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Each guide explains one method, then points to the topic where you can practice it. Guides that belong together are grouped below, in the order to read them.

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Differential calculus

1

The Derivative, Explained: From Average Speed to Instant Speed

Average speed, the limit that turns it into an instant rate, and the tangent whose slope is that rate.

2

The Differential: Small Changes, Simple Formulas

The tangent rise dy stands in for the curve’s real change, with a formula for the error.

3

Higher Derivatives and Differentials: Taking the Derivative Again (and Again)

A second derivative is acceleration, a higher one measures bend, and Leibniz’s rule differentiates a product.

4

The Mean Value Theorems: What the Derivative Guarantees

Rolle and Lagrange: between two points the chord has a parallel tangent.

5

L'Hôpital's Rule: Resolving "0/0" and Its Relatives

The 0/0 and ∞/∞ cases, settled by comparing how fast the numerator and the denominator change.

6

Taylor's Formula: Replacing a Function by a Polynomial, with a Guarantee

A polynomial that matches the derivatives at one point, with an explicit bound on the remainder.

7

Derivatives in Physics: Velocity, Acceleration and Rotation

Velocity and acceleration along a path, and the same derivative taken with respect to an angle.

8

Ups, Downs and Bends: Monotonicity, Extrema and Inflection Points

Where the graph rises or falls, its peaks and valleys, and where the bend changes direction.

9

Tangents and Normals: The Geometry Hidden in the Derivative

The derivative gives the tangent line, and the normal is the line perpendicular to it.

10

Asymptotes: The Lines a Curve Approaches Forever

Vertical, horizontal, and slant lines that a curve approaches, each found from a limit.

Applications of derivatives

Indefinite integrals

Applications of the definite integral

Integrals with a parameter

Infinite series

Differential equations

Vectors

Space

Analytic geometry

Functions of several variables

Complex analysis

Complex differentiation

Conformal mappings

Special functions

Number theory

Orthogonal polynomials

Repeated trials