You are on page 1of 6

AP CALCULUS AB

First Period Fall 2012 Spring 2013 Herrin High School Course Syllabus Kyle Harlow kyle.harlow@herrinhs.org

Course Description AP Calculus AB at Herrin High School is an advanced mathematics class designed to cover the same topics as a first year calculus course at a college or university. The year will culminate in students having the opportunity to take the College Board's Advanced Placement Calculus AB Exam with the possibility of earning college credit. Students in this class will investigate two main concepts: the derivative and its relationship to the slope problem and the integral and its relationship to the area problem. To maximize the students' comprehension and understanding of Calculus, the Rule of 4 will be the standard approach to learning each lesson. Students will view new concepts through an analytic, numeric, graphical, and verbal perspective. Prerequisites Students enrolled in AP Calculus AB must have a recommendation from their previous mathematics teacher and completed all semesters of study in Introduction to Calculus. Credits Completion of this course will account for one mathematics credit at Herrin High School, with one-half credit earned each semester. Course Requirements Attendance. Attendance to this class is both expected and required. Herrin High Schools Mathematics Department holds its students taking advanced courses to a higher standard than those taking regularly paced courses. Materials. Students must bring to class each day a notebook used for math journaling and a separate notebook or binder for class notes and handouts. All journals, practice problems, quizzes, and tests must be written in pencil. Accordingly, students should be equipped every day with a pencil to complete such work. Ink pens are acceptable only in note taking and correction of practice problems. Methods of Evaluation Students will be evaluated on the quality and completion of math journals, practice problems, section quizzes, and unit tests. The grading scale for this course is standard across the mathematics department. Grading Scale. A AB B100-94 93-90 89-84 83-80 C CD D-1-

79-74 73-70 69-64 63-60

59-0

Semester Grade. Semester grades can be calculated in two ways, depending on whether the student is required to take the semester exam. See the student handbook for further information on semester exam exemption. If a student is exempt from taking the semester exam or the semester exam score is not required to count toward the semester grade, the semester grade is the average of the two quarter grades. If the semester exam score is required to count toward the semester grade, the semester grade is calculated by a weighted average of the two quarters (40% each) and the final exam (20%). Absent/Late Work Policy From the Herrin High School Student Handbook, Make-up Work Following an Absence. It is the responsibility of the student to check with each teacher on the first day back from an absence regarding arrangements to make up missed assignments and tests. Arrangements and deadlines shall be established between the teacher and the student. Failure to make arrangements on the first day back or failure to meet the established deadlines for making up assignments and tests, results in the loss of make-up privileges and zeros are given for the missed work. Late work will generally not be accepted. See Mr. Harlow if you wish to submit an assignment after its due date. Academic Integrity From the Herrin High School Student Handbook, Academic Integrity/Tutoring/Social Probation. Herrin High School has adopted an academic integrity policy to discourage cheating on any type of assignment or test. This policy will be enforced on tests, quizzes, homework, projects, reports, etc. Plagiarizing large sections of writing is also included. The offenses will not be accumulated in different classes. For instance, if a student is caught cheating in one class and then caught cheating in another class, they would both be counted as first offenses. Violation of academic integrity will be considered when applying for National Honor Society. Punitive actions for cheating in a class will be as follows: 1st Offense: Zero on assignment and student is placed in ACR. 2nd Offense: Zero on assignment and student is suspended from school for two days. Since the student is suspended for academic reasons, the student will receive zeros for days missed due to suspension. 3rd Offense: Same as second offense, except suspension will be for five days.

-2-

Mr. Harlows Classroom Rules 1. When Mr. Harlow is publicly addressing a student, group of students, or the entire class, he is the only one with permission to speak. 2. Students will be in their desks, prepared to learn, when the bell rings to begin the period until the bell rings to end the period. 3. Students will show respect to their classmates, the faculty and staff of HHS, and the property of the school and others. 4. Students may only work on math and teacher approved materials during study time. 5. Before school, after school, lunch time, and passing periods between all seven hours of the day give students ample opportunities to use the restroom, get a drink of water, go to their lockers, and run personal errands throughout the building. Students will not leave the classroom except under emergency circumstances. Learning Strategies Graphing Calculators. While it is not a course requirement, students are encouraged to have a graphing calculator of their own. For those who wish to purchase a new one, I recommend a model from the TI-84 or TI-89 families. If this is not possible, students will have the option to freely rent a TI-85 or TI-86 calculator from Herrin High School for the academic year. These students must sign a calculator agreement form and are responsible for the condition of the calculator at all times. The graphing calculator is an essential component of this course. It offers students a way to link together the numeric, algebraic, and graphical approaches to understanding each new concept. Whether we are investigating a limit through a table of values, examining the relationship between a function and its derivative in the graphical view screen, or writing a program to help with Newtons Method, this course is regularly enhanced through the use of the graphing calculator. Journals. Students will keep a math journal apart from their daily class notes. The math journal serves as a way for students to react, reflect, and reexamine new concepts from class. Two to three times per week, students will be given journal prompts to complete for the following class period. These prompts are primarily to assess the students ability to solve problems and express concepts verbally. One example is describing the relationship between the graph of a particular function and its derivative. Another is a previously released AP Free Response question. Collaboration. Students are encouraged to help each other learn. While working on practice problems and classroom activities, they are free to work together, share thoughts and ideas, and communicate their findings to others. During class, students are free to come to the board to better express a question or answer one that has already been posed. In this way, students take ownership of their learning and topics become enhanced in their minds.

