Calculus

Core Calculus

The essential sequence from limits through integration — the ideas that power all of modern science and engineering.

10 concepts— start at the top and work your way down
  1. 1

    Limits

    The foundational idea of calculus — what a function approaches as its input gets arbitrarily close to a value.

  2. 2

    Real Analysis Basics

    The rigorous proof-based foundation underneath calculus — epsilon-delta definitions of limits and continuity, and what it actually means for a sequence to converge.

  3. 3

    Lebesgue Integral

    A more powerful way to integrate than Riemann's — slice the range instead of the domain, making sense of integrals that the Riemann integral can't handle.

  4. 4

    Derivatives

    The instantaneous rate of change of a function — defined as the limit of the difference quotient and interpreted as the slope of a tangent line.

  5. 5

    Chain Rule

    How to differentiate composite functions — the most frequently used rule in calculus, underpinning substitution in integration.

  6. 6

    Differentiation Rules

    The power rule, product rule, quotient rule, and chain rule — systematic shortcuts for computing derivatives without going back to the limit definition.

  7. 7

    Applications of Derivatives

    Using derivatives to find maxima and minima, describe curve shape, solve optimisation problems, and analyse rates of change.

  8. 8

    Integrals

    The integral as accumulated area — Riemann sums, definite integrals, and the antiderivative as an operation that reverses differentiation.

  9. 9

    Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

    The bridge connecting differentiation and integration — why antiderivatives compute areas and why the two operations are inverses of each other.

  10. 10

    Applications of Integration

    Computing areas between curves, volumes of solids of revolution, arc lengths, and other accumulated quantities.