How do engineers use calculus

The process of doing so is called "differentiation". How to go back from the derivative of a function to the function itself. This process is called "integration". How to use integration to solve various geometric problems, such as computations of areas and volumes of certain regions.

There are a few other standard topics in such a course. These include description of functions in terms of power series, and the study of when an infinite series "converges " to a number. It doesn't really do so. The problem is that such courses were first designed centuries ago, and they were aimed not at empowerment at that time utterly impossible but at familiarizing their audience with ideas and concepts and notations which allow understanding of more advanced work.

Mathematicians and scientists and engineers use concepts of calculus in all sorts of contexts and use jargon and notations that, without your learning about calculus, would be completely inscrutable to you.

The study of calculus is normally aimed at giving you the "mathematical sophistication" to relate to such more advanced work. This course will try to be different and to aim at empowerment as well as the other usual goals. It may not succeed, but at least will try. Traditional calculus courses emphasize algebraic methods for performing differentiating and integrating. We will describe such methods, but also show how you can perform differentiation and integration and also solution of ordinary differential equations on a computer spreadsheet with a tolerable amount of effort.

We will also supply applets which do the same automatically with even less effort. With these applets, or a spreadsheet, you can apply the tools of calculus with greater ease and flexibility than has been possible before. There are more advanced programs that are often available, such as MAPLE and Mathematica, which allow you to do much more with similar ease.

With them you can deduce the consequences of models of various kinds in a wide variety of contexts. Once you understand calculus they can make its use much easier, but they provide answers given inputs, which does not provide understanding of how they do it.

Also, we will put much greater emphasis on modeling systems. With ideas on modeling and methods for solving the differential equations they lead to, you can achieve the empowerment we have claimed. Okay, probably not. But you might. And also you might be provoked to learn more about the systems you want to study or about mathematics, to improve your chances to do so.

Also you might be able to understand the probable consequences of models a little better than you do now. The analysis uses computers and requires comprehensive and complex calculations. Although I use the computers and don't generally calculate myself, as an engineer I must know the process. I also used calculus many years after graduation, during my graduate studies. Submit An Answer. To become an engineer you must take a lot of math classes.

I was wondering what kind of applications do you use in your career that relate to calculus classes and the methods learned in those classes? Also, how does having a thorough understanding of calculus techniques benefit you in your field of work and on what occasions do you use those techniques?

A lot of what is learned in calculus seems to be unnecessary in any field of work, including engineering, how do you use, for example, integrals and derivatives in what you must do as an engineer?

Sort By Default. Numerous examples of the use of calculus can be found in aerospace engineering. Thrust over time calculated using the ideal rocket equation is an application of calculus. Analysis of rockets that function in stages also requires calculus, as does gravitational modeling over time and space. Almost all physics models, especially those of astronomy and complex systems, use some form of calculus.

After graduating summa cum laude, he began his engineering career while pursing writing on his personal blog. The Use of Calculus in Engineering. How to Calculate Groundwater Velocity. The Basics of Calculus.

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