Differential and Integral Calculus Review and Tutorial
Differential and Integral Calculus Review and Tutorial
Calculus Review
Contents
1.1 What are Elementary Functions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Differential Calculus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Some Derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Basic Theorems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.3 Implicit Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.4 Logarithmic Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.5 Pascal’s Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Integral Calculus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.1 Some Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.2 Techniques of Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.3 Examples of Integration Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Types and Methods of Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 Applications of Calculus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
This tutorial is a review of the basic results of differentiation and integration. Of course some of the results
may be new to some of the readers. Hopefully, those readers will find the new results interesting as well as
informative.
There are many things one could say about the history of calculus, but one of the most interesting is that
integral calculus was first developed by Archimedes of Syracuse OVER 2250 YEARS AGO! He was a very
interesting guy. You can google him to learn more, but I highly recommend the (historical fiction) book
”The Sand Reckoner” by Gillian Bradshaw which is a story of his life.
1
Here are some examples of elementary functions:
So, what isn’t an elementary function? There are certain integrals and differential equations that “can’t be
solved” so instead of solving them, we name them. For example, Bessel functions are solutions to “Bessel’s
Equation.” Nonelementary functions that have a special name are known as Special Functions. Another
common example of a special function is the Error Function which is the solution to the integral
Zx
2 2
erf (x) = √ e−x̂ dx̂ (1.1)
π
0
3. In particular, the derviative is the slope operator. Thus, it represents a “rate of change.” When the
independent variable is time, the derivative becomes a time rate of change. The time rate of change of
position is velocity, the time rate of change of velocity is acceleration, and the time rate of change of
acceleration is jerk. It can be readily seen that the units of the time derivative of f are f /time.
4. The inverse operator is the antiderivative or integral (This is the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus).
Function Derivative
xn nxn−1
ex ex
1
ln(x) x
sin(x) cos(x)
cos(x) −sin(x)
−sin(x) −cos(x)
−cos(x) sin(x)
One may notice that the derivatives for sin and cos follow a simple pattern:
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 2
Integration Differentiation
sin x
−cos x cos x
−sin x
x2 + y 2 = 1 (1.2)
You could apply the product rule many times, or take the logarithm of both sides:
where a simple property of the logarithm has been used. Now, taking the derivative of both sides yields
1 dy 1 dA 1 dB 1 dC 1 dD
= + + + (1.7)
y(x) dx A(x) dx B(x) dx C(x) dx D(x) dx
dy dA dB dC dD
= B(x)C(x)D(x) + A(x)C(x)D(x) + A(x)B(x)D(x) + A(x)B(x)C(x) (1.8)
dx dx dx dx dx
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 3
Of course, if one is so inclined, one could generalize the results. If y(x) is written
N
Y
y(x) = Ai (x) (1.9)
i=1
then
N N
dy X 1 dAj (x) Y
= Ai (x) (1.10)
dx j=1 Aj (x) dx i=1
Each of the numbers are obtained by adding the two adjacent numbers in the row above it. For example,
10 is below it’s adjacent 4 and 6.
The rows of Pascal’s Triangle represent the binomial coefficients, so that
(a + b)3 = 1 · a3 b0 + 3 · a2 b1 + 3 · a1 b2 + 1 · a0 b3 (1.11)
or more simply
(a + b)3 = a3 + 3a2 b + 3ab2 + b3 (1.12)
There is a formula for the binomial coefficients, given the “Choose Function”:
n n!
= (1.13)
k k!(n − k)!
where n is the row and k goes from 1 to n. For example, the third number on the 5th row of Pascal’s Triangle
is a 10, but
5 5! 5·4
= = = 10 (1.14)
3 3!(5 − 3)! 2·1
Note that the top solitary “1” is considered to be in the zeroth row and that 0! = 1 by convention.
This relates to differential calculus, because there is a similar relationship that applies to the product
rule to multiple derivatives. Suppose we are interested in the 4th derivative of a product:
y (4) (x) = (A(x)B(x))
′′′′
(1.15)
While the derivative terms that must exist are straightforward, it also happens that the coefficients of the
derivatives are given by Pascal’s Triangle, so that in this case
y (4) (x) = A′′′′ (x)B(x) + 4A′′′ (x)B ′ (x) + 6A′′ (x)B ′′ (x) + 4A′ (x)B ′′′ (x) + A(x)B ′′′′ (x) (1.16)
Thus, by inspection it can be seen that the 4th derivative of xex is
d4
(xex ) = (4 + x)ex (1.17)
dx4
as the first 3 terms are zero. By inspection, can you determine the 4th derivative of x2 ex ? (See Bottom of
Page for answer)1
1 (12 + 8x + x2 )ex
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 4
1.3 Integral Calculus
Fast Facts:
Rb PN −1
1. Definition of a Definite Integral: f (x)dx = limN →∞ b−a
a N 0 f a+i b−a
N .
