This book is intended for a first-semester course in calculus, which begins by posing a question: how do we model an epidemic mathematically? The authors use this question as a natural motivation for the study of calculus and as a context through which central calculus notions can be understood intuitively. The book’s approach to calculus is contextual and based on the principle that calculus is motivated and elucidated by its relevance to the modeling of various natural phenomena. The authors also approach calculus from a computational perspective, explaining that many natural phenomena require analysis through computer methods. As such, the book also explores some basic programming notions and skills.
