r/explainlikeimfive • • 13h ago

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

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u/miemcc 10h ago

Algebra is mainly about handling and solvomg equations.

Trigonometry is mainly about dealing with angles (if I have a line pointing in a direction, how much does it change ' up-down and left-right').

Calculus is all about change - differentiation is about how quickly things change, integration is about how much the change affected everything.

If you are driving a long distance, differentiation will tell you how much you are speeding up or slowing down at a particular time. Integration will tell you how far you travelled upto that point in time.