Accession Number:
ADA574893
Title:
Introducing the Exponential Function
Descriptive Note:
Journal article
Corporate Author:
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA DEPT OF PHYSICS
Personal Author(s):
Report Date:
2006-09-01
Pagination or Media Count:
3.0
Abstract:
The exponential function appears in a number of places in introductory physics, such as damped oscillations, radioactive populations, LR and RC circuits, isothermal and adiabatic processes for an ideal gas, and atmospheric pressure as a function of altitude. The purpose of this article is to introduce the exponential function, without using calculus, for the benefit of students in an algebra-based course. The key point is that the exponential is that special function yx whose slope at any point x is equal to the value y of the function at that same point.
Descriptors:
Subject Categories:
- Numerical Mathematics