Monthly Schedule

(AP Calculus AB, Period D)

Th 4/1/04

HW due: Spend another 35 minutes (minimum) on §10.6 #2, 6, 9, 11. These will probably be collected.

Reminder: You may work with friends on HW assignments, but outright copying is an honor code offense and will be treated as such. Also, your time log is a statement of honor and cannot be falsified.

Schedule for today (trial run of the “Conor Concept”): Brian, both Michaels, Cameron, Trevor, Josh, Mitch, Zack, Jonathan, and Jack should arrive before 10:45 so that we can begin at 10:45 sharp. Everyone else should arrive in time for a switchover at 11:10 sharp. Note: There will be no bathroom breaks or interruptions permitted during the shortened class. We will see how well this works and decide next week whether to continue the experiment.

 

F 4/2/04

No class today (Form VI retreat). Juniors have a day of rest. If you desire extra help, please make an appointment with me so that I will be sure to be on campus during the time you wish.

 

M 4/5/04

Since the “Conor Concept” seemed to work fairly well on Thursday, we will try it again through Wednesday of this week. Brian, both Michaels, Cameron, Trevor, Josh, Mitch, Zack, Jonathan, and Jack should arrive before 10:45, and everyone else should arrive in time for a switchover at 11:10 sharp.

HW due:
Read §11-3; write §11-2 #1, 4, 8. Since #1 and #4 are reviews of previous material (and should be solvable in about 3 minutes each), I expect to see evidence of significant, solid work on #8, not merely a diagram and a question mark.

 

T 4/6/04

“CC schedule” HW due: Read §11-6; write §11-3 #1b, 3, 12. Again, since #1 and #3 are relatively straightforward, I expect to see good evidence of work on #12, not merely a diagram and a question mark.

Note: I had originally assigned #1a, but upon reflection we have to delete this problem because it is not solvable with the techniques available to us. Mea culpa! (However, a very interesting and educational problem is to explain exactly why #1a is not solvable using the method of disks or washers.)

 

W 4/7/04

“CC schedule” HW due: Write §11-2 #5, 7; §11-6 #3, 8, 13.

 

Th 4/8/04

No class today (Form VI Career Day).

 

F 4/9/04

Normal Friday start time (11:15) for everyone.

HW due:
p. 592 #R1, R2. With any remaining time that you have, rework any of the problems from Chapter 11 that you had trouble with on the first pass.

 

M 4/12/04

CFU (by your vote) on Chapter 11. Everyone should come at 10:45 sharp so that we can take the CFU and go over the answers during the 50-minute period.

HW due: Complete all “loose ends” from Chapter 11, including R1 and R2 on p. 592. A random subset of these problems will be scanned or collected. By now they should all be complete and, if not correct, at least set up with an integral that is defensible. You are welcome to compare answers with classmates, though of course you may not directly copy anyone’s solution.

Reminder: As we discussed earlier this week, time logs will not be accepted. You are responsible for actually completing all of the assigned problems from Chapter 11. Remember that for full credit, HW must be organized in such a way that you can pull out selected sheets on command.

 

T 4/13/04

Test on Chapter 11; 10:45 start time for everyone. This was originally scheduled for yesterday but was moved by a majority vote of the class.

Answer key: DBBAD DCCAC.

Statistics: The adjusted test mean was 70.1, and the median was 72. Scores ranged from a low of 42 (negative raw score) to a high of 98. The standard deviation was 16, which is high (10 is typical).

Scoring adjustments: Although question #5 could be solved as originally posed, it was tricky. From the analysis of scores it was obvious that most students assumed that the function d(r) was treating r to be in meters, even though by checking d(8) and d(800) one can quickly deduce that r is supposed to be in cm. To account for this confusion, I simply added 5 raw points to everyone’s initial raw score. For example, if your raw score was 20/40 (C), your adjusted raw score became 25/40 (B).

The reason I did not make a similar adjustment for question #6 is that if one were to continue with the erroneous assumption described above for #5, one would have a density everywhere throughout the region of more than 0.049 g/cm2. Since the area of the region is easily found to be more than 2 million cm2, the mass of paper must be about 100 kg. Here are the computations:

 0.049(
pR2) = 0.049p(8002) » 98,520 g » 100 kg

This would force a choice of (E) if one were to follow the printed directions. However, nobody chose (E), which means that none of the people who made the common error in #5 felt confident enough about the accuracy of their answer to pursue it to its logical conclusion. Since everyone was already fully compensated for #5, there is no need for a further adjustment in #6.

