Calculus

Word Count: 111

March 7th, 2009 | Alan | Rumors and Ideas

How about a little brain refresher for those of you who have already taken the calculus course?
Remember those handy little derivatives? Well, here we go. Let’s look at their application in the field of linear motion and displacement! Surprisingly, this is something that you could actually use in real life!

Displacement is f(x)
Velocity is f’(x)
Acceleration is f”(x)

So, what’s an example of this in real life?
You start a ball rolling down a hill.
It accelerates at 2m/s^2, so f”(x) = 2
Therefore, the velocity function is f’(x) = 2x
Therefore, the displacement function is f(x) = x^2

In four seconds, the ball would have rolled 16 meters. Very unrealistic, but it’s all the same!