APCalculusBCSyllabus

Teacher:Mr.Schievenin
Room:419
Email: brandon@laschina.org Please email me through gradelink if possible. Our email
systemwillrejectemailsifourinboxisfull,however,theadministrationwillreceivecopiesof
anyemailssentthroughgradelink.
Websites:slasmath.weebly.com
Homework answers: calcchat.com . If you cannot see the website, download the calcchat
iphoneapp.
OfficeHours:MondayFriday8:008:30,3:454:15
I.CourseOverview:
In this course students will review the concepts of limits, derivatives, integrals, polynomial
approximations,series,theirapplications,andmodeling.Theexpectationisthatstudentswill
havecompletedthecourseworkequivalentofacollegelevelCalculus2coursebytheendof
this year, and be prepared to test for this accreditation at the college or university of their
choice. To that end, students will be required to take the College Board AP exam in May.
(Prerequisite:PreCalculus)
II.Textbook:
Larson,Hostetler,andEdwards,Calculus8thedition,McDougalLittell
Our textbooks are very expensive and difficult to purchase in China. If a textbook is lost or
destroyedbythestudent,theschoolwillchargethestudentthecostofbuyingandshippinga
replacement.
III.CoreValuesintheClassroom
Compassion
Students are expected to value their fellow students and assist one another in developing n
understandingofthematerial,whilealsoensuringthattheyaretestedontheirownabilitiesso
thateverystudentknowshowmuchtheyknowandreceivesthesupportfromeachotherthat
theyneed.Ourcourseisnotarace,andIwillnotreleaseindividualrankingswithintheclass.
Thegoalisforourentireclasstoexcel,asproveninourAPexam,whencomparedtotherestof
theworld.
Communication
Students are expected to ask questions if they need help, and take responsibility for their
understandingofthe material.Studentsareexpectedtoorallypresentthestepstheyusedto
gettotheirconclusions,andexplaintheworkofotherstudents.Studentswillalsobeexpected
to interpret and solve problems involving functions presented verbally, numerically, and
graphically,includingwordproblemspresentedinEnglish.Studentswillbeabletousegraphing
calculators for experimentation, support or confirmation of solutions reached with pen and
paper(suchasgraphingfunctionsandcreatingformulasforRiemannsumsthatcanbutsolved
viasummationcalculationspossibleonaprovidedTI83),andgeneralcalculation.Studentsare
expected to answer short answer questions about their problem solving process and
interpretationoftheirresultsincompletesentences.

Creativity:
Students are expected to analyze a problem and select the right tools needed to solve it.
Students are expected to be able to explain how to solve problems in their own words, and
breakdowndifficultconceptsinawaythatpeoplewithoutexperienceintheirfieldofexpertise
canunderstand.

Confidence:
Studentswillbecalledonalot,andexpectedtospeakoften.Riskswillbeencouraged,withthe
understanding that presenting a mistake is an opportunity for correction and ultimately
learning.
IV.GeneralPolicies:Attendance,LateAssignments,andClassroomDisruptions
Mygeneralphilosophy:Iexpectthatmystudentswillcometoclassontimeandbeginworking
ontheirdonowactivity,sothatnoclasstimeiswasted.Attendancewillbetakeneveryclass,
andstudentsthatarrivelatewillbemarkedtardyongradelink.Anystudentthatismarkedtardy
fourtimeswillbemarkedabsent.Assignmentsareexpectedontime.Ifanassignmentneedsto
beturnedinlatethisshouldbearrangedwiththeteacheraheadoftime.
Disruptivebehaviorisanybehaviorthatpreventsotherstudentsfromlearningorparticipating
inthelesson.Iwillnottoleratedisruptivebehavior.Iwillaskastudentwithdisruptivebehavior
tostoponce.Ifthestudentcontinuestodisturbtheclass,Iwillsentthemoutoftheclassand
assignthemanabsenceforthatday.
V.RequiredMaterials
Note:AllteachersatLASareencouragingstudentstoreusematerialsfromoneyeartothenext,
duetothelargeamountofusablematerialsthrownoutlastyear.Thisyear,ourschoolwillnot
provide classroom materials for students to take home. Please save your notebooks from this
yearsothatyoucanusethemnextyear.
Students are required to use a graphing calculator as part of this course. A list of calculators
approved for use on the AP Calculus examination is available on our course website. If the
studentdoesnothaveagraphingcalculator,thatstudentcanpurchaseonethroughtheschool
atadiscountedrate.LASdoesnotmakemoneyongraphingcalculatorsalestostudents.
Students will also need pencils, a notebook for note taking, notebook paper and a folder or
threeringbinderforhomework.
VI.Recommendedmaterials
Ifyoucannotaccesscalcchat.com,Irecommenddownloadingthecalcchatappforiphonesor
ipod touch. The application costs $5 USD, but will allow you to download the answers to
homeworkproblemsandusethemwithoutaninternetconnection.
IalsorecommendreadingBaronsAPCalculusand/ortheAPPrincetonreviewbeforetakingthe
APexam.ThesebooksincludeAPCalculusABandAPCalculusBCexaminationsfromprevious
yearsaswellasquickreviewsofallthetopicscoveredbytheexamination.

