AP Calculus AB

XZ-CalcAB-14/15 ver.

Course outline
By Ms. Xiaojie Zhang

Course Overview:
AP Calculus AB consists of a full high school academic year of work and is comparable to calculus courses in colleges and
universities. It is my expectation that students who take this course will seek college credit or college placement by taking AP
Calculus AB Exam at the end of this course.
AP Calculus AB is concerned with developing the students understanding of the concepts of calculus and providing
experience with its methods and applications. The courses emphasize a multiple-representational approach to calculus, with
concepts, results, and problems being expressed graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally. The connections among
these representations also are important.

My Goal:
AP Calculus AB is intended to be challenging and demanding; it requires a depth of understanding of fundamental and
common topics in calculus.
My main goal in teaching AP Calculus AB is to enable students to appreciate the beauty of calculus and receive a strong
foundation that will give them the tools to succeed in future mathematics courses. Students know that they will work harder
than ever, and our expectation is that this hard work will enable them to succeed in the course and in AP Calculus AB Exam.

Textbook:
Calculus-Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic, Third Edition, by Finney, Demana, Waits, and Kennedy, published by Person

Prentice Hall

Supplementary Materials:
See the course syllabus submitted to College Board

AP Calculus AB Course Outline

FIRST SIX WEEKS: Introduction (Chapters 1 and Chapter 2 and a part of Chapter 3)
8 days: Prerequisites for Calculus (Chapter 1)
Linear Models and Rates of Change
Functions and Their Graphs
Graph Lab: Graph function from its parent function and Graph Match
Fitting Models to Data
Activity 1: Ball Toss Lab part 1
Review and Test
15 days: Limits and Continuity (Chapter 2)
A preview of Calculus with a CD sale worksheet: think in term of rates of change and accumulation
Activity 1: Ball Toss Lab part 2
Rates of change and limits
One-sided and two-sided Limits
Finding Limits Numerically and Graphically
Evaluating Limits Analytically
Limits involving Infinity and end behavior models
Continuity
Rates of change and tangent lines
Review and Test

7 days: The Concept of the Derivative (Chapter 3)

Estimating the Derivative Numerically and Graphically
Local Linear Approximations
Sketching the graph of the derivative of a function whose graph is given
Differentiability and continuity
SECOND SIX WEEKS: Differentiation and Its Applications (Chapter 3 and 4)
12 days: Differentiation (Chapter 3)
Basic differentiation rules
The products and quotient rules
The chain rule
Implicit differentiation
Higher-order derivatives
Average and instantaneous rates of change
Distance, velocity, and acceleration
Activity 2: A 20 Minutes Ride
Review and Test
18 days: Applications of Differentiation (Chapter 4)
Extreme values-global and relative
Rolles Theorem and the Mean Value Theorem
Increasing and Decreasing Functions and the First Derivative Test
Concavity and the Second Derivative Test
Curve Sketching: Sketching graphs given certain information about f, f, and f
Related rates
Activity 3: Tootsie Roll Pops Lab
Optimization problems
Activity 4: Optimization Project
Newtons method
Differentials
Review and Test
THIRD SIX WEEKS: Integration and Differential Equations (Chapter 5 and a part of Chapter 6)
20 days: Integration (Chapter 5)
The definite integral
Area Problems- Numerical method, graphical method, and analytically
Riemann Sums
Activity 5: Another 20 Minutes Ride
Fundamental Theorem, Second Fundamental Theorem
Integration by Substitution
Numerical methods with error analysis
Trapezoidal Rule
Midpoint Rule
Review and Test
10 days: Antiderivatives and Differential Equation (Chapter 6)
The indefinite integral
Indefinite Integration
Slope fields - Numerical and graphical methods
Activity 6: Drawing Slope Fields
Review and Midterm Exam
FOURTH SIX WEEKS: Antiderivatives and Differential Equation (Chapter 6) and
Applications of Integration (Chapter 7)
10 days: Antiderivatives and Differential Equation (Chapter 6)
Eulers method
Variable-separable differential equations
Applications

20 days: Applications of Integration (Chapter 7)

The integral as an accumulation of rates of change
Area of a Region Between Two Curves
Volume of solids with known cross sections
Volumes of revolution - The Disk Method
- The Washer Method
- The Shell Method
Activity 7: Where is the best seat located in a theatre?
Activity 8: Play-Doh Lab
Arc length and surfaces of revolution
Application from Science and Statistics
Review and Test
FIFTH SIX WEEKS: Integration Techniques and LHopital Rule (A part of Chapter 8)
10 days: Basic Integration Rules
Integration by parts
LHopitals Rule
Review and Test
20 days: Exam Preparation
SIXTH SIX WEEKS
AP EXAM
After AP exam:
Review open ended problems on the AP exam
Assign special projects