Could you suggest books, papers or problems that could be used as good "general" motivating examples of calculus application?

Question

I would like to stress the kind of reference I am looking for: In statistics there are lots of motivating (and sometimes unexpected) examples that are interesting for everyone such as Birthday Problem, Simpson Paradox, secretary problem, St Petersburg Paradox that easily motivate people from different fields. I love the examples that come from physics or economics, but usually they are usually interested only for students of engineering (or physics) and economics.

Suggestions of papers from American Mathematical Monthly, American Scientist or periodicals that specialize in teaching are very welcome!

(This question was previously posted in Math.StackExchange and someone suggested to post it here. Since I have received no answer there, I am following this suggestion.)

Answer 1

With calculus, we have the ability to find the effects of changing conditions on a system. By studying these, you can learn how to control a system to make it do what you want it to do. Because of the ability to model and control systems, calculus gives us extraordinary power over the material world.

(adapted from http://www-math.mit.edu/~djk/calculus_beginners/chapter01/section02.html)

Calculus is the language of engineers, scientists, and economists. The work of these professionals has a huge impact on our daily life - from your microwaves, cell phones, TV, and car to medicine, economy, and national defense.

(from Calculus Equations and Answers)

This link will be very helpful for you: http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/RateOfChange.aspx

Answer 2

Depending on your audience, perhaps Dunham's "The Calculus Gallery: Masterpieces from Newton to Lebesgue" (Princeton University Press, 2008) might fill the slot. It is more geared towards someone who has seen a bit of calculus, and is curious about it's history and some more exotic developments that aren't part of the "normal" curriculum.