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Taylor Series Visualizer

An interactive visualization of Taylor series approximations for Calc BC.

Taylor Series Visualizer compares a function with its polynomial approximation on a coordinate graph

Open the visualizer · How to use it · Repository contents

An interactive companion for seeing how a Taylor polynomial closes in on a function. Choose a function, move the center point, and change the number of terms while the equation and graph update together.

Explore an approximation

  1. Choose sin(x), cos(x), eˣ, or ln(x).
  2. Move the center point (a) from −5 to 5.
  3. Increase the polynomial from 1 to 20 terms.
  4. Compare the blue source function with the green Taylor polynomial.
  5. Zoom the graph to inspect where the approximation separates.

The visualizer keeps the general definition in view:

Pₙ(x) = Σ [f⁽ᵏ⁾(a) / k!] (x − a)ᵏ
          k=0…n

and renders the selected polynomial with KaTeX as the controls change.

What to notice

  • More terms usually improve the approximation near the center point.
  • Moving (a) changes where the polynomial is locally most faithful.
  • The useful interval is not unlimited; zooming out makes divergence easier to see.
  • ln(x) is only defined for positive inputs, so its graph has a different valid domain from the other choices.

Inside the export

This repository contains the production build used for static deployment:

index.html                  application entry page
assets/index-*.js           visualizer controls and graph logic
assets/math-lib-*.js        expression parsing and derivatives
assets/recharts-*.js        plotted source and approximation curves
assets/katex-lib-*.js       mathematical typesetting
assets/index-*.css          responsive presentation

The original React and TypeScript source files are not included in this snapshot. The checked-in JavaScript is compiled output.

Serve it locally

No build is required:

git clone https://github.com/ChinesePrince07/taylorseries-CALCBC.git
cd taylorseries-CALCBC
python3 -m http.server 8000

Open http://localhost:8000.

You can also use any static server:

npx serve .

Implementation notes

Context

This was built as a visual aid for an AP Calculus BC presentation. Its job is not to replace the derivation—it makes the effect of (a), (n), and the chosen function immediately visible.