Put , , and . Under the endpoint-slope convention suggested by the requested connection, the recurrence is . Summing telescopes, so
Since by the fundamental theorem of calculus, this recurrence gives exactly the composite trapezoidal rule. It replaces the average derivative over each strip by the arithmetic mean of its endpoint derivatives.
For the standard midpoint method, the literal endpoint-only request is not valid for general . Both the explicit and implicit one-step midpoint formulas here give instead
the composite midpoint quadrature rule. It requires half-grid samples. These samples cannot be recovered exactly from for arbitrary smooth : the zero function and have identical grid values but different midpoint sums. For a smooth , replacing each half-grid sample by is an additional approximation, giving with an total difference, rather than an identity. A precise useful relation, obtained by splitting the finer trapezoidal sum into old nodes and midpoints, is
Here uses the finer half-grid, so it does not eliminate the missing data.
If “Mid-Point Method” means the two-step explicit midpoint linear multistep method, the recurrence is . It gives and , so an odd final index additionally needs a starting value . For even , the result is the midpoint quadrature on double-width strips; equivalently . The question specifies neither even nor a starter. Thus the trapezoidal expression above is the natural endpoint-average interpretation, while the other common midpoint meanings require the qualifications just given. The ambiguity is present in the original PDF.
Peano existence theorem Created 2026-09-29 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be an open set, , and a continuous function. Through every there is a local solution of a differential equation: a continuously differentiable function on an open interval containing , satisfying the displayed initial value problem pointwise. No Lipschitz condition is assumed.[ref]
Continuity of a proposed rate law therefore guarantees at least one trajectory for a short time. For a physical model, this is a first consistency check: can the stated rule and initial condition actually be followed? Prediction also needs uniqueness. The delayed solutions of a square-root differential equation below show how the same rule and initial condition can leave a departure time undetermined. The Picard-Lindelöf theorem supplies a sufficient additional hypothesis for uniqueness; failure of that hypothesis alone does not prove nonuniqueness.
For the initial value problem , , a forward solution of a differential equation can stay zero until any , then follow . The delayed solutions of a square-root differential equation verify this freedom exactly.
Figure 1.
One initial condition admits an arbitrary forward waiting time
. Colored curves leave zero at the marked waits ; the dashed curve stays zero forever. Every curve satisfies the same original differential equation for . Details.
Local existence gives neither a global solution of a differential equation nor a bound on all future values. The continuous function already permits finite-time blowup; the finite-dimensional continuation criterion explains the additional issue of extending a trajectory within its domain.
Proof outline: choose a compact set . By the extreme value theorem, . Take with . Forward Euler method polygons remain in the closed ball and satisfy . The Arzelà-Ascoli theorem yields a convergent subsequence with uniform convergence. Uniform continuity of on makes their integral equation defect tend uniformly to zero, so the limit satisfies
The fundamental theorem of calculus gives a continuously differentiable function. Repeat backward and join at , where both derivatives equal .[ref]
The compact set here uses a finite-dimensional vector space; bounded closed balls in an arbitrary Banach space need not be compact. When , the constant solution of a differential equation works on the entire time interval in . In general the proof selects a subsequence, without asserting that all polygons converge to one unique trajectory.
Picard iteration Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-31
Picard iteration replaces a tentative trajectory by the accumulated integral of its proposed rate. For an initial value problem , , define the Picard map and its starting function by
Here is the constant starting trajectory; the same symbol without its argument denotes the initial state. A fixed point of solves this integral equation, and the fundamental theorem of calculus gives the original ordinary differential equation.
For , , successive integrals give
At , the first five values are , while . The fourth polynomial misses by about . On , every omitted term of the exponential series is nonnegative and increasing, so the largest error occurs at . The tail tends to zero, giving uniform convergence to the exponential function on this interval.
Figure 1.
Picard iteration builds the exponential solution by repeated integration
. The first five polynomials approach the exponential function on . Endpoint values are listed in the legend; the last error is approximately . Details.
The beauty of Picard iteration is that each proposed trajectory supplies a better rate history for the next one. For this example, one integration adds exactly the next term of the exponential series. In general, the integrals may be difficult to compute, but the construction still explains local existence and uniqueness.
