The document discusses Fourier series and two of their applications. Fourier series can be used to represent periodic functions as an infinite series of sines and cosines. This allows approximating functions that are not smooth using trigonometric polynomials. Two key applications are representing forced oscillations, where a periodic driving force can be modeled as a Fourier series, and solving the heat equation, where the method of separation of variables results in a Fourier series representation of temperature over space and time.