthattakesa
realnumberandturnsitintoanotherrealnumber.''
maxima.Pluralof``maximum''.OneofthefewexamplesofanapplicationofLatin.Whosaysthe
languageisdead?It'sjustresting.See``localmaximum''and``absolutemaximum''formoredetails.
minima.Look,wejustexplainedmaxima.Dowehavetodoeverythingaroundhere?
naturallogarithm.Thenaturallogarithm,usuallydenoted
methodofbirthcontrolusedattreefarms.

,isthelogarithmtothebasee.Also,a

negative.Pessimisticordepressed.OftentreatablewithProzac.
origin.Thepointinspacewithallcoordinatesequalto0.ThoughttobesomewhereinIowa.
orthogonal.Fancymathwordforperpendicular.Whenyousay,``He'sorthogonaltotherestofthe
world,"youmeanhe'sperpendiculartoeveryoneelse,livinginasliceofhismindthattherestofus
don'thave.
parabola.Acertaintypeofcurve.Anequationoftheformy=Ax2+Bx+Cwillalwaysgivea
parabola.Mostcommonexampleisy=x2whenyouhaveacurvepassingthroughtheorigininthe
shapeofanupwardopeningcup.TheprefixparacomesfromtheGreekandmeansatortothesideof,
asinparalegal:atortothesideofalawyer,paranormal:atortothesideofnormalandParaguay:ator
tothesideofGuay,atinycountrymostpeopledon'tknowabout.Parabolascanalsobeobtainedby
slicingarightcircularconebyaplanethatisparalleltoalineintheconepassingthroughthevertex.
Howaboutthatforausefulfact?
.ThatleaderintheNumberHallofFame,=3.14159....Itcanbedefinedtobeonehalfofthe
circumferenceofacircleofradius1.
Youprobablythinkthattheletter isusedforthecircumferenceofaunitdiametercirclebecauseit
wasthoughtupbysomeancientgreeks.Wellitwas,buttheletter wasnotusedforthisnumberuntil
afewhundredyearsago,andintroducedbyanEnglishmanatthat.Hismotivationisunclear.Some
suspectthatitisbecauseperimeterstartswithap.OthersknowthattheEnglishlikeagoodpiefor
lunch.
WhatsomeofthoseancientGreeksdidgiveuswasthesorrymethodofmeasuringanglesusing360
degrees.Theoriginofthenumber360isalsomurky,thoughitissuspectedtohavesomethingtodo
withthefactthatapizzacanbenicelydividedinto6slices.Forcalculationsinvolvingangles,itis
mucheasiertoworkwithasetofanglescalledradians.Theygiveagoodwayofslicingthe ,soto
speak.
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Formostpurposes isabout3.14.Ittookthousandsofyearsbefore wasknowntotendecimal

places.Today,mathematicianshavecalculated tooverthreebilliondecimalplaces.Fortunately,
mostprofessorswillnotaskyoutomemorizemorethanthefirsthundredthousand.
alamode.Thenumber3.14159...withabigscoopofvanillaicecreamontop.Bestwhenwarmed.
polynomial.Youknow,functionslikex27x+3or2y154y3+3y6.Theydonotcontainanysquare
rootsortrigfunctionsoranythingtheslightestbitweird.Intheirgeneralform,theylooklikef(x)=
anxn+an1xn1+an2xn2+...+a2x2+a1x+a0.
positionfunction.Thisisafunctionthatdependsontimeandtellsyouwhatyourpositionisalonga
numberlineastimevaries.Forinstance,iff(t)=t2,inunitsoffeetandseconds,thenattimet=0,you
areattheorigin,attimet=1secondyouare1foottotherightoftheoriginandattimet=2seconds,
youare4feettotherightoftheorigin.Ofcourseattimet=52hours,youhavetravelledfartherthan
thespeedoflightwouldallow,breakingoneofthemostbasiclawsofthephysicaluniverse.Cool.
powerrule.``Powercorrupts.Absolutepowercorruptsabsolutely.''(Wherebydefinition,absolute
powerequalspowerifpowerispositive,andotherwisethenegativeofpower).
Incalculus,thederivativeofxnequalsnxn1.
quadraticformula.Thatamazingformulaforfindingallvaluesofxthatsatisfytheequationax2
+bx+c=0.Worksevenifyoucan'tfactorthelefthandside.Therearetwosolutions,whichmaybe
equal.

or

Alsoslicesanddices.
range.Howfaryoucanthrowaballistherangeofyourpitchingarm.Thesetofvaluesafunction
cantakeistherangeofthefunction.Whatmathematicianscookonistherangeinthekitchen.Fancy
poultryonamenuisfreerangechicken.Home,homeontherange...nevermind.
rateofchange.Therateofchangeisthespeedatwhichafunctionischanging.Ifthefunctionis
measuringyourposition,thenyourspeed(asmeasuredbyyourspeedometer)isyourrateofchange.
AnothernamefortherateofchangeofafunctionISthederivativeofthatfunction.
rationalfunction.Afunctionthatmakesalotofsense.
Alsotheratiooftwopolynomials,like

