Description
Book SynopsisCalculus. For some of us, the word conjures up memories of ten-pound textbooks and visions of tedious abstract equations. And yet, in reality, calculus is fun, accessible, and surrounds us everywhere we go. This book shows us how to see the math in our coffee, on the highway, and even in the night sky.
Trade ReviewOne of American Association for the Advancement of Science's Books for General Audiences and Young Adults 2014 "For every befuddled math student who's ever sat in class and thought, 'When am I ever going to use this?' Fernandez, assistant professor of mathematics at Wellesley College, gleefully reveals the truth: the world really does run on math... Whether describing how biology uses math to design more efficient organs and body structures or the best way to figure out when to overhaul a subway car, Fernandez keeps the tone light, as entertaining as it is informative. The book will speak most strongly to readers with some experience in trigonometry and basic calculus, but it's also accessible to those willing to put in a little extra effort. Either way, Fernandez's witty, delightful approach makes for a winning introduction to the wonderland of math behind the scenes of everyday life."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The author earnestly and excitedly seeks to make the principles of calculus near and natural, without the intimidation of a five-pound textbook dense with equations... Fernandez invites the reader along on this work day and telegraphs an enthusiasm for seeing calculus, with hints of differential equations, presented to him. This excitement will communicate itself to the math enthusiast becoming acquainted with calculus through the author's style, which is both lively and confident."--Tom Schulte, MAA Reviews "Written in a bright conversational tone, this book wonderfully integrates calculus into everyday life."--Devorah Bennu, GrrlScientist, The Guardian "Professor Fernandez is a delightfully quirky writer and his book Everyday Calculus is lighthearted and compelling, connecting mathematics to daily life... Everyday Calculus will not only be found to be understandable by non-mathematicians but will also be found to be quite entertaining. Indeed, not everyone considers the calculus going on inside Tandoori ovens, and they should."--Robert Schaefer, New York Journal of Books "Written in a bright conversational tone, this book wonderfully integrates calculus into everyday life."--GrrrlScientist "[T]he book is perfect for a reader who really wants to know what mathematics are governing our lives and who wants to learn and understand or polish up his rusty knowledge of these mathematics."--A. Bultheel, European Mathematical Society "Everyday Calculus is a triumph in the pursuit of the lofty goal of comprehending the world. Fernandez has touched upon a sensitive nerve, not just because mathematics makes most people cringe, but because the subject has allowed the passage of great things from some of the greatest minds ever to wander within the twentieth century. Oscar Fernandez is as bold as Alfred S. Posementier in his quest to deliver mathematical thinking as nature's gift to the thinking person."--D. Wayne Dworsky, San Francisco Book Review "Fernandez is especially effective when linking together seemingly disparate activities for which the underlying mathematical basis is identical. As the subtitle of the book suggests, the thrust is more one of 'discovering the hidden math all around us' rather than showing 'how mathematics is used,' which provides an honest and very pleasurable journey."--Choice "The book offers in clear and concise fashion much of the material found in a traditional calculus textbook, but presents it beginning with a real world observation and then developing the mathematics needed to understand the observation."--AAAS "The author's style is witty, conversational and comfortable... A very captivating read."--Andrew Jones, Mathematics Today
Table of ContentsPreface ix Calculus Topics Discussed by Chapter xi CHAPTER 1 Wake Up and Smell the Functions 1 What's Trig Got to Do with Your Morning? 2 How a Rational Function Defeated Thomas Edison, and Why Induction Powers the World 5 The Logarithms Hidden in the Air 10 The Frequency of Trig Functions 14 Galileo's Parabolic Thinking 17 CHAPTER 2 Breakfast at Newton's 21 Introducing Calculus, the CNBC Way 21 Coffee Has Its Limits 25 A Multivitamin a Day Keeps the Doctor Away 30 Derivatives Are about Change 34 CHAPTER 3 Driven by Derivatives 35 Why Do We Survive Rainy Days? 36 Politics in Derivatives, or Derivatives in Politics? 39 What the Unemployment Rate Teaches Us about the Curvature of Graphs 41 America's Ballooning Population 44 Feeling Derivatives 46 The Calculus of Time Travel 47 CHAPTER 4 Connected by Calculus 51 E-Mails, Texts, Tweets, Ah! 51 The Calculus of Colds 53 What Does Sustainability Have to Do with Catching a Cold? 56 What Does Your Retirement Income Have to Do with Traffic? 58 The Calculus of the Sweet Tooth 61 CHAPTER 5 Take a Derivative and You'll Feel Better 65 I "Heart" Differentials 65 How Life (and Nature) Uses Calculus 67 The Costly Downside of Calculus 73 The Optimal Drive Back Home 75 Catching Speeders Efficiently with Calculus 77 CHAPTER 6 Adding Things Up, the Calculus Way 81 The Little Engine That Could ... Integrate 82 The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus 90 Using Integrals to Estimate Wait Times 93 CHAPTER 7 Derivatives Integrals: The Dream Team 97 Integration at Work-Tandoori Chicken 98 Finding the Best Seat in the House 101 Keeping the T Running with Calculus 104 Look Up to Look Back in Time 108 The Ultimate Fate of the Universe 109 The Age of the Universe 113 Epilogue 116 Appendix A Functions and Graphs 119 Appendices 1-7 125 Notes 147 Index 149
