Mathematics and Physics Glossary

Calculus n.; pl. Calculi (Math.) (a) A method of computation; any process of reasoning by the use of symbols; any branch of mathematics that may involve calculation. (b) The branch of mathematics that uses the concept of a limit to arrive at results. Its two main parts are differential calculus and integral calculus.

-- Barycentric calculus, a method of treating geometry by defining a point as the center of gravity of certain other points to which coëfficients or weights are ascribed.

-- Calculus of functions, that branch of mathematics which treats of the forms of functions that shall satisfy given conditions.

-- Calculus of operations, that branch of mathematical logic that treats of all operations that satisfy given conditions.

-- Calculus of probabilities, the science that treats of the computation of the probabilities of events, or the application of numbers to chance.

-- Calculus of variations, a branch of mathematics in which the laws of dependence which bind the variable quantities together are themselves subject to change.

-- Differential calculus, a method of investigating mathematical questions by using the ratio of certain indefinitely small quantities called differentials. The problems are primarily of this form: to find how the change in some variable quantity alters at each instant the value of a quantity dependent upon it.