R Rx
2. Definition of an Indefinite Integral: f (x)dx = a f (x̂)dx̂ + C
4. In particular, the Indefinite Integral is the Accumulated Area Operator. The area is achieved by
summing many rectangles of length ∆x = (b − a)/N and height f (a + i∆x). Thus, the units of
Rb
a
f (x)dx is the units of f (x) multiplied by the units of x.
5. The Indefinite Integral of any Elementary Function may or may not be an Elementary Function.
A common mistake when using integration by parts on a definite integral is to forget to evaluate the uv term
with the integration limits.
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 5
R 1
would be much harder if it is 1+x3 dx. That’s why it’s the Hope method, you hope that derivative is there!
Comment: For the integral of a fifth degree polynomial divided by a second degree polynomial, one would
use synthetic division first, and use Partial Fractions on the remaining integral. There is a technique where
the partial fractions coefficients can be determined by inspection.
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 6
Example (Series Solution)
To solve Z
2
e−x dx (1.26)
we may note that the Taylor Series expansion for an exponential function is
∞
X xn
ex = (1.27)
n=0
n!
Z0 p Z0 Z0
1 1
A=2 r2 − r2 cos2 (φ)(−rsin(φ))dφ = −2r2 sin2 (φ))dφ − 2r2 − cos(2φ) dφ = πr2 (1.30)
2 2
π π π
Thus
Z∞ Z∞ Z∞ Z∞
−x2 −y 2 2 2
y02 = e dx e dy = e−x e−y dxdy (1.32)
0 0 0 0
Z∞ Zπ/2 Z∞
−r 2 π 1 2 π
y02 = e rdφdr = − e−r (−2r)dr = (1.33)
2 2 4
0 0 0
or √
π
y0 = (1.34)
2
Comment: You can see why erf(x) has the √2π normalized factor in front - it’s so that the area under the
erf(x) is 1. This solution is a fun little trick that only works when the integral is extended to infinity. In
general, though, if you see an integral whose limits are −∞ to ∞, look to see if the integrand is an odd
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 7
function (Hope Method). If it is, the integral is zero. Finally, notice that the area under the curve is finite,
but that the length of the curve is infinite. This deserves some thought. If you had such a box, it would
mean that you could fill the box with paint, but you would never have enough paint to paint the box!!
Interestingly, It is also possible to have figures which have infinite perimeter with a finite area. Fractals have
these properties.
2. Analytical and Numerical Solutions using Computer Algebra Systems (such as Maple).
• These types and methods of solution apply to differential equations as well as integrals.
• The laws of physics which apply to all of nature and devices created by man are governed by differential
equations, which, under many circumstances reduce to integrals.
• Many of the algorithms for numerical integration and solution to differential equations are available
(without charge) on the Internet (as is a host of related material). Try a web search for “Numerical
Recipes in C++.”
Calculus Review by A. A. Tovar, Ph. D., Created Jan. 2009, not Amended. 8
Application Formula
Rb
Area under curve a
f (x)dx
df
Slope of curve dx
df
Extremum of a curve (max, min, inflection pt.) dx = 0
d2 f
Inflection point of a curve r dx2 = 0
Rb 2
df
Arc Length a
1+ dx dx
2 3/2
h i
df
1+( dx )
Curvature (Radius) ˛ 2 ˛
˛d f ˛
˛ 2˛
1
R dx
b
Average of a function f (x)dx
qb−a Ra
1 b 2
RMS of a function b−a a f (x)dx
Rb
Center of Mass xf (x)dx
Rb a
Variance (Second Central Moment) (x − x̄)2 f (x)dx
Rab
Skewness (Third Central Moment) (x − x̄)3 f (x)dx
Rab
Kurtosis (Fourth Central Moment) a R
(x − x̄)4 f (x)dx
b
Function Squared Norm Ra∞
|f (x)|2 dx
Fourier Transform √1 f (t)e−iωt dt
R 2π
∞
−∞
Convolution Integral −∞
f (τ )g(t − τ )dτ
n
1 d f
Taylor Coefficients R n! dxn |x=a
1 π
Fourier Sine Series π R−π f (t)sin(nt)dt
1 π
Fourier Cosine Series π −π f (t)cos(nt)dt
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