The short contraction mapping argument needs two independent controls. Choose a time-state cylinder on which
The second bound is the uniform local Lipschitz condition. Set with , and . In the function space of continuous functions , use the supremum norm . On its closed ball , direct integral estimates give
Thus the map preserves the closed ball and is a contraction mapping there. This closed ball is a complete metric space, so the contraction mapping theorem gives convergence to exactly one fixed point. Any other local solution of a differential equation stays in the same ball after shortening its interval, and hence agrees there.
For , take , so in the state ball and , . Choosing gives and , with the actual solution satisfying . The plotted interval is longer than this simple guarantee: the explicitly computed exponential series converges there anyway. The condition is sufficient for this one-step contraction mapping argument, rather than a necessary lifespan bound.
Suppose is continuous and Lipschitz in its state variable on a closed cylinder , , with bounds and Lipschitz constant . On a smaller interval of radius , the displayed Picard operator maps continuous curves in that closed ball into itself when , and it is a contraction mapping in the supremum norm when . This function space is complete because it is a closed subset of a Banach space of continuous vector-valued functions. The contraction mapping theorem gives a unique fixed point, and the fundamental theorem of calculus makes it a solution of the ordinary differential equation. Choosing also prevents any solution with the same initial data from first exiting the cylinder during that interval.
On , the power rule for derivatives and the fundamental theorem of calculus give the displayed antiderivative. In particular for , understood as an improper integral when needed. At , the antiderivative on is the natural logarithm .
Let and let be the outward-oriented boundary of , . For a continuous function , the vector field has outward flux
On the curved unit sphere, the outward unit normal is , so the normal component is . A horizontal spherical band has area , producing the first term. On the top disk, the outward unit normal is , the normal component is , and the area is , producing the second term.
For with a continuous first derivative, the fundamental theorem of calculus gives
This direct surface integral proof needs no second derivative of . For , it reduces to ; the divergence theorem identifies this with three times the enclosed volume.
For a twice continuously differentiable function and , the fundamental theorem of calculus gives
The nonnegative triangular weight has integral , so its supremum norm estimate directly controls the second modulus of smoothness.
Seminorm Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
A seminorm on a real or complex vector space is a finite-valued function satisfying absolute homogeneity and the triangle inequality:
In particular and . A seminorm is a norm exactly when implies : this is the extra definiteness of a norm axiom. The zero function is a valid seminorm. The missing definiteness is useful when a measurement deliberately ignores some directions, such as an individual coordinate or the constant term of a function whose derivative is measured.
For example, on the function is a seminorm that vanishes on every constant function. Adding the value measurement gives the norm : if , the fundamental theorem of calculus gives . A family of such partial measurements defines a seminorm topology.
Signed area under a graph 2026-10-14
For and a real-valued function with a finite Riemann integral or Lebesgue integral on , the signed area under a graph is its definite integral: geometric area above the horizontal axis contributes positively, and geometric area below it contributes negatively. If these two nonnegative areas are and , then
The second expression is the total geometric area under a graph. Taking the absolute value of the first expression does not usually give the second: cancellation has already removed information about how much area lies on each side.[ref]
For an exact example, take the polynomial function on . Its polynomial roots are and : it is negative between them and positive on the two outer intervals. An antiderivative is , so the fundamental theorem of calculus gives
Thus and . The signed area under a graph is , whereas the total geometric area under a graph is . To compute the latter with antiderivatives, split at each sign-changing polynomial root and reverse the sign of the negative contribution.
Figure 1.
The polynomial x squared minus one has signed integral 4/3 and total geometric area 4 on the interval from minus two to two
. Details.
Cancellation is useful information when the integrand represents a signed contribution. For the polynomial function on , the two triangular areas give , although . Zero net signed area therefore means balanced positive and negative contributions, rather than an empty region.
The short algebraic justification uses the positive part and negative part : and . Their integrals give and , and linearity of integration gives the difference and sum formulas. For Lebesgue integration, require both contributions to be finite to avoid the undefined subtraction .[ref]
Changing the value of a bounded Riemann-integrable function at one point preserves its Riemann integral. The difference is supported at that point: partitions isolating it in intervals of arbitrarily small total length make both Darboux sums tend to zero. Thus a nonnegative single-point spike can have zero integral without vanishing everywhere. Its indefinite integral is identically zero, so the fundamental theorem of calculus derivative identity can fail at the changed point despite differentiability of the primitive.
