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Author Question: What is the definition of the second derivative? (Read 1527 times)

TI

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on: Jun 19, 2013
I know the first derivative means the slope of the tangent.  What does the second one mean? Third?


federox

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Reply #1 on: Jun 19, 2013
The second derivative is the derivative of the derivative: the rate of change of the rate of change.

The third derivative is the derivative of the derivative of the derivative: the rate of change of the rate of change of the rate of change.

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Hawke

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Reply #2 on: Jun 19, 2013
The second derivative gives you concavity; it tells you, at a given point, whether the curve is concave up or concave down.


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