Calculus has become so essential that we sometimes forget how impactful the discovery of calculus is in our modern lives. Calculus is the study of the rate of change, so anything that isn’t static will rely on calculus. Our world constantly evolves, so calculus will always impact our lives. It’s time that we dive deep into its significance and applications. In this article, discover how much calculus has shaped our world.
What Is Calculus’ Meaning and Why Should We Study It?
Calculus is derived from the Latin for “small pebble”, which was often used for counting when using the abacus or similar calculating device. This makes it beautiful because calculus deals with the rate of change. The accumulation of information, like tiny pebbles, has now expanded towards a significant branch of mathematics.
Since calculus deals with rates of change, it opens a wide range of applications. The universe continues to move and evolve, so calculus has become an essential tool in physics, chemistry, and other branches of science.
There are two main branches of calculus: differential calculus and integral calculus.
-
Differential calculus reveals the instantaneous rate of change that occurs at a given point. It studies the rate of change of a given quantity focusing on the slopes of functions and curves.
-
Integral calculus is the reverse! Given the rate of change, it gives information about a given function or curve. You’ll often hear the word “antiderivative” in integral calculus and that’s because it reverses the process of finding derivatives.
-
While differential calculus focuses on the curve, integral calculus studies what happens in the area below the curve.
In fundamental calculus classes, you’ll get to study the rules and systems for this branch of math. But as your learning progresses, you’ll also earn a profound respect and admiration for this field of mathematics. The implications of calculus are profound and it’s time that we explore some of its applications.
Where Do We See Calculus Problems in Our Daily Lives?
From engineering to the animations we see, all these advancements will be nothing without calculus. Calculus and other branches of mathematics have profoundly affected how we live our lives. With its extensive applications, it’s time that we explore the different practical solutions provided by calculus.
Calculus as Building Blocks of Engineering
Calculus truly is the building block of engineering. The foundation of engineering depends on optimizing designs, making accurate predictions, and using complex models to make the soundest decisions. From the ground to the space, all kinds of engineers depend on the math behind the different systems that they work with to analyze graphs, curves, and different functions.
For example, structural engineers depend on calculus to calculate heat loss and to study different complex models such as seismic activities and force distributions. Electrical engineers use calculus to create systems that allow them to analyze circuits, signal processing, and other control systems. Engineers focusing on sustainability use calculus to analyze the level of pollution, water flow, and other ecosystem factors. And in space, calculus is vital for aerospace engineers to study aircraft motion, rocket velocity, and more.
This can go on forever, but the important takeaway here is: engineering and calculus come hand in hand. It will continue to do so!
Enhancing the Practice of Medicine Through Calculus Equations
Medicine has been profoundly affected by the different calculus equations used to enhance precision and accuracy. Calculus is used to model and analyze biological systems. With this, doctors, medical researchers, and practitioners have now more advanced, precise, and accurate tools.
The past few years have shown us how important data analysis is especially for studying bacterial growth, analyzing the spread of infectious diseases, and predicting hotspots and peaks of flu season. Without the tool to analyze changes over time, this will not be possible. Physicians use different tools to monitor a patient’s vitals and other medical outputs such as blood flow, oxygen level, and blood flow.
The extensive applications of calculus in medicine will continue to grow over the years as the computational capabilities of different devices continue to advance.
Appreciating Calculus’ Applications in Business, Music, and Art
Calculus’ applications extend outside STEM-related fields. You’ll be surprised by how much calculus affects the fields of business, music, and art. This gives us a much deeper appreciation of the subject.
In business and economics, financial analysts and economists use calculus to analyze the intricate relationship shared between supply and demand. With the ever-evolving systems and models in business, analysts can now easily make critical decisions, forecast values, and develop strategies thanks in significantly shorter periods.
Musicians and sound engineers will have calculus to thank for the advancement of different instruments that allow us to enjoy the music that we have now. They can now improve the harmonics and acoustics of music thanks to technologies that depend on calculus for their models. Thanks to calculus, artists can now enhance and transport us to an unforgettable auditory and visual journey.
Animators can now render their creations with such smoothness thanks to the technology we have. Calculus plays a hand in the magic animated films give the world. There are a lot of publications that you can see out there focusing on refining the embroidery, details, and water flow. All these utilize different calculus-based algorithms. Who knew Frozen’s frozen fractals and Rapunzel’s hair in Tangled would not be as wonderful without math?
Ready to take on the journey of mastering the building blocks of calculus? Juni Learning is here to offer you guidance each step of the way. Explore Juni Learning’s comprehensive courses to help you master your basics and be ready to take on calculus.
Embracing the Magic That Calculus Has Given Us
We hope that you are as in awe as we are of the impact of calculus on society. It describes how we are changing as a community and reflects where we are in terms of technological progress. From being the foundation of practical fields to adding magical touches to music and art, it’s difficult for us not to see how impactful calculus has been for us directly or indirectly. It’s time to embrace that magic!