In calculus, the chain rule is a formula for computing the derivative of the composition of two or more functions. That is, if f is a function and g is a function, then the chain rule expresses the derivative of the composite function f ∘ g in terms of the derivatives of f and g.
In integration, the counterpart to the chain rule is the substitution rule.
Read more about Chain Rule: History, The Chain Rule in Higher Dimensions, Further Generalizations
Famous quotes containing the words chain and/or rule:
“Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world—and never will.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Rules and particular inferences alike are justified by being brought into agreement with each other. A rule is amended if it yields an inference we are unwilling to accept; an inference is rejected if it violates a rule we are unwilling to amend. The process of justification is the delicate one of making mutual adjustments between rules and accepted inferences; and in the agreement achieved lies the only justification needed for either.”
—Nelson Goodman (b. 1906)