continuity

(noun)

lack of interruption or disconnection; the quality of being continuous in space or time

Related Terms

  • scalar function
  • limit

Examples of continuity in the following topics:

  • Continuity

    • A continuous function with a continuous inverse function is called "bicontinuous."
    • Continuity of functions is one of the core concepts of topology.
    • This function is continuous.
    • In fact, a dictum of classical physics states that in nature everything is continuous.
    • The function fff is said to be continuous if it is continuous at every point of its domain.
  • Limits and Continuity

    • Continuity in each argument does not imply multivariate continuity.
    • For instance, in the case of a real-valued function with two real-valued parameters, f(x,y)f(x,y)f(x,y), continuity of fff in xxx for fixed yyy and continuity of fff in yyy for fixed xxx does not imply continuity of fff.
    • Similarly, all fxf_xf​x​​ are continuous as fff is symmetric with regards to xxx and yyy.
    • Continuity in single-variable function as shown is rather obvious.
    • Describe the relationship between the multivariate continuity and the continuity in each argument
  • Intermediate Value Theorem

    • Since 000 is less than 1.61.61.6, and the function is continuous on the interval, there must be a solution between 111 and 555.
    • Version 3: Suppose that III is an interval [a,b][a, b][a,b] in the real numbers R\mathbb{R}R and that f:I→Rf : I \to Rf:I→R is a continuous function.
    • This captures an intuitive property of continuous functions: given fff continuous on [1,2][1, 2][1,2], if f(1)=3f(1) = 3f(1)=3 and f(2)=5f(2) = 5f(2)=5, then fff must take the value 444 somewhere between 111and 222.
    • Therefore, since it is continuous, there must be at least one point where xxx is 000.
    • Use the intermediate value theorem to determine whether a point exists on a continuous function
  • Physics and Engeineering: Center of Mass

    • For a continuous mass distribution, the position of center of mass is given as R=1M∫Vρ(r)rdV\mathbf R = \frac 1M \int_V\rho(\mathbf{r}) \mathbf{r} dVR=​M​​1​​∫​V​​ρ(r)rdV .
    • If the mass distribution is continuous with respect to the density, ρ(r)\rho (r)ρ(r), within a volume, VVV, then the integral of the weighted position coordinates of the points in this volume relative to the center of mass, R\mathbf{R}R, is zero, that is:
    • If a continuous mass distribution has uniform density, which means ρ\rhoρ is constant, then the center of mass is the same as the centroid of the volume.
    • COM can be defined for both discrete and continuous systems.
  • The Mean Value Theorem, Rolle's Theorem, and Monotonicity

    • The MVT states that for a function continuous on an interval, the mean value of the function on the interval is a value of the function.
    • More precisely, if a function fff is continuous on the closed interval [a,b][a, b][a,b], where a<ba < ba<b, and differentiable on the open interval (a,b)(a, b)(a,b), then there exists a point ccc in (a,b)(a, b)(a,b) such that
    • Rolle's Theorem states that if a real-valued function fff is continuous on a closed interval [a,b][a, b][a,b], differentiable on the open interval (a,b)(a, b)(a,b), and f(a) = f(b), then there exists a c in the open interval (a,b)(a, b)(a,b) such that f′(c)=0f'(c)=0f​′​​(c)=0.
    • For any function that is continuous on [a,b][a, b][a,b] and differentiable on (a,b)(a, b)(a,b) there exists some ccc in the interval (a,b)(a, b)(a,b) such that the secant joining the endpoints of the interval [a,b][a, b][a,b] is parallel to the tangent at ccc.
    • Use the Mean Value Theorem and Rolle's Theorem to reach conclusions about points on continuous and differentiable functions
  • Second-Order Linear Equations

    • A second-order linear differential equation has the form d2ydt2+A1(t)dydt+A2(t)y=f(t)\frac{d^2 y}{dt^2} + A_1(t)\frac{dy}{dt} + A_2(t)y = f(t)​dt​2​​​​d​2​​y​​+A​1​​(t)​dt​​dy​​+A​2​​(t)y=f(t), where A1(t)A_1(t)A​1​​(t), A2(t)A_2(t)A​2​​(t), and f(t)f(t)f(t) are continuous functions.
    • where A1(t)A_1(t)A​1​​(t), A2(t)A_2(t)A​2​​(t), and f(t)f(t)f(t) are continuous functions.
  • Probability

    • In probability theory, a probability density function (pdf), or density of a continuous random variable, is a function that describes the relative likelihood for this random variable to take on a given value.
    • A probability density function is most commonly associated with absolutely continuous univariate distributions.
    • For a continuous random variable XXX, the probability of XXX to be in a range [a,b][a,b][a,b] is given as:
  • The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

    • This part of the theorem is also important because it guarantees the existence of antiderivatives for continuous functions.
    • Let fff be a continuous real-valued function defined on a closed interval [a,b][a,b][a,b].
    • Now, FFF is continuous on [a,b][a,b][a,b], differentiable on the open interval (a,b)( a,b )(a,b), and F′(x)=f(x)F'(x) = f(x)F​′​​(x)=f(x) for all xxx in (a,b)( a,b )(a,b).
  • Higher Derivatives

    • This can continue as long as the resulting derivative is itself differentiable, with the fourth derivative, the fifth derivative, and so on.
    • A function fff need not have a derivative—for example, if it is not continuous.
  • Functions of Several Variables

    • As we will see, multivariable functions may yield counter-intuitive results when applied to limits and continuity.
    • Unlike a single variable function f(x)f(x)f(x), for which the limits and continuity of the function need to be checked as xxx varies on a line (xxx-axis), multivariable functions have infinite number of paths approaching a single point.Likewise, the path taken to evaluate a derivative or integral should always be specified when multivariable functions are involved.
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