What are generic terms for integration/summation parameters?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the terminology used for parameters in integration and summation within mathematics and science. Participants explore various terms that could describe the input variable, the function being integrated or summed, and the result of the integration or summation, considering both theoretical and applied contexts.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests terms for integration/summation parameters: the input variable as "the parameter considered the input variable," the function as "the function being integrated/summed," and the result as "the integration/summation result."
  • Another participant proposes simpler terms: the independent variable, the dependent variable, and the instantaneous change in the dependent variable.
  • A different participant identifies that only the term for the function has an official designation, referring to it as the integrand or summand.
  • Another participant references a Wiki article that provides terms such as "differential" for dx, "variable of integration" for x, and various terms for the result including "integral" and "antiderivative." They also confirm the use of "integrand" for the function being integrated.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the terminology, with no consensus on a unified set of terms. Some propose specific terms while others suggest alternative definitions, indicating a lack of agreement on the most appropriate terminology.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the terminology may vary based on context and application, and there is uncertainty regarding the most universally accepted terms.

swampwiz
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This is not only a question strictly about mathematics, but in science or any other quantitative field in which there is an integration - or a summation that is like a discrete integration.

[ A ] the parameter that is considered the input variable for the integration/summati - i.e., the x of dx

[ B ] the parameter that is the function being integrated/summed - f( x )

[ C ] the integration/summation result - { ∫ f( x ) dx } OR { Σ [ f( x ) Δx ] }

Obviously the fact that one is a summation while the other is integration (which itself is simply the limit of the summation being an infinite number of discrete quantities) should make no difference in the abstract terminology. Also, speaking only for physics here, there are a number of different such summation relationships ...

Mechanical Energy = Σ [ Force(Distance) * Δ Distance ]

Momentum = Σ [ Force(Time) * Δ Time ]

Elastic Energy = Σ [ Stiffness(Deformation) * Δ Deformation ] = Σ [ Elasticity(Strain) * Δ Strain ]

Thermomechanical Energy = Σ [ Pressure(Volume) * Δ Volume ]

Heat = Σ [ Temperature(Entropy) * Δ Entropy

Energy = Σ [ Power( Time ) * Δ Time ]

Voltage = Σ [ ElectricalField( Distance ) * Δ Distance ]

ElectricalCharge = Σ [ Current(Time) * Δ Time ]

Flux = Σ [ Field( 2-D coordinates on surface ) * Δ Area ]

... to name a few. Likewise, the function here is the derivative of the integration result with respect to the differential parameter. It seems that there must be a nice set of elegant terms to describe any such relationship; the best I can come up are ...

[ A ] the displacement function

[ B ] the forcing function

[ C ] the accumulation

... which obviously is inconsistent. I think the term for [ C ] sounds pretty good, but I can't come up with a term that is as generic as "accumulation" to describe [ A } & [ B ]. Surely some great commentator on mathematics has come up with such a set of nice terms.
 
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In mathematics and science... isn't it just?

A. The independent variable
B. The dependent variable
C. Instantaneous change in the dependent variable

For instance, the integration of velocity dependent on time is acceleration. Time is clearly the independent variable upon which velocity occurs and the instantaneous change in velocity is known as acceleration?
 
So far as I know, only B has an official term, which is integrand and summand respectively.
 
The Wiki article on integration uses some reasonable terms. "differential" for the dx, "variable of integration" for the x and a choice of "integral", "definite integral", "indefinite integral" or "antiderivative" depending on how you want to consider the result.

It uses "integrand" for the function being integrated as Andrewkirk has already indicated.
 

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