Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a

challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

Burlington High School
Mathematics Department

AP Calculus AB (290) Course Syllabus 2014-2015

Contact Information

Brian McNeill
Burlington High School Math Dept. Chairman
(781) 270-2933
Email: mcneill@bpsk12.org
Twitter: @bmcneill7

Online Resource: http://apcalculusabmcneill.wikispaces.com/

Course Overview

This course teaches all topics associated with Functions, Graphs and Limits,
Derivatives, and Integrals as outlines in the Calculus AB topics Outline in the AP
Calculus course description. Each student is provided a TI-84+ calculator by the school
for his/her use throughout the course. We use these calculators almost every day to help
solve problems, experiment, discover and reinforce the concepts of Calculus. Most
problems are presented numerically, analytically, graphically, and verbally. All tests are
given in two parts: one part which requires a graphing calculator, and the other part
where the calculator is not allowed. Discussions are a part of the course both orally and
written. Students are encouraged and required to explain solutions to problems both
verbally and in writing. Students often work together inside and outside the classroom.

Primary Text

Anton, H., Bivens, I., & Davis, S. (2005). Calculus, early transcendentals. (8
th
ed.).

Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The following is an outline of the topics covered and the order in which they are covered.
All time estimates are approximations.

Functions, Graphs, Limits, and Continuity (4 to 5 weeks)
1. Review the definition and properties of elementary functions including algebraic,
trigonometric, and exponential. Develop further understanding of composite and
inverse functions. Review the following: function notation, domains, ranges,
combinations, odd, even periodicity, symmetry, asymptotes, zeros, upper and
lower bounds, and intervals where the function is increasing and decreasing.
Explore and analyze the functions using the TI-84+ calculator.
Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.
Burlington High School
Mathematics Department
2. Introduction of limits through definitions properties including properties of
constant, sum, product, and quotients. Use of limit notation, right- and left-hand
limits, one-sided limits, limits at infinity, infinite limits, and nonexistent limits.
3. Compute limits intuitively, estimating limits from graphs and from tables of
values. Calculate limits using algebra, providing support for previous
estimates.
4. Study asymptotic behavior, unbound behavior using graphical and algebraic
approaches. Describe behavior in terms of limits involving infinity. Use
graphing calculator to support conclusions about the behavior of functions.
5. Learn the definitions of continuity and determine when a function is continuous or
discontinuous. This will include examining continuity at a point, continuity over
a closed interval, application of the Intermediate Value Theorem, and graphical
interpretation of continuity and discontinuity.

Differentiation (4 to 5 weeks)
1. Find the slope of a curve and the tangent line to a curve at a point. Use the zoom
and trace properties of the graphing calculator to model local linear
approximation.
2. Approximate instantaneous rate of change from graphs and tables of values as the
limit of average rate of change.
3. Find the derivative of an algebraic function by using the definition of a derivative
and investigate the relationship between differentiability and continuity.
4. Apply formulas to find the derivative of algebraic and trigonometric functions.
5. Learn the characteristics of the graphs of a function and its derivative, in
particular, the relationship between the increasing and decreasing behavior of a
function and the sign of its derivative.
6. Apply formulas to find the derivative of the sum, product, quotient, inverse, and
composite of elementary functions.
7. Find the derivative of an implicitly defined function.
8. Use implicit differentiation to model and solve real world related rate problems,
which involve finding the rate at which some quantity is changing by relating to
other quantities whose rate of change are known.
9. Apply linear approximation, which uses the values of the tangent line at a point to
approximate the values of a nonlinear function close to that point.

The Derivative Graphing and Applications (4 to 5 weeks)
1. Analyze curves by applying derivative to functions and their graphs, including
matching graphs of functions with graphs of the first and second derivatives,
finding local and absolute extrema, and determining increasing, decreasing,
concavity and inflection points.
2. Use the derivative as an optimization tool to find local and global extrema.
3. Model and solve real world optimization problems using examples from business
and industry, such as maximizing volume or minimizing cost and problems form
economics, using cost, revenue, and profit functions.
Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.
Burlington High School
Mathematics Department
4. Interpret the derivative as a rate of change in rectilinear motion problems, using
velocity, speed, and acceleration.
5. Use Newtons Method to approximate the roots of a function and investigate
situations where the method fails.
6. Learn the Mean Value Theorem for derivatives and apply it both algebraically and
graphically.

