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Calculus, according to Webster's dictionary is defined as: "a method of computation or calculation in a special notation (as of logic or symbolic logic)"(1). This, unfortunately provides one with very little insight on the study of calculus. Calculus, basically, is the branch of mathematics that goes over properties of different functions that deal with the concepts of limits, derivatives, and integrals (2). Its sole purpose, in the most rudimentary form, is to describe the precise way in which changes in one variable relate to changes in another. For example, car acceleration responds to the way the flow of gasoline is controlled. Similarly, the level of a drug in a person's blood stream corresponds to the controlled variable of the dosage and timing of its prescription. By using calculus, one can use the understandings of certain controlled variables to better understand and predict the outcome of uncontrolled variables. In the sciences, if one is working with variables that are linked by way of chance or randomness, statistics is usually used to understand the variables better. However, in situations where "where a deterministic model is at least a good approximation, calculus is a powerful tool to study the ways in which the variables interact" ( 3).
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