Calculus I: From Real Numbers to Differential Calculus

Explore foundational calculus concepts, like limits, derivatives, and integrals, to build essential problem-solving skills with the University of Padova.

Duration

8 weeks

Weekly study

8 hours

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Learn advanced maths and grow your career in STEM online in weeks

Calculus is more than just numbers – it powers the world around us. Discover how it can help you on this eight-week course from the University of Padova. Master fundamental calc concepts and gain practical problem-solving tools that can be applied in real-world scenarios – setting you up to thrive in the world of STEM.

Get to the root of real numbers and number sequences

You’ll begin by exploring real numbers, their core properties, and how functions define relationships between them. This foundation will prepare you for more advanced concepts like limits and derivatives.

Discover the power of discrete calculus with limits of sequences and series

Building on this foundation, you’ll dive into limits for sequences, setting the stage for limits, continuity and differentiability of functions. You’ll also learn how to use discrete limits to represent infinite sums, a key tool for Probability.

Explore continuity and rates of change

Next, you’ll examine the behaviour of continuous functions and how derivatives describe rates of change. By applying these concepts, you’ll analyse real-world situations like predicting stock market trends or improving supply chain efficiency.

Tackle optimisation challenges

You’ll also use calculus to optimise problems, applying techniques to maximise profits, minimise costs, and allocate resources efficiently. Concepts like monotonicity, convexity, and Newton’s algorithm will be explored through practical examples.

Master asymptotic calculus

By the final week, you’ll explore asymptotic analysis, Taylor and McLaurin formulas. These tools will help you understand the long-term behaviour of functions, crucial for evaluating algorithm efficiency and solving complex problems.

  • Week 1

    REALS

    • Introduction to Real Numbers

      Learning outcome addressed: be aware of need of real numbers

    • Axioms of Real Numbers

      Learning outcome addressed: learning best lower/upper bound of a set (Infimum and Supremum)

    • Archimedean Property

      Learning outcome addressed: fine properties of Real Numbers, determining inf and sup of a set

    • Elementary Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: properties of roots, exp and log, solving equations and inequalities.

    • Modulus

      Learning outcome addressed: properties of the modulus of a number, solving equations and inequalities with moduluses

  • Week 2

    SEQUENCES

    • What is a Sequence?

      Learning outcome addressed: writing a simple mathematical model involving sequences of numbers

    • Limit of a Sequence

      Learning outcome addressed: definition of limit of a sequence and how to check existence of finite and infinite limits or non existence of a limit

    • Computing Limits

      Learning outcome addressed: basic level skills for computing limits

    • Comparison

      Learning outcome addressed: comparison techniques to discuss non trivial limits

    • Story of e

      Learning outcome addressed: exponential limit (one of the most important limits at all)

  • Week 3

    SERIES

    • Infinite Sums

      Learning outcome addressed: definition and calculation of an infinite sum

    • Comparison Test

      Learning outcome addressed: checking convergence/divergence of constant sign series by comparison

    • Asymptotic Tests

      Learning outcome addressed: checking convergence/divergence of constant sign series by asymptotic tests

    • Alternating Sign Series

      Learning outcome addressed: checking convergence for alternating sign sums

    • Variable Sign Series

      Learning outcome addressed: proving convergence/non convergence for general variable sign series

  • Week 4

    LIMITS

    • Limits in Continuum Variable

      Learning outcome addressed: definition of limit of a function and how to check its existence and value

    • Continuous Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: what is a continuous function and how to check it

    • Rules of Calculus of Limits

      Learning outcome addressed: basic level skills for computing limits of functions

    • Comparison

      Learning outcome addressed: intermediate level skills for computing limits of functions

    • Fundamental Limits

      Learning outcome addressed: intermediate level skills for computing limits of functions

  • Week 5

    CONTINUITY

    • Continuity and Monotonicity

      Learning outcome addressed: continuity of the elementary functions

    • Operations on Continuous Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: discussing continuity for functions built on elementary functions through algebraic or composition operations

    • Zeros of Continuous Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: discussing existence and search of solutions of equations

    • Inverse Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: existence and continuity of inverse functions and inverses of elementary functions

    • Minimums/Maximums of Continuous Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: discussing existence of min/max points for continuous functions on intervals

  • Week 6

    DIFFERENTIABILITY

    • Differentiable Functions and Derivative

      Learning outcome addressed: what is a differentiable function, how do we compute derivative and tangent line, comparison with continuous functions

    • Rules of Calculus

      Learning outcome addressed: computing derivatives

    • Derivative of the Inverse Function

      Learning outcome addressed: calculus of the derivative of an inverse function, derivatives of inverses of elementary function

    • Fundamental Theorems of Differential Calculus

      Learning outcome addressed: knowing the Fermat, Rolle and Lagrange theorems

    • Test for Differentiability

      Learning outcome addressed: applying Lagrange's test to check differentiability

  • Week 7

    APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS

    • Derivative and Monotonic Behavior

      Learning outcome addressed: how to determine if a function is increasing/decreasing

    • Optimization Problems

      Learning outcome addressed: setting up, solving and interpreting solutions for opmitization problems

    • Convexity

      Learning outcome addressed: concave and convex functions, how to check convexity, basic properties

    • Plotting Functions

      Learning outcome addressed: how to plot a qualitative graph of a function

    • Solving Equations and Inequalities

      Learning outcome addressed: using study of functions techniques to solve for equations and inequalities.

  • Week 8

    ASYMPTOTICS

    • Hopital's Rule

      Learning outcome addressed: applying Hopital's rule to compute limits

    • Taylor's Formula

      Learning outcome addressed: computing Taylor polynomial approximation of a regular function

    • Maclaurin's Formula

      Learning outcome addressed: computing Maclaurin’s asymptotic expansions for elementary functions

    • Asymptotic Methods: Limits

      Learning outcome addressed: applying asymptotic expansions to the calculus of limits

    • Asymptotic Methods: Series

      Learning outcome addressed: applying asymptotic expansions to convergence of numerical series

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