As I wrote last week, I found an old spiral slide rule last summer. It is about the size of a rolling pin and in fact has a handle like a rolling pin’s at the bottom. The device consists of a short wide cylinder that slides around, and up or down on a longer thin…
Last summer I bought myself a new calculator. Well, it’s actually an old calculator manufactured in 1914 (if I’m reading the correct information engraved on it). It is called a Fuller Spiral Slide Rule. Before looking at that, I’ll try to explain how the more standard (flat) slide rule works. Next week, I show you…
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 of Integration immediately after Unit…
Applications (Unit 8) seems to fit more logically after the opening unit on integration (Unit 6). The Course and Exam Description (CED) present differential equations first probably because the previous unit ended with techniques of antidifferentiation. My guess is that many teachers will teach Unit 8: Applications of Integration before Unit 7: Differential Equations. Therefore,…
One of my sons sent me the link to the videos below. They show a very unusual way to find the digits of π. The problems and its two solutions show the connections and the interplay between mathematics and physics. The quality of the illustrations and the verbal explanations are excellent. Here are the…
Unit 6 develops the ideas behind integration, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, and Accumulation. (CED – 2019 p. 109 – 128 ). These topics account for about 17 – 20% of questions on the AB exam and 17 – 20% of the BC questions. Topics 6.1 – 6.4 Working up to the FTC Topic 6.1…
What does an asymptote of the derivative tell you about the function? How do asymptotes of a function appear in the graph of the derivative? One of my most read posts is Reading the Derivative’s Graph, first published seven years ago. The long title is “Here’s the graph of the derivative; tell me about the…
