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Differentiable Functions
In mathematics, a differentiable function of one real variable is a function whose derivative exists at each point in its domain. In other words, the graph of a differentiable function has a non-vertical tangent line at each interior point in its domain. A differentiable function is smooth (the function is locally well approximated as a linear function at each interior point) and does not contain any break, angle, or cusp. If is an interior point in the domain of a function , then is said to be ''differentiable at'' if the derivative f'(x_0) exists. In other words, the graph of has a non-vertical tangent line at the point . is said to be differentiable on if it is differentiable at every point of . is said to be ''continuously differentiable'' if its derivative is also a continuous function over the domain of the function f. Generally speaking, is said to be of class if its first k derivatives f^(x), f^(x), \ldots, f^(x) exist and are continuous over the domain of the func ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cusp (singularity)
In mathematics, a cusp, sometimes called spinode in old texts, is a point on a curve where a moving point must reverse direction. A typical example is given in the figure. A cusp is thus a type of singular point of a curve. For a plane curve defined by an analytic, parametric equation :\begin x &= f(t)\\ y &= g(t), \end a cusp is a point where both derivatives of and are zero, and the directional derivative, in the direction of the tangent, changes sign (the direction of the tangent is the direction of the slope \lim (g'(t)/f'(t))). Cusps are ''local singularities'' in the sense that they involve only one value of the parameter , in contrast to self-intersection points that involve more than one value. In some contexts, the condition on the directional derivative may be omitted, although, in this case, the singularity may look like a regular point. For a curve defined by an implicit equation :F(x,y) = 0, which is smooth, cusps are points where the terms of lowest degree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intermediate Value Theorem
In mathematical analysis, the intermediate value theorem states that if f is a continuous function whose domain contains the interval , then it takes on any given value between f(a) and f(b) at some point within the interval. This has two important corollaries: # If a continuous function has values of opposite sign inside an interval, then it has a root in that interval (Bolzano's theorem). # The image of a continuous function over an interval is itself an interval. Motivation This captures an intuitive property of continuous functions over the real numbers: given ''f'' continuous on ,2/math> with the known values f(1) = 3 and f(2) = 5, then the graph of y = f(x) must pass through the horizontal line y = 4 while x moves from 1 to 2. It represents the idea that the graph of a continuous function on a closed interval can be drawn without lifting a pencil from the paper. Theorem The intermediate value theorem states the following: Consider an interval I = ,b/math> of real n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
