AP Calculus AB Syllabus

AP Calculus AB Syllabus

Andrea Richter

Room A100

903-874-8211 ext 1100

Campus Overview

Corsicana High School is run on a 45 minute, 9 period days. Grading period are 9 weeks long which makes a school year consist of 4 grading periods.

Course Overview

AP Calculus is designed and taught in high schools as a college-level course. The objective is students will be prepared to enter college and be ready for their future mathematics courses. To receive the full benefits of this course, hard work and determination are imperative. Calculus can be very fun and is very beneficial to any pursuing degrees in mathematics, engineering, and business.

Course Planner

The textbook used is Calculus of a Single Variable, 8th ed. (Solution manuals, quiz banks, assessment banks, and CD’s issued with the textbook will also be utilized.)

Differentiation and applications will be complete prior to mid-terms which occur in early January. Integration will start shortly before the 2nd semester begins but will not be tested on the mid-term. The conclusion of the course will occur mid-April to have approximately two and a half weeks to study for the AP Exam administered in May.

Chapter / Overview / Timeline
1: Limits & Their Properties / Using graphs, tables, and algebra to discover how function act in certain points or as they approach certain points. Important for the limit definition of a derivative. Continuity of functions and limits will also be discussed. / 18 days
2: Differentiation / Defining the slope of a curve at a tangent line in various ways including graphically, algebraically, and by the limit process. / 25 days
3: Applications of Differentiation / Using knowledge about derivatives, students will be able to determine critical values, increasing and decreasing behavior, and relative extrema of functions. / 20 days
4: Integration / Find the area under a curved line using algebra, geometry, and properties of definite integrals. / 24 days
Particle Motion / Use derivatives and antiderivatives to evaluate position, velocity, acceleration, speed and distance traveled by a particle. / 5 days
5: Logarithmic, Exponential, & other Transcendental Functions / Use rules and definitions of differentiation and integration and apply them to functions including logs, exponents, and trigonometry. / 20 days
6 & 7: Differential Equations & Application of Integration / Students will continue working with first and second derivatives in solving differential equations.
Using integration, students will be able to solve problems including volume of solids with known cross sections, the average value of a function, the distance traveled by a particle along a line, and accumulated change from a rate of change. / 35 days
AP Exam Review / Students will use a variety of resources to prepare for the AP exam. / 10 days
Dates are tentative and subject to change.

Teaching Strategies

The year will start with a brief overview of Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry. An emphasis will be placed on a student’s ability to work problems algebraically. Technology will be implemented in the course but the expectation of algebra skills is high.

Students will be seated at tables which promotes group work. They are encouraged to work together and ask questions about problems to their group as well as the teacher. Homework will be administered throughout the chapters but will not be required to turn in until the end of the chapter. Students will have time in class to discuss problems with their group as well as the entire class.

Student Evaluation

Students will be tested at the end of every chapter. They will also have a mid-term that is worth 20% of their semester 1 grade and a final exam worth 20% of the semester 2 grade. Assessments will be administered over a 2 day period, each day having 45 minutes. The first day will consist of the calculator part of the assessment; the second will be the non-calculator part.

Grades will be calculated using the following percentages:

· Daily: 40%

· Tests: 60%

Technology

The calculators used in AP Calculus is the TI-84+. Students will have the opportunity to check out a calculator for their use but also have the option of purchasing their own. Lessons will be taught using power-points and some videos used from the Khan Academy. Students have the option of using a TI Nspire calculator.

Teacher Resources

Primary Textbook

Larson, Hostetler, Edwards. CALCULUS of a Single Variable. 8th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Online resources