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.
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Schedule
at a Glance (see archives for older entries) |
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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. |
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F 5/9/08 |
No HW due unless you missed class yesterday, in
which case you need to read the handout. |
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Week of 5/12/2008 |
AP exams (sporadic class attendance expected). |
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M 5/19/08 |
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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. |
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W 5/21/08 |
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Th 5/22/08 |
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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. |
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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. |
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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
Return to Mr. Hansen’s
home page
Return
to Mathematics Department home page
Return
to St. Albans home page
Last updated: 29 May 2008