A recent thread on the AP Calculus Community bulletin boards concerned polar equations. One teacher observed that her students do not have a very solid understanding of polar graphs when they get to calculus. I expect this is a common problem. While ideally the polar coordinate system should be a major topic in pre-calculus course,…
Unit 10 concerns sequences and series. These are BC only topics (CED – 2019 p. 177 – 197). These topics account for about 17 – 18% of questions on the BC exam. Topics 10.1 – 10.2 Timing The suggested time for Unit 9 is about 17 – 18 BC classes of 40 – 50-minutes, this…
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…
I haven’t missed Unit 7! This unit seems to fit more logically after the opening unit on integration (Unit 6). The Course and Exam Description (CED) places Unit 7 Differential Equations before Unit 8 probably because the previous unit ended with techniques of antidifferentiation. My guess is that many teachers will teach Unit 8: Applications…
For updated information for the special 2020 exams click here. AP Questions Type 5: Riemann Sum & Table Problems Tables may be used to test a variety of ideas in calculus including analysis of functions, accumulation, theory and theorems, and position-velocity-acceleration, among others. Numbers and working with numbers is part of the Rule of Four and table problems…
For updated information for the special 2020 exams click here. AP Type Questions 4: Area and Volume Given equations that define a region in the plane students are asked to find its area, the volume of the solid formed when the region is revolved around a line, and/or the region is used as a base…
For updated information for the special 2020 exams click here. AP Questions Type 3: Graph Analysis The long name is “Here’s the graph of the derivative, tell me things about the function.” Students are given either the equation of the derivative of a function or a graph identified as the derivative of a function with…