Finally, everyone earned 4 percentage points (not raw points) for perfect attendance by the class.

 

W 4/14/04

Today’s class is an AP review session. Come for the first half, the second half, or both if you wish. The door will be unlocked only at 11:10, and you won’t be able to drift in and out.

 

Th 4/15/04

HW due: Correct Tuesday’s test to 100% accuracy, showing work.

Schedule for today: AP review, continued. Come for the first half, the second half, or both if you wish. The door will be unlocked only at 11:10, and you won’t be able to drift in and out.

There will be a homework spot check today, and the spot check may include any recent assignments as well as your Chapter 11 test corrections.

 

F 4/16/04

No class (Diversity Day).

 

M 4/19/04

CFU AP, Part IA. (Multiple choice, no calculator, 10 points.) Everyone must take this. However, the score will be based on whether you spent 30 minutes working, not on how well you answered the questions.

People who were absent today should avoid peeking at the answer key below. See your mailbox for a copy of the test, and submit your answers and scratch work for 10 points of credit.

Statistics: mean 74, median 74, standard deviation 11. These were disappointing, considering that you had seen several of the questions on previous tests.

Answer key: CADCE BCCBA CDEAB.

Advertisement: A not-so-wise student will coast through the next two weeks without doing much homework and will probably not do very well on the AP exam. A much wiser student will spend time each night learning from his mistakes and reviewing the relevant sections in the textbook or Barron’s book, and he will do better and better each day.

 

T 4/20/04

Practice AP, Part IA. (Multiple choice, no calculator, 50 points.)

Everyone must take this. If you are absent, yesterday’s CFU grade will be counted instead. Attendance is optional. If you are happy with your score from yesterday, you need not come to class. However, in that case, you should still submit your answers and scratch work for the real test for 10 points of required credit.

Statistics: mean 74, median 74, standard deviation 9. The statistics for the maximum of yesterday and today are more typical: mean 78, median 78, standard deviation 9. In my 6 years at STA, I have usually seen a mean of 77-80 and standard deviation of 10, which means that these scores are ever so slightly on the low side. If you keep studying each night, I am sure that there will be steady improvement in the days ahead.

Answer key: CABDC BAADE DE. Questions 13-15 were free. Congratulations to the students who earned 1 bonus point each by noticing that the previously posted answers to #6 and #10 were incorrect. Also note that for question 10 as originally written on the board, choice D with 2x in the denominator would also be correct. However, for the printed version posted on the Web, choice E is the only correct answer.

 

W 4/21/04

CFU AP, Part IB. (Multiple choice, calculator required, 10 points.) Same rules as on M 4/19.

Statistics: mean 71, median 76, standard deviation 20.

Answer key: EDB CEB CBDD. Because question 1 could not be solved with washers, I scored it as a free question (+5) for everyone. However, only C and E are reasonable guesses, because you can easily check with your calculator that choices A, B, and D produce negative answers.

 

Th 4/22/04

Practice AP, Part IB. (Multiple choice, calculator required, 50 points.) Same rules as on T 4/20.

Statistics: mean 82, median 81, standard deviation 15.

Answer key: EAE EDCA CAB.

Advertisement: A not-so-wise student will coast through the next two weeks without doing much homework and will probably not do very well on the AP exam. A much wiser student will spend time each night learning from his mistakes and reviewing the relevant sections in the textbook or Barron’s book, and he will do better and better each day.

 

F 4/23/04

CFU AP, Part IIA. (Free response, calculator required, 10 points.) Same rules as on M 4/19.

I have finished revising the AB Calculus Cram Sheet and have added it to the “Links for AP Preparation” as well. Perhaps you will find it helpful.

 

M 4/26/04

No school (FBK Day).

 

T 4/27/04

Practice AP, Part IIA. (Free response, calculator required, 50 points.) Same rules as on T 4/20.

 

W 4/28/04

CFU AP, Part IIB. (Free response, no calculator, 10 points.) Same rules as on M 4/19.

 

Th 4/29/04

Practice AP, Part IIB. (Free response, no calculator, 50 points.) Same rules as on T 4/20.

 

F 4/30/04

Day of rest for most of the class. Others should meet me in my office at the designated appointment time.

If you have not already done so, please read the AB Calculus Cram Sheet over the weekend as you prepare for your AP exams.

 

 


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Last updated: 02 May 2004