Parametric Equations, Polar Coordinates, and Vector-Valued Functions – Unit 9
Unit 9 includes all the topics listed in the title. These are BC only topics (CED – 2019 p. 163 – 176). These topics account for about 11 – 12% of questions on the BC exam. Comments on Prerequisites: In BC Calculus the work with parametric, vector, and polar equations is somewhat limited. I always…
Discovering the MVT
Today’s Blog is an exploration that will lead up to the Mean Value Theorem (MVT) and, I hope, help your students better understand the MVT and why it is true. While you may do this by hand, using a graphing calculator will make things way easier. This is good calculator practice and can be done…
Definition of the Derivative – Unit 2
This is a re-post and update of the second in a series of posts from last year. It contains links to posts on this blog about the definition of the derivative for your reference in planning. Other updated post on the 2019 CED will come throughout the year, hopefully, a few weeks before you get…
2019 CED Unit 5 Analytical Applications of Differentiation
Unit 5 covers the application of derivatives to the analysis of functions and graphs. Reasoning and justification of results are also important themes in this unit. (CED – 2019 p. 92 – 107). These topics account for about 15 – 18% of questions on the AB exam and 8 – 11% of the BC questions.…
Seeing the Chain Rule
Being a believer in the Rule of Four, I have been trying for years to find a good visual (graphical) illustration of why or how the Chain Rule for derivatives works. This very simple example is the best I could come up with. Consider the function . (See figure 1. A tangent segment at is drawn.)…
2019 CED – Unit 3: Differentiation: Composite , Implicit, and Inverse Functions
Unit 3 covers the Chain Rule, differentiation techniques that follow from it, and higher order derivatives. (CED – 2019 p. 67 – 77). These topics account for about 9 – 13% of questions on the AB exam and 4 – 7% of the BC questions. Topics 3.1 – 3.6 Topic 3.1 The Chain Rule. Students learn…
