Post 2

So this week in calculus was intense. It seemed we were going at such a fast pase this week. For the most part, I grasped the concept of things. I understood the very beginning of everything, but got lost during the way. I'm not sure if there's anything I fully understand in calculus from this week, but I'll try to recall something I understood more than other things.

On Monday, we defined a derivitave again, but for different reasons. We learned how to find the equation of a tangent line.

Come to think of it, this is the only new thing we really learned this week, ha. Anyway, I pretty much understood this, so I'll explain it to the best of my abilities

When looking for the equation of a tangent line, once you get your x value, y value, and slope, you are to plug all thoes in to your point slope formula. To get these values, you are to do these steps:

The problem will give you an equation
Ex: f(x)=(x - 1)(x^2 - 2)
The problem will also give you a point
Ex: (0, 2)

1. The first thing to do is to find your slope. You will need to take the derivitave of the equation
Ex: (x - 1)(2x) + (x^2 - 2)(1)
When the derivitave is simplified, it will look like
3x^2 - 2x - 2

2. You then plug in your x value into your x, giving you your slope.
Ex: 3(0)^2 - 2(0) - 2
this will leave you with (-2) being your slope.

3. You thel plug in all your values into point slope form (y - y1 = m(x - x1)
When the x value, the y value, and the slope are plugged into this form, you will get
y - 2 = -2(x)

I also understood most of the log stuff.

I still have a hard time simplifying things. I see things that look alike and I try to combine them, when they can't be combined, or I don't combine things that can be combined. I think I just need more practice on it.