AP AB Calculus
Expectations
and Course Syllabus
I am pleased that you are a member of what promises to
be an excellent class. Before the course
begins, I want you to understand the expectations for AP AB Calculus.
The
Advanced Placement Program of the College Board is designed to let students in
high school obtain college credit and/or advanced placement above the
introductory course level at the college they attend. This is a program whereby one receives college
credit by examination. Grades on the AP
Exam are based on a 1-5 scale with a 3, 4, or 5 as a “qualified score”. The AP Calculus Exam will be given on
Success
in this course will depend on the student’s motivation and maturity, and their
ability to organize your activities.
They are expected to be in class and not to schedule field trips or
absences 2 weeks prior to the AP Exam.
Homework is an integral part of any mathematics course, especially one
as challenging as AP Calculus.
Student involvement is essential to
succeed in this course. You and your
parents/guardians should not be surprised by course requirements that exceed
what you would expect from an honors-level course. Throughout the year you will have AP Calculus
type questions on quizzes, tests, and even homework assignments. I will try to model these types of questions
as much as I can when introducing a concept.
Students should not hesitate to come after school for help. This will be a combined effort for you and me for success this year. Students before you have risen to the challenge and had wonderful AP scores.
On certain assignments throughout the year will either be no calculator or have portions that are no calculator. These are there for a reason and are not open to debate. Your calculator is a valuable tool, but over-dependency is a guaranteed way to do poorly both in this course and on the AP exam.
By far the largest portion of your grade will be your test average. Keep this in mind throughout the year. I hope that you will consider this fact and use your quiz grades as a formative measure. This means that you should view your quizzes as a way of determining your weak spots on a topic and as an indicator of the types of questions that you might expect to appear on the chapter tests. Tests are where I really expect you to demonstrate mastery of the content covered. You should also hold onto all returned tests and quizzes. The quizzes should provide an effective method of evaluating what sections to concentrate on for the tests and both will prove invaluable for preparing for the midterm and AP exam.
You should do everything in your power to avoid missing any class time. We will be moving at a substantially faster pace than you are probably used to and it is very difficult to catch up when you miss material. I will expect a level of personal responsibility higher than you are probably used to. The impetus is on you to do well and to actively seek solutions to any obstacles that might present themselves throughout the year. I am available to assist you, but I need to see that you are putting forth the effort to address the issue for yourself. Above all, see me for help if you start having any problems. Don’t wait until it’s too late!
1.
Grades: Test 75%
Quizzes 15%
Homework/Class
work/Projects 10%
·
Tests
·
will be given at the end of each major unit or
chapter
·
students will be notified when tests are given
· I will be keeping your tests and giving the back to study for the midterm and final but will need them back the day of those two tests
·
Quizzes
·
will be given about once a week and will or will
not be announced
· will be a homework quiz after every fifth homework assignment that will consist of 5-10 homework questions
·
Homework
·
will be given daily
·
will be checked at random (not everyday but
possibly everyday)
·
the homework quizzes are another way to check
that you are doing the homework problems
·
students are expected to complete all assignments
and to show all work
·
On test days 5 homework assignments will be
collected and 3 random problems will be checked from each; if the problems are
100% correct you will receive a 100 for the homework and get an extra point (up
to one per homework collected) to your test score, if they are not correct then
you will receive a 0 for the homework and minus one point off the test score.
·
If a student is absent it is strongly
recommended that they call a classmate to get any notes and assignments so they
do not get behind.
·
All assignments will be posted in the room and
should be kept up with in their notebooks.
It is to be done in pencil and corrections in pen during class.
2. Notebooks:
·
A 3-ring binder is perfect to keep all
materials. Make sure you have PLENTY of
paper.
3. Materials:
·
Book
·
Pencils with erasers (I would prefer EVERYTHING
in pencil)
·
Paper (PLENTY OF PAPER)
·
Calculator-You will have a TI 83 to use in class. If you are planning on buying a calculator, I
would suggest the TI 83 or 83 plus.
4. General Classroom Expectations:
·
Come to class prepared
·
Show respect for EVERYONE.
·
Profanity will not be tolerated
·
Follow the posted classroom rules
5. Cheating:
·
It will not be tolerated
·
Copying homework is cheating. Do not do it.
A zero will result for the assignment.
·
Cheating on a test is a serious infraction and
will also result in a zero grade for the test.
6. Course Outline:
1st
Quarter
·
Cartesian Plane and Functions
·
Limits and their Properties
·
Derivatives
2nd
Quarter
·
Derivatives (continued)
·
Application of the Derivative
·
Integration
3rd
Quarter
·
Logarithmic, Exponential and other Trans Functions
·
Applications of Integration
·
Trig and Inverse Trig Functions
4th
Quarter
·
Techniques of Integration
·
AP Exam Practice
·
Techniques of Integration
7. Course Objectives: The York County Curriculum guide will be used as the
framework for this course.