Welcome to AE Resources

Converted document Converted document

APPLICATIONS OF DERIVATIVES

Derivatives are an extremely important mathematical tool in any engineering field. Since a derivative is a rate of change, derivatives are needed whenever the rate of change of any function is needed. Just a few of the many possible examples are listed below.

Velocity is the derivative of position with respect to time.
Acceleration is the derivative of velocity with respect to time.
Power is the derivative of work with respect to time.
Curvature is the derivative of slope with respect to a spatial direction (like x, y, or z).
Force is the derivative of momentum with respect to time.
In electrical systems, current is the derivative of charge with respect to time.