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Calculus is a branch of mathematics that helps us understand changes
between values that are related by a function.

It is the mathematical study of continuous change,
in the same way that
geometry is the study of shape and
algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations.

The word calculus (plural calculi) is a Latin word, meaning originally "small pebble"
(this meaning is kept in medicine - see Calculus (medicine)).
Because such pebbles were used for calculation,
the meaning of the word has evolved and today usually means a method of computation.
It is therefore used for naming specific methods of calculation
and related theories, such as
propositional calculus, Ricci calculus, calculus of variations, lambda calculus, and process calculus.

Calculus is usually developed by working with very small quantities.

It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus;
the former concerns instantaneous rates of change, and the slopes of curves,
while integral calculus concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves.

These two branches are related to each other by the fundamental theorem of calculus, and
they make use of the fundamental notions of convergence of infinite sequences and
infinite series to a well-defined limit.[1]

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