7: Optimization
- Page ID
- 121117
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Calculus was developed to solve practical problems. In this chapter, we concentrate on optimization problems, where finding "the largest," "the smallest," or "the best" answer is the goal. We apply some of the techniques developed in earlier chapters to find local and global maxima and minima. A new challenge in this chapter is translating a word-problem into a mathematical problem. We start with elementary examples, and work to more complex situations with biological motivation.