On Relative Growings

Abstract

All through the calculus we are dealing with quantities that are growing, and with rates of growth. We classify all quantities into two classes: constants and variables. Those which we regard as of fixed value, and call constants, we generally denote algebraically by letters from the beginning of the alphabet, such as a, b, or c; while those which we consider as capable of growing, or (as mathematicians say) of “varying”, we denote by letters from the end of the alphabet, such as x, y, z, u, v, w, or sometimes t.