rationalnumber.Anumberthathasbothfeetontheground.It'sallthere.
Arationalnumberisanumberoftheforma/bwhereaandbareintegers.Forinstance,afewfamous
onesinclude1/2and3/4.Alessfamousoneis337/122.Eachrationalnumberhasadecimal
representationthatiseitherterminating(consistingoffinitelymanydecimalplaces)orrepeating.
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Interestinglyenough,therearealotmoreirrationalnumbersthanrationalnumbers.Anotherexample
ofmathimitatinglife.
realnumber.Realnumbersaretheonesweusuallydealwith,includingtheintegers,thefractions
andtheirrationalnumberslikeeand
thatoccurbetweenthefractions.Eachhasadecimal
representation.Tobedistinguishedfromimaginarynumberswhichinvolve

secondderivative.Thederivativethatcomesafterthefirstderivativeandbeforethethirdderivative.
Obtainedbytakingthederivativeofafunctiontwiceinarow.
secantline.Ajargontermforalinethroughtwopointsinacurve.Takeacurve,anycurve.Thentake
twopointsonthecurve.Connectthembyaline.Thatisasecantline.Whyisn'titjustcalledaline?
History.Mostoftensecantlinescomeupinreferencestotangentlines,whereyoutakeasequenceof
secantlines,fixingoneofthepointsonthecurveandmovingthesecondpointalongthecurvetoward
thefirstpoint.Thesequenceofsecantlinesthatyouobtainapproachthesocalledtangentline.Since
thetangentlinehassuchafancyname,peoplefeltbadforthesecantlineandgaveitafancyname,
too.
sineandcosine.Twothingsthatmathematiciansaskeachotheratparties.``What'syoursine''and
``what'syourcosine''.
speed.Thisistheabsolutevalueofyourvelocity.It'susedwhenyoudon'tcarewhetheryoubacked
intothewallat30mph(wherevelocityis30)ordroveintothewallforwardat30mph(where
velocityis30),youjustwanttotellpeopleyouhitthewallgoing30.
speedometer.Thatlittlegizmoinyourcarthattellsyouhowfastyouaregoing.Itisessentiallya
velocityfunction.Ifyoulookatitatagiventime,ittellsyouyourvelocity(rateofchangeofyour
positionfunction)atthattime,assumingyouarenotbackingup.
tangentline.Alinethatrubsupagainstand``kisses''acurveatapoint,havingtheslopeofthegraph
atthatpoint.Nowfacingchargesforsexualharassment.
Theoremsandproofs.Atheoremisaclaimonsomesubject,suchas,``Thederivativeof
is
."Aproofisadetailed,logical,completelyconvincingargumentshowingwhyit'strue.Learning
thedifferencebetweenwhatdoesandwhatdoesnotconstituteaproofisoneofthemostimportant
thingsyoucangetoutofacalculuscourse,thoughthereisseldomtimeforadetaileddiscussionof
thisissueinacrowdedcurriculum.Goodproofsshouldconvinceallreasonablepeople.Ofcourse
therearealwaysthosepeopleyoumeetatpartieswhowillsay``Waitaminute,whatifaMartianwas
hypnotizingmewhileIheardtheargument?"or``Isn'ttruthallrelativeanyway?Whyisonetruth
betterthananother?"Fortunately,theyrarelygetsecondinvitations.
Mathematiciansareoftenkeptoffjuriesbecauseofabeliefbylawyersthattheycannotunderstandthe
legalmeaningof``proofbeyondareasonabledoubt".Ifyouwanttoavoidjuryduty,pointoutthatyou
learnedabouttheoremsandproofsincalculus.Forsimilarreasons,lawyersarekeptoutofcalculus
classesbecauseofabeliefbymathematiciansthattheycannotunderstandthemathematicalmeaning
of``proof''.(Ifyouarealawyerorfuturelawyer:pleasedon'tsueus).Mainlybecausemathematicians,
likelawyers,fallintotheuseofjargon,theoremsarealsocalledcorollaries,lemmasandpropositions.
trigonometricidentity.Anysimpletrigequationthatrelatesvarioustrigfunctions.Themostfamous
andimportantistheclassic
,althoughtherearealsomanylesssignificantones
runningaroundunderfoot.Notethattheclassicimmediatelygivesyouotherssuchas
bydividingthroughby
.
velocity.Thisistherateofchangeofposition(onlydifferingfromspeedinthatitcanbenegativeif
youaremovingleftalongthenumberline.)Itisobtainedbytakingthederivativeofyourposition
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Glossary:AQuickGuidetotheMathematicalJargon

function.
variable.Thesinglewordusedmostoftenbynervousmeterologists.Inmath,aquantitythatcanvary.
Oftenrepresentedbyaletterlikexory,sinceitdoesnothaveaspecificfixedvalue,butrather,can
takeonawholesetofdifferentvalues.
Zeno.Thelastentryinanydictionaryofcalculusterms.HewasalsoaGreekphilosopherbestknown
forZeno'sParadox.HepointedoutthatforarunnertogetfromAtoB,heorshemustfirsttraverse
halfthedistance,andthenhalftheremainingdistanceandthenhalftheremainingdistancead
infinitum.Since,clearly,therunnercannotperforminfinitelymanystepsinafiniteamountoftime,
motionisanimpossibility,andisthereforeanillusion.So,alltheworldisjustadream.Rolloverand
gobacktosleep.

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JoelHass
19990526

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