Sobolev–Gallagher inequality Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-31
For a continuously differentiable function on an interval ,
To prove it, average over using the fundamental theorem of calculus. On either half of , the resulting derivative kernel has absolute value at most . Since , the displayed bound follows.
A continuous function on an open interval with positive symmetric derivative everywhere is strictly increasing. One proof takes an antiderivative using the fundamental theorem of calculus. For small positive , the identity
follows from . If exceeded a chord, its difference from the chord would attain a positive interior maximum, contradicting this symmetric difference inequality. Thus is a convex function, and its derivative is nondecreasing. Equality at two different points would make constant between them and force an interior symmetric derivative to vanish, proving strict monotonicity.
When the second partial derivatives are continuous in a neighborhood, the order of the mixed partial derivatives can be interchanged. Expressing a rectangular finite difference as either iterated integral by the fundamental theorem of calculus and shrinking the rectangle proves the equality. Mere existence of both derivatives does not imply this symmetry.
Telescoping sum Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-20
A telescoping sum cancels intermediate sequence terms, leaving boundary terms. For a finite sequence of real numbers , the displayed identity follows because every occurs once with each sign. Applying it to an infinite series also requires checking the limit of the boundary terms; finite cancellation alone does not prove that the series is a convergent series.[ref]
For , expanding the finite sum gives
No monotone sequence assumption is required. Consider the original sequence . Its successive finite differences are , so
The large intermediate rise and fall disappear from the net change. This is useful whenever one knows successive changes rather than every absolute value: adding the changes reconstructs the final value from the initial one. It also checks a cumulative-update calculation without requiring all increments to be positive.
Figure 1.
Opposite signs cancel the intermediate sequence terms, leaving the final value minus the initial value
. Original nonmonotone sequence . Linked green entries have the same magnitude and opposite signs; the unmatched entries are and . The increments are , whose sum is one. Details.
A finite difference measures one discrete change. The identity is the discrete counterpart of the fundamental theorem of calculus: accumulation of changes returns the endpoint difference. The related summation by parts transfers a finite difference from one factor of a product to another, with explicit boundary terms.
If finite nonnegative entropy decreases, its limit exists. The fundamental theorem of calculus applied to proves the displayed absolute-integrability identity. This product conclusion does not require a zero limiting entropy.
Total derivative Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
A total derivative accounts for every dependence of a quantity on the variable of differentiation. For a differentiable function evaluated along differentiable coordinate functions , the multivariable chain rule gives
All the partial derivatives on the right are evaluated at . The first term captures explicit dependence on ; the remaining terms capture changes transmitted through the coordinates.
For example, take and . The partial derivative with respect to , holding fixed, is , whose value on the path is . The total derivative is instead
At , the partial derivative is and the total derivative is . The difference is the contribution from changing .
If the composite function is continuously differentiable on , the fundamental theorem of calculus gives
This is the sense in which an integrated total derivative contributes endpoint terms. The endpoint statement concerns the whole composite function along the path. [ref].
A proper Riemann integral on a compact interval requires a bounded integrand, but a derivative can be unbounded. For away from zero and , the difference quotient gives , whereas for . At , this derivative is and is unbounded. The fundamental theorem of calculus version that integrates a derivative therefore needs an explicit integrability hypothesis.
Uniform derivative convergence with an anchored value Created 2026-10-07 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be continuously differentiable functions on an interval . If by uniform convergence on and at one fixed , then converge locally uniformly to a continuously differentiable function with . If is bounded, the convergence is uniform on all of .[ref]
The anchor fixes the additive constant that a derivative cannot see. By the fundamental theorem of calculus, define
The uniform limit theorem makes a continuous function, so the fundamental theorem of calculus gives . The displayed estimate proves uniform convergence wherever has a common finite bound, and therefore proves locally uniform convergence on any interval.
For example, on take . Its derivative is , with supremum error from , and . The reconstructed uniform limit is ; the exact supremum error is , equal to the bound above. Without an anchor, the constant functions have zero derivatives but no finite pointwise limit. On the real line, has convergent anchored values and uniformly convergent derivatives, but its supremum error from zero is infinite. The bounded-distance condition has a real role.
W1p trace theorem on a half-space Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For , boundary restriction on smooth functions extends uniquely to a bounded linear map . The estimate follows by applying the fundamental theorem of calculus on normal line segments and then integrating over the boundary variables.