-3-

Textbook Larson, R. E., Edwards B. H., & Hostetler, R. P. (1998). Calculus (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0-395-88577-9. Course Planner Every year is a new year for this class. A lesson may move quickly one year and slowly the next. With that in mind, the following timeline is an estimated pace. It is entirely possible that the schedule is followed exactly; however, the more likely scenario is that minor adjustments will be made to ensure the maximum number of students have mastered the content at a comfortable pace. Unit 1: A Review of Functions (2 weeks) Students review key concepts from Precalculus about functions including domain and range, symmetry, inverses, and transformations. Categories of functions include linear, quadratic, cubic, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, absolute value and piecewise. Unit 2: Limits and Continuity (3-4 weeks) 1.1 A Preview of Calculus 1.2 Finding Limits Graphically and Numerically 1.3 Evaluating Limits Analytically 1.4 Continuity and One-Sided Limits 1.5 Infinite Limits 3.5 Limits at Infinity Unit 3: The Derivative (5-6 weeks) 2.1 The Derivative and the Tangent Line Problem 2.2 Basic Differentiation Rules and Rates of Change 2.3 The Product Rule and Quotient Rules and Higher-Order Derivatives 2.4 The Chain Rule 2.5 Implicit Differentiation 5.1 The Natural Logarithmic Function and Differentiation 5.4 Exponential Functions: Differentiation 5.5 Bases Other than e and Applications 5.8 Inverse Trigonometric Functions and Differentiation 5.10 Hyperbolic Functions Unit 4: Applications of the Derivative (5-6 weeks) 3.1 Extrema on an Interval 3.2 Rolle's Theorem and the Mean Value Theorem 3.3 Increasing and Decreasing Functions and the First Derivative Test 3.4 Concavity and the Second Derivative Test 3.6 A Summary of Curve Sketching 3.7 Optimization Problems
-4-

3.8 Newton's Method 3.9 Differentials 2.6 Related Rates 3.10 Business and Economics Applications Semester 1 Final Exam Unit 5: The Definite Integral (2 weeks) 4.2 Area 4.3 Riemann Sums and Definite Integrals 4.6 Numerical Integration 4.4 The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Unit 6: The Indefinite Integral and Differential Equations (4-5 weeks) 4.1 Antiderivates and Indefinite Integration 4.5 Integration by Substitution 5.2 The Natural Logarithmic Function and Integration 5.4 Exponential Functions: Integration 5.5 Bases Other than e and Applications 5.9 Inverse Trigonometric Functions and Integration 5.6 Differential Equations: Growth and Decay 5.7 Differential Equations: Separation of Variables 5.10 Hyperbolic Functions Unit 7: Applications of the Definite Integral (4-5 weeks) 6.1 Area of a Region Between Two Curves 6.2 Volume: The Disc Method 6.3 Volume: The Shell Method 6.4 Arc Length and Surfaces of Revolution 6.5 Work 6.6 Moments, Centers of Mass, and Centroids 6.7 Fluid Pressure and Fluid Force Unit 8: Review and Preparation for AP Exam (5-6 weeks) Students review key topics from each semester of study. They work sample multiple choice and free response questions from released AP Exams and AP Exam preparation books, and run several mock exams during class. AP Calculus AB Exam Wednesday, May 8, 2013 Semester 2 Final Exam

-5-

Classroom Activities Function Transformation Matching Game. Students must put in order a random set of colored note cards. The red cards all have the algebraic form of a function which has undergone some sort of transformation (shift, reflection, stretch, shrink, etc.). The green cards all have the accompanying parent functions. The blue cards show a graph of all the functions, and the yellow cards have a verbal description of the function. Students work in pairs and try to finish before others in the class.
Limits of Discontinuous Functions. While studying limits and continuity, students complete this activity to examine the limit of functions at -values where the functions have discontinuities, for instance, f ( x) ( x2 3x 2) / ( x 1) at x 1 . First the students make a table of values and discuss their findings with the class. Then, they perform an analytic investigation the function and discuss again. Last, the students graph the function in their graphing calculators and use the zoom and trace functions to visualize what is happening when this function approaches the given value. Students will find their previous results have either been verified or contradicted. Local Linearity Zoom-In. Students graph a curve on their graphing calculators, followed by a tangent line at a specific point on that function in the same view screen. They are asked to compare and contrast the two functions. They then use the zoom capability of the graphing calculator to methodically zoom in to the point of tangency. As they zoom, the two functions begin to look the same straight line, reinforcing the idea of local linearity. Ruler Derivatives. Each student is given a ruler and a handout with an enlarged graph of a function, such as f ( x) sin x . Students use the rulers to approximate tangent lines at estimate the slopes. They take turns plotting this data on the interactive whiteboard until enough points exist that a curve can be drawn. This method strengthens the understanding of many basic derivative rules. Trapezoidal Sums Calculator Program. Students work together (with as much guidance as necessary from the teacher) to develop a calculator program which will calculate the Trapezoidal Sum of a function over a given interval with a given number of partitions. Once the class has settled on the code and functionality, they use links to share the program with each other. Calculator Bingo. This activity is used with permission from James E. Howell of Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, TX. Students are given a calculator card stack to use with the StudyCard program on the TI-84 calculators, and a paper Bingo sheet. They must correctly answer questions on the study cards in order to fill in a square on their Bingo sheets. This game is available for Derivative Skills and f-f-f relationships. Students work alone on this activity to try to finish in certain time limits. Group Slope Fields. When entering the lesson on slope fields, students are each assigned a set of points on the Cartesian grid and take turns sketching pieces of the slope field on the interactive whiteboard for a given differential equation.
-6-

You might also like