ABSTRACT
Why it is important to understand: Introduction to differentiation There are many practical situations engineers have to analyse which involve quantities that are varying. Typical examples include the stress in a loaded beam, the temperature of an industrial chemical, the rate at which the speed of a vehicle is increasing or decreasing, the current in an electrical circuit or the torque on a turbine blade. Differential calculus, or differentiation, is a mathematical technique for analysing the way in which functions change. There are many methods and rules of differentiation which are individually covered in the following chapters. A good knowledge of algebra, in particular laws of indices, is essential. This chapter explains how to differentiate the five most common functions, providing an important base for future chapters.
