So, you’ve finally proven the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and have written on the board: And the students ask, “What good is that?” and “When are we ever going to use that?” Here’s your answer. There are two very important uses of this theorem. First, in words the theorem says that “the integral of a…
Usually the first application of integration is to find the area bounded by a function and the x-axis, followed by finding the area between two functions. We begin with these problems First some calculator hints Graphing Integrals using a graphing calculator to graph functions defined by integrals Graphing Calculator Use and Definition Integrals – Exam…
The series of post leads up to the Fundamental theorem of Calculus (FTC). Obviously, a very important destination. Working Towards Riemann Sums Definition of the Definite Integral and the FTC – a more exact demonstration from last Friday’s post and The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus – an older demonstration More about the FTC The derivative of a function…
Behind every definite integral is a Riemann sums. Students need to know about Riemann sums so that they can understand definite integrals (a shorthand notation for the limit if a Riemann sum) and the Fundamental theorem of Calculus. Theses posts help prepare students for Riemann sums. Integration Itinerary Some thoughts on the order of topics…
Integration – DON’T PANIC As I’ve mentioned before, I try to stay a few weeks ahead of where I figure you are in the curriculum. So here. early in November, I start with integration. You probably don’t start integration until after Thanksgiving in early December. That’s about the midpoint of the year. Don’t wait too…
Every Spring I have a lot of fun proofreading Audrey Weeks’ new Calculus in Motion illustrations for the most recent AP Calculus Exam questions. These illustrations run on Geometers’ Sketchpad. In addition to the exam questions Calculus in Motion (and its companion Algebra in Motion) include separate animations illustrating most of the concepts in calculus…
In this post we look at another part of the AP Calculus BC exam. Good Question 15 discussed the unusual units in 2018 BC 2(a). In this post we look at 2018 BC 2(b) where units help us find the correct integral to answer the question. How do you answer a question of a type…
