Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Precalculus 2e

Introduction to Calculus

Precalculus 2eIntroduction to Calculus

Three runners are close together during a race on a track.
Dutch runner Sifan Hassan passes the lead competitors on her way to a victory.

Sifan Hassan, an Ethiopian-born Dutch runner, has dominated distance running for several years. She became the first runner to win both the 1500 and 10,000 meter races at a World Championship. During the Tokyo Olympics, she joined only one other runner in history when she medaled in the rarely attempted distance triple: Winning the and won the gold medal in both the 5000 and 10,000 meter races and winning he bronze in the 1500. Hassan's signature racing style is to stay at the back of the pack for much of the race, and then move up during the final laps.

Hassan does not run at her top speed at every instant. How then, do we approximate her speed at any given instant? We will find the answer to this and many related questions in this chapter.

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/precalculus-2e/pages/1-introduction-to-functions
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/precalculus-2e/pages/1-introduction-to-functions
Citation information

© Jun 28, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.