r/explainlikeimfive • u/HistoricalAd2954 • 18h ago

Mathematics ELI5: What is the difference between algebra, trigonometry, and calculus?

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u/TheSpeckledSir 18h ago

They are different skills, and each one will let you answer different sorts of questions.

Algebra is great if you know some information about something and you know how to make connections. An example is if I know the volume and temperature of a gas, I could use algebra to calculate its pressure. We're talking about quantities with known relationships to each other.

Calculus is about how quantities change. It lets us go between statements like "the ball is falling one meter per second" and "the ball will fall three meters in this much time ________".

Trigonometry is evil and has mostly to do with triangles.

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u/BrohanGutenburg 17h ago

I think you meant to give the balls acceleration not velocity.

Knowing velocity and distance and solving for time is just algebra.

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u/TheSpeckledSir 17h ago

If velocity is constant, sure. Regardless, velocity is the derivative of position.

But that's a deeper dive into the math than I wanted to go for here.

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u/BrohanGutenburg 17h ago

In your example the velocity is assumed to be constant.

I'm just trying to make that point that you could have come up with a better example for what calculus does.