ABSTRACT
The calculus has two interrelated branches, called the differential and integral calculus. The fundamental concept in the differential calculus that forms the subject of study in the first part of this chapter is the definition and interpretation of the derivative df/dx of a function f(x) of a single real variable x. The derivative is constructed and interpreted using the notions of a continuous function and a limit. The rules for performing differentiation on combinations of functions are then derived in order to enable the derivatives of more complicated functions to be determined in terms of a table of derivatives of elementary functions.
