Welcome to the HappyCal Zone

(Honors AP Calculus BC, Period C)
Web address shortcut for this page: www.modd.net/78hapcal

Are you nervous when you see NCWEE? concerned when you see CIRC? perturbed when you see PBC? Visit Mr. Hansen’s fabled abbreviations page to make sense of those cryptic markings you see on your papers.

 

Schedule at a Glance (see archives for older entries)
Written assignments should follow the HW guidelines.

 

Th 5/8/08

For the next few days we will work on an in-class project. No homework! However, please make sure to read the handout and become familiar with the questions posed.

 

F 5/9/08

No HW due unless you missed class yesterday, in which case you need to read the handout.

 

Week of 5/12/2008

AP exams (sporadic class attendance expected).

 

M 5/19/08

 

 

T 5/20/08

Field trip to the National Cryptologic Museum, Fort Meade, MD. Bus will depart at 8:00 a.m. Bus will probably be loading in the area near Satterlee-Henderson Field, but stay alert and try not to miss the bus! Attendance will be taken. If you attend the field trip, you are excused from A through E periods and the first half of F period. If you do not attend the field trip, you must attend all your classes except for HappyCal.

Note for seniors: We will be back in time for you to attend the Mother-Son Luncheon. Mr. Barrett is aware and has approved of our schedule. The luncheon begins at 12:30, and we should be back within a few minutes of that time.

 

W 5/21/08

 

 

Th 5/22/08

 

 

F 5/23/08

Cookie Day (last day of class). If you have not already done so, please turn in your handout with thoughtful answers to the questions posed.

 

Th 5/29/08

Final Exam, 8:00–10:00 a.m., Mathplex North. Seniors with a B average or above for the semester are exempt. This will be a “kinder and gentler” final exam, certainly less challenging than the AP exam. However, it is a course requirement and will occur at the scheduled time.

 

Essential Links:
--
STA School Handbook
-- College Board: AP Calculus BC Course Description
-- Eric Weisstein’s World of Mathematics, the Web’s most extensive mathematics resource (no kidding!)

Extra Help:
-- Karl’s Calculus Tutor for first-year students
-- Calc101.com, a site I really shouldn’t tell you about (click it and you’ll see why)
-- Temple University: Calculus on the Web (COW)

Links Based on Class Discussions:
-- Troy’s Integral Approximation Thingy: a neat JavaScript application for Midpoint Rule, Trapezoid Rule, Simpson’s Rule, etc.
-- Another integral approximator tool found by John S. (actually shows you the rectangles or trapezoids)
-- Chris and Andrew’s proof that Simpson’s Rule is a weighted average of the Midpoint and Trapezoid Rules
-- Braxton’s direct proof of FTC2
-- Proof that FTC1 implies FTC2 and conversely
-- Related rates tutorial and practice problems
-- Partial fraction decomposition with sample problems and solutions, courtesy of the University of California at Davis

Links for AP Preparation:
-- Real sample AP questions from the College Board
-- AB Calculus Cram Sheet
-- BC Calculus Cram Sheet (courtesy of Will Felder and Mr. Hansen)
-- “Stuff you MUST know cold” (link to another AP calculus teacher’s site; requires Adobe Acrobat reader)
-- Review question logsheet (requires Microsoft Excel)
-- Permitted features for graphing calculators on the AP examination: you’ll definitely want to print this one out
-- Actual college calculus tests from Mr. Hansen’s alma mater (great practice!)
-- Multiple choice practice #1 with answer key
-- Multiple choice practice #2 with answer key

Fun Links:
-- Homemade “Segway”-like balancing scooter uses a fair amount of calculus!
-- Mathematicians as depicted in the movies (Good Will Hunting, etc.)
-- An Algebra II problem that has a calculus flavor to it. (This is problem #26 from §11-7 of Foerster’s Algebra and Trigonometry: Functions and Applications.) The problem is to determine which sweepstakes prize is better: a $20,000 lump sum or $100 a month for life. Assume 4% annual interest compounded monthly. In part (d), the challenge is to determine how the answer changes if the interest rate changes to 7%.
-- The Mt. Sinai problem and two variations
-- The astonishing Bailey-Borwein-Plouffe algorithm for calculating pi to any desired decimal place
-- Sound wave analysis (harmonics, Doppler shift, etc.) / excellent site developed by students at TJHSST in Virginia
-- Good problems (some calculus, some not)
-- More fun links on Mr. Hansen’s home page

Serious Links:
-- Summer math camps for talented high school students
-- Click here for other serious links


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Last updated: 29 May 2008