Sequences and Series (Type 10)
For updated information for the special 2020 exams click here. AP Questions Type 10: Sequences and Series (BC Only) The last BC question on the exams usually concerns sequences and series. The question may ask students to write a Taylor or Maclaurin series and to answer questions about it and its interval of convergence, or…
A Curiosity
Thoughts on the power series for , which I found curious. Last week someone asked me a question about the Maclaurin series for . Finding the Maclaurin series is straightforward: Substituting for x gives We can find the radius and interval of convergence by using the Ratio test: This indicates that Maclaurin series…
What’s the “Best” Error Bound?
A know a lot of people like mathematics because there is only one answer, everything is exact. Alas, that’s not really the case. Numbers written as non-terminating decimals are not “exact;” they must be rounded or truncated somewhere. Even things like and 5/17 may look “exact,” but if you ever had to measure something to…
2019 CED Unit 10: Infinite Sequences and Series
Unit 10 covers 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 Topic 10.1: Defining Convergent and Divergent Series. Topic 10. 2: Working with Geometric Series. Including the formula for the sum…
A Lesson on Sequences
This blog post describes a lesson that investigates some ideas about sequences that are not stressed in the AP Calculus curriculum. The lesson could be an introduction to sequences. I think the lesson would work in an Algebra I course and is certainly suitable for a pre-calculus course. The investigation is of irrational numbers and…
Type 10: Sequences and Series Questions
The last BC question on the exams usually concerns sequences and series. The question usually asks students to write a Taylor or Maclaurin series and to answer questions about it and its interval of convergence, or about a related series found by differentiating or integrating. The topics may appear in other free-response questions and in…
