Thursday, December 18, 2008

AP Calculus: Another Related Rates Tutorial

Here is a link for another tutorial beginning with basics.  Try it.

http://people.hofstra.edu/stefan_waner/tutorials5/unit5_5.html

Friday, December 05, 2008

Math Will Rock Your World

Click on title above to access a Business Week article on job opportunities for Math majors.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

AP Calculus VIDEO: Implicit Differentiaton/Chain Rule

Click on the title to view an explanation of the chain rule and why we use it during implicit differentiation. Please watch the entire 10-minute video, it's very helpful. (You won't see any images for the first 10 seconds of the video...be patient.) Check out more videos at Khan Academy under helpful links.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Modeling Motion of Particle Moving Along x-axis

Click on the title to view how to model the motion of a particle that moves along the x-axis using parametric equations. The motion of the particle will be illustrated using the animation feature of the TI-83.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

TI-Graphing Calculators Comparison Chart

Click on the title above to view the file.
You don't need to spend on anything more than the TI-83 Plus, but that is up to you. If you get the TI-89 or TI-Inspire, you must familiarize yourself with it since I don't really know lots about them. (If you can afford the TI-Inspire then maybe you can afford buying one for me as well as a gift...)
I also heard that some courses in college might restrict the usage of anything more advanced thatn the TI-84 Silver Edition.

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Discontinuous Derivative

Click on the title to view the document about the oscillating function with a discontinuous derivative. This is what we talked about regarding the bonus problem from our test. In page 3 Dr. Talman shows the existance of the derivative at x=0 by using the definition of the derivative.

By Louis A. Talman, Ph.D. - Associate Professor - Department of Mathematics & Computer Sciences - Metropolitan State College of Denver

Monday, October 20, 2008

Precalculus: Notes on Limits and Continuity

Click on the title above to download the notes for this section.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

AP Calculus: PowerPoint Lectures (Required)

By clicking on the title of this post you will access the main web page with PowerPoint lectures for Calculus AB and BC. The presentations are grouped by Chapters and Sections.

You are required to view and take notes on the following lectures.

  • 2.3 Continuity
  • 2.4 Rates of Change and Tangent Lines
  • 3.1 Derivatives
If you have trouble viewing the PowerPoint presentations or the formula list, you may need to install one or more of the following: Mathtype Fonts, Word Viewer or PowerPoint Viewer. Links for downloading these are right above Chapter 1.

These notes are by: Mr. Greg Kelly from Hanford High School, Richland Washington. Sponsored by the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Houston

Sunday, October 05, 2008

AP Calculus: Video Help--The Derivative

Click on title for video.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

AP Calculus: AP Problems During Lecture

Dear students,
Every time I post and discuss an AP or AP-like exam problem on the board it is extremely important that you write it down, take notes on how to interpret its language and analyze the question, organize the data, present the steps leading to its solution and explain your reasoning including units of measure when applicable.
Allocate a special section on your tool kit for these problems and add a label specifying what main concepts are related to the problem.

For example, today one of the problems we discussed was: 2006 AB, Form B, Free Response #6 part D. This problem is related to The Intermediate Value Theorem.

This Friday and next week we will use limits, continuity, tangent lines and rates of change to begin differentiating functions. Differential Calculus is the first half of this course. The second half is Integral Calculus.

AP Calculus Required Notes (Part 2): For Fri, Oct 3

Click on title for notes on The Definition of the Derivative.
Print and Read entire page up to and including "Alternate Notation."
(Use the download section button at the beginning of the page.)

AP Calculus Required Notes (Part 1): For Fri, Oct 3

Click on title for notes on Tangent Lines and Rates of Change.
Print and Read entire page up to and including "Change of Notation."
(Use the download section button at the beginning of the page.)
You may also want to view the page on line; example 1 uses animated graphics.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

What Students Do To Succeed In Math

(Click on the title above if you want to download this document.)

What Students Do To Succeed In Math

• GET TO CLASS ON TIME. Math is cumulative, so they don’t miss important review of skills.

• LISTEN DURING CLASS. These students watch for things the teacher emphasizes even if just in words and not written on the board. The more important your teacher thinks a topic is, the more likely that it will show up on assessments!

• ASK QUESTIONS AND LISTEN WHEN OTHERS ASK QUESTIONS. They are not shy to ask, chances are they are not the only ones who don’t understand. They also listen to other’s questions and answers. Maybe the student asking the question thought of something they didn’t think of. They do not have side conversations when other students are asking questions. They listen!

• TAKE GOOD NOTES. Students write down everything the teacher puts on the board. Often, things are not so easy when it comes time to do it alone. You need to be able to listen while you are writing down the important parts of the lecture. Stay focused!

• MAKE A SET OF INDEX CARDS. With important formulas and concepts. Carry these around to look over when you get a few spare minutes. Students use them to help remember and understand as well as to solve homeworks faster.

• LEARN THE PROPER NOTATION. Math is a language with a formal structure. Your teacher will assume you know it. Students who do this score higher by avoiding bad notation.

• GET INTO A STUDY GROUP. A majority of successful students study individually as well as in groups. Someone else may see how to solve a problem you can’t do or help you understand a topic that you find confusing. Refrain from off-topic conversations or wasting time getting ready.

• BUDGET ADEQUATE TIME FOR STUDYING AND FOR HOMEWORK. Math often requires longer studying time. Homework will often take more time than you originally think to fully understand the concept.

• PRACTICE, PRACTICE AND PERSEVERE. The only way to really master a topic and learn how to do problems is to work lots of them. Easy problems. Difficult problems. Lots of them. Lots of them. Practice lots of them. Persevere! Do not limit yourself to just the homework that your teacher assigns. The more problems that you work the better off you’ll be. Yes, these students do more. They often find that a topic that initially baffled them all of a sudden makes sense.

• KEEP OLD HOMEWORK AND EXAMS. Well-organized and complete homeworks are a good source of study material for exams. Exams are a good source of study material for final exams.

• SEEK HELP AND USE YOUR TEXTBOOK. These students also use their textbook for examples not worked in class or for a different approach to a problem. They explore internet resources, go to their teacher or hire a tutor. See “get into a study group.”

• HAVE THE PROPER ATTITUDE. They always do (truly) the best they can. Those who just try enough "to get by" get into major problems. If you are trying to do just enough to get by then all it takes is one bad exam and you are now failing the course.

Edited and adapted by Mr. Angel Perez (Department of Mathematics, Pembroke Pines Charter High School, FL) based on a presentation from midnighttutor.com, personal experience and the advice from educators of successful math students.