The first person to explicitly formulate the ideas of limits and derivatives was Sir Isaac
Newton in the 1660s. But Newton acknowledged that ”If I have seen further than other
men, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” Two of those giants were Pierre
Fermat (1601-1665) and Newton’s mentor at Cambridge, Isaac Barrow (1630-1677). Newton
was familiar with the methods that these individuals used to find tangent lines, and their
methods played a role in Newton’s eventual formulation of calculus. Learn about these
methods by reading the papers referenced below. Write an essay comparing the methods of
the various ”giants”and compare these methods to the current methods we use today.
Rubric for Options 2-4 (100 points total)
• Historical/Topic synopsis was clearly presented and flow of the presentation of information
was presented clearly.(25 points)
• Visuals (at least one) and clear mathematical notation was used to help aid in the discussion
of mathematical topics. (25 points)
• Students understanding of the topic was clearly present throughout the project and 800 word
count condition was met. not (25 points)
• The project was typed and MLA 8 format was used (see here for MLA format instructions)
this link link has a tool for a citation generator. Note that citations are required and will be
listed on the last page of your project. (25 points)
Note: Since you will need to present mathematical equations and symbols, you can do so by
typing them in (tedious), copy pasting images (easy but untidy), or using LaTeX (challenging).
LaTeX is not difficult to learn but it is time consuming early one, however, once you get the hang
of it, you will be able to apply it to many different scientific papers.
You can easily write things such as
(2 Na+,SO 2–
4 ) + (Ba2+,2 Cl–) BaSO4↓ + 2 NaCl
or d
dx f (x) = f ′(x).
If you’re interested in using LaTeX, here is a great website to get started on in which no
downloads are required. LaTeX. And here are some LaTeX shortcuts to get started with although
most of us will just google ”how to write . . . in LaTeX”.
(If instructions here are unclear use the pdf attatched and it will be under “Option 2” and the rubric for that option)
Isaac Barrows Method Pierre de Fermat and Ren ́e Descartes Metho
