Course
Content: AP Calculus (BC)
The
College Board’s website
has a complete
list of everything we will be covering in this course:
Instructions:
AP Calculus (BC)
1. For the first three
quarters, I will give you a test every two weeks or so.
Your grades will largely be an average of your scores in
these tests, although from time to time I might give you a
short quiz or written assignment. In the fourth quarter
your grade will consist largely of your scores in AP
questions that I assign for homework.
2. In at least half of the tests you will not be allowed to
use a calculator.
3. Make sure that you show all your work in the tests so
that if your answer is wrong you can gain partial credit.
Enough work must be shown for me to know that a valid
method has been used. In
particular, a correct answer with no work will very often
get zero.
4. In
each test, I shall award some points for the way you write
your mathematics. During the first few days of the course,
I shall make it very clear what I expect in this regard. In
particular, use math language not calculator language,
include “dx”
where necessary, use “” when approximating, and don’t use
ambiguous words like “it”, “the function”, “the
derivative”, or “the slope”.
5. Numerical, non-exact, answers should be given correct to
3 decimal places. Be careful not to use rounded versions of
previous answers – an answer that is not correct to three
decimal places, for whatever reason, will lose you points.
6. Doing your homework properly is a key to success in this
course. This means clearly writing out your solutions, and
devoting thought and time to your work. Homework will
generally not be graded (until the fourth quarter), but I
shall check the first few assignments to make sure that
everyone is writing his mathematics correctly.
7. If at any time I feel that there is slackness taking
place over homework from any student, I shall impose a
system for all students in the class whereby a point is
taken off your quarter average for every lapsed homework
beyond the first two lapses in that quarter.
8. Going through homework in class is of limited use and
wastes time for the majority who don’t need it. See me well
before class if there is a question you can’t do, or after
class if you get an answer wrong.
9. It is important that the graded fourth-quarter homework
assignments are your own unaided work. With this in mind,
you may not use any resource (student, teacher, web-page,
etc.) other than a Brunswick math teacher to sort out any
difficulties you have with these problems.