section_path: Mathematics/Influence on Newton's mathematics/The basis of calculus
section_name: The basis of calculus
paragraph_text: The basis of calculus
  
  Descartes' work provided the basis for the calculus developed by Leibniz and Newton, who applied the infinitesimal calculus to the tangent line problem, thus permitting the evolution of that branch of modern mathematics. His rule of signs is also a commonly used method to determine the number of positive and negative roots of a polynomial.