This document represents a sixth project assignment for MTH 229, Calculus Computer Laboratory at the College of Staten Island CUNY. It’s designed for students to apply computational methods to explore concepts of limits and derivatives.
This assignment is likely used as a practical exercise to reinforce theoretical understanding of calculus, specifically how to approximate derivatives using numerical techniques in MATLAB. It’s completed during the course to assess a student’s ability to translate mathematical principles into code and interpret the results.
This project focuses on approximating derivatives using secant lines and comparing those approximations to the tangent line. It does *not* cover the algebraic derivation of derivatives, but rather explores numerical approximation. Students will need access to MATLAB and a foundational understanding of calculus concepts.
The full project includes: exercises involving the functions sin(x²) and sin(x), instructions for creating and utilizing m-files in MATLAB, tasks to graph secant and tangent lines, and questions regarding the relationship between secant line slope and the derivative. This preview *does not* include the MATLAB code itself, solutions to the exercises, or the completed graphs. It only describes the assignment’s scope and objectives.