Antiderivatives and Integrals (4 to 6 weeks)
1. Calculate the antiderivative of elementary and trigonometric functions,
algebraically and graphically, including the construction and interpretation of
slope fields.
2. Find the indefinite integral using the technique of substitution of variables.
3. Approximate the value of a definite integral as area under a curve using Riemann
Sums and the Trapezoidal Rule. Define the integral as the limit of these sums.
4. Learn and use both parts of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. The first part
to evaluate the definite integral and the second part to shat that a function can be
recovered from its integral by differentiating, thus showing that integration and
differentiation are inverse processes.
5. Define the definite integral of the rate of change of a quantity over an interval as
the change of the quantity over the interval.
6. Learn and use the Mean Value Theorem of Integrals (average value of a function
over a closed interval).

Applications of Integration (3 to 4 weeks)
1. Find the area under a curve and the area between two curves in a plane using
integration with respect to both the x-axis and y-axis.
2. Find the volume of a region that is revolved around the x-axis, y-axis, or any line
parallel to these axes, using the method of disks/washers and cylindrical shells.
3. Find the volume of solids using cross-sectional areas perpendicular to the x-axis
or the y-axis.
4. Find the arc lengths of plane curves using integration and areas of a surface of
revolution.

Logarithmic, Exponential, and Inverse Trigonometric Functions (4 to 5 weeks)
1. Identify the relationship between a function and its inverses, both algebraically
and graphically. Differentiate inverse functions.
2. Derive and apply the rules of differentiation for logarithmic, exponential, and
inverse trigonometric functions.
3. Derive and apply the techniques for integration of logarithmic, exponential, and
inverse trigonometric functions.
4. Solve separable differential equations and use them in modeling, including
exponential growth and decay problems.
5. Use LHopitals Rule to find the limit of functions whose limits are indeterminate
forms.

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.
Burlington High School
Mathematics Department

Instructional Strategies/Procedures
1. Classroom lectures and discussion.
2. Students work individually or in groups discussing and/or presenting problems
and solutions. These could be free response or multiple chose problems from
released AP exams, problems from the homework, the warm-up problems from
other sources.
3. Use of the textbook and/or supplementary material both in class and for
homework to provide problems that illustrate and solidify the concepts presented
in class.
4. Daily homework assignments consisting of problems from the textbook or
supplementary worksheets often requiring the use of the graphing calculator. To
encourage writing, I occasionally provide writing prompts, for example: explain
in your own words the meaning of limit.
5. Class participation including response to the teachers questions in class or
coming to the board to explain a problem or solution to the class.
6. Extra help sessions before and after school.
7. Two or three major tests given per unit with quizzes in between. Most tests, like
the AP exam, are given in two parts: part with the graphing calculator and a part
without the graphing calculator.
8. Long term assignments, one to two weeks, called labs. These labs are done
individually or in groups, which extend the concepts taught in class and teach
concepts not necessarily in the AP curriculum. Many of these assignments are
taken from previous AP teachers requiring extensive use of the graphing
calculators. The students must write their conclusions in paragraph form.

Student Activities:
1. Projects assigned to students include:
a. Making boxes of maximum volume given a certain size of paper. Before
introducing the idea of optimization, I have the students make an open top
box and closed top box out of the same size of paper, trying to maximize
the volume. The students begin to formulate their own ideas about
optimization and the use of the derivative in real world problems.
b. Calculus Genius Drink Project. Students will determine the best shape to
distribute a made-up genius drink. Students will explore the optimization
of different shapes with cost constraints. Students will create a replica of
the drink shape and create a marketing proposal, to sway the creator of the
drink to use the students shape. Students will support their arguments
using calculus and cost analysis of drinks of different shapes.
2. Graphing calculator assignments created to familiarize the students with different
functions on the graphing calculator. Students come to class with different
experience using the calculator; these assignments are created to equalize their
knowledge.