Welcome to the HappyCal Zone

(Honors AP Calculus BC, Period C)
Web address shortcut for this page: www.modd.net/89hapcal

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.
F 5/8/09	No class. Students who did not submit their AP review logs yesterday must put them in my mailbox in the mail room by 12:00 noon. I will be off campus during part of the morning.
M 5/11/09	HW due: Over the weekend, submit your project proposal to me by e-mail. Please be sure to prefix your subject line with a double underscore ( __ ) so that I know the message is legitimate.
T 5/12/09	Work on final project. Report to class each day for roll call.
W 5/13/09	Work on final project. Report to class each day for roll call.
Th 5/14/09	Work on final project. Report to class each day for roll call.
F 5/15/09	Work on final project. Report to class each day for roll call.
M 5/18/09	Work on final project.
T 5/19/09	Final project due.
W 5/20/09	Field Trip to the National Cryptologic Museum, Fort Meade, MD. Bus leaves just after 8:00 a.m., so hurry back from McDonald’s! We will be back on campus by 1:00 p.m. You are expected to attend the second half of your F period class. Dress code is required for the field trip unless you have purchased a tag from Ms. Spaulding. Students not attending the field trip will need to write an essay (approx. 35-40 minutes) to be turned in on Thursday, May 21, on the following topic. The four themes of AP Calculus BC are functions/limits, derivatives, integrals (theoretical), and applications of integrals. In your own words, not copied and pasted from the Internet, tie these four themes into a coherent whole. In other words, how do these topics fit together in your mind? You will need, at a minimum, to include such “glue” concepts as the definition of derivative, the MVT, the FTC, the definition of definite integral in terms of Riemann sums, the concept of variable-factor products, arc length, and average value of a function. Additional examples are encouraged. Complete sentences and acceptable grammar are required. Some leniency for spelling will be granted.
Th 5/21/09	HW due: HappyCal essay (see yesterday’s calendar entry). Students who went on the field trip are exempt.
F 5/22/09	Last day of school. T-shirts will be available for $9.00.

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.
-- The “RiemannSums Applet” 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); two-page version for 2008-09
-- Permitted features for graphing calculators on the AP examination
-- 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: 19 May 2009