AP Calculus – BC

This course covers all topics included in the College Board syllabus for AP Calculus BC. It is designed to be the equivalent of college-level Calculus 1 and 2 courses. Because of this, the course moves extremely quickly, and the Calculus 1 material is covered at a particularly fast pace. Throughout the course, problems are considered from graphical, numerical, and analytical perspectives with an aim toward developing students’ ability to shift easily from one perspective to another. There is an emphasis on learning to understand, use, and appreciate the value of the precise technical language (definitions, theorems, etc.) of mathematics. An awareness of the historical context of the development of calculus and an appreciation of its importance as a human achievement are cultivated. Students learn to discern situations in which technology can be a helpful tool in the solution of a problem. Graphing calculators are used extensively. Students are expected to work as mathematicians do in that they are asked frequently to try problems without having been explicitly taught how to find the solutions. Excellent algebraic, graphing, and organizational skills are assumed, as is a very good understanding of trigonometric functions.

The first mod of this course may be taken the year before the last three mods are taken. Students with a 5 on the AP Calculus AB exam may opt out of the first mod of this course.

Students are required to sit for the AP exam.

Min-Max Credit Hours: 4.0-4.0