Khanacademy.orgalsohasmathhelpvideoscoveringbasicalgebrathroughmanyofthetopics
inCalculustestedontheAPexamination.
VII.GradingPolicy
Gradeswillbegivenasapercentageoutof100.Thefollowingcriteriawillbeusedtodetermine
eachQuartersGrade:
ChapterTestsandQuizzes
30%
Projects
20%
Quizzes
25%
Homework
10%
ClassworkandParticipation
15%
Homework:
Answersandstepsneededtosolvetheoddproblemsonassignedhomeworksetsareavailable
online,atwww.calcchat.com.Thisisacollegelevelcourse,andstudentsareexpectedtotake
moreresponsibilityfortheirlearningprocess:Studentsareexpectedtochecktheiranswersand
makecorrectionstotheirhomeworkpriortoclass.Questionsthatcannotbereconciledbythe
students canberaisedatthenextclass.Homework notebooks will becollectedattheendof
everyweekandgradeswillbeassignedbasedoncompletionoftheassignments.Allhomework
shouldbecompletedinpencilorblackink.Studentsareencouragedtonoterasemistakebut
ratherplaceasinglelinethroughthemistakeandmakeanoteofwhythemistakewasmade,
thisispartofthelearningprocess.
RetestPolicy:
Ifastudentscoreslessthan65%onatestorquiz,theymayelecttoretakethequiz.Iftheydo
so,theirnewgradewillbecappedateitherthelowestscoreofthestudentthatpassedORthe
averageoftheiroriginalscoreandretestgrade(whicheverislower).Thisensuresthatitis
alwaysbeneficialforastudentthatfailedtoretest,whilealsoensuringthataretestnever
disadvantagesstudentsthatdonotqualifyforretesting.Studentsthatscorebelow65%ona
sectionofaquizmayrequestaretestonthatsectiononly,whichwillbeopentoallstudentson
acasebycasebasis.

VIII.PlagiarismandCheating:
The goal of education is for each student to demonstrate mastery of the content. Cheating
deludestheteachersunderstandingofastudentsabilities.Whilestudentsareencouragedto
helpeachotherunderstandhowtodothehomeworkandclasswork,copyinganswersdirectly
withoutworkingontheproblemORprovidinganyhelpontestsorquizzesisunacceptable.Any
studentcaughtcheatingwillreceiveascoreofZEROontheassignmentinquestion.Ameeting
withadministrationandparentswillbescheduled,andthestudentsotherassignmentgrades
will not be entered until the assignment that the student was cheating on is resubmitted. No
creditwillbeawardedfortheresubmission.
Whenever possible, I will create multiple forms of each test to ensure that students
demonstratetheirownmasteryofthecontent.

IX.Dictionaries
Most of our students do not speak English as their first language. For this reason, electronic
dictionarieswillbepermittedintheclassroomforuseasdictionaries.Ifanystudentiscaught
using their device for anything other than a dictionary without express permission from the
teacher, their device will be confiscated and sent to the vice principal. As a new schoolwide
policythisyear,cellulardevicesmaynotbevisibleforanypurposewithintheclassrooms.Allcell
phoneswillbeconfiscatedandsenttotheVicePrincipalforpickup.Thisincludesiphones,soif
necessarypleasebringapaperdictionarytoclass.

Students will be charged 25100 RMB by the Vice Principal for the return of any confiscated
device,dependingonhowmanytimesthestudentsdevicehasbeenconfiscated.
Ifanystudenthastheirdeviceconfiscatedtwice,theywillnotbeallowedtousetheirdevicein
class.
X.Progressreports:
Youwillreceiveaprogressreportafter41/2weeksineachquarter.Additionalprogressreports
maybesentiftheteacherfeelsitisnecessaryforbehaviorproblemsorsignificantchangesin
performance.

The fourth quarter progress report will be sent shortly before the AP examination, based on
fourth quarter diagnostic tests. This will assess student performance on 25 distinct skills
evaluatedontheAPexamination,toassiststudentsinfocusingtheirstudyeffortsleadingupto
theexam.
Studentsareencouragedtobringquestionstoclass,butiftheystillfeeltheydontunderstand,
thentheycanmeetwithMr.Brandonafterschoolforadditionalsupport.Calculusisnotdifficult
ifyoustayontopofthematerials.
XI.Parentsaspartners:Donthesitatetocontactmeatbrandon@laschina.org
Parents are encouraged to contact the teacher whenever they have questions or concerns.
Pleasedonotwaittheprogressreportsorparentteacherconferencesifyouneedtotalktothe
teacher.ContactMr.Brandontoarrangeatimetomeet.APCalculusisanacademicallyrigorous
course.Youcanhelp:Ifyouthinkyourchildisstruggling,please,contactmesowecanarrange
forextrasupport.Seethewebsiteforadditionalinformation.

YEAR IN PREVIEW
Teacher: Schievenin

Room: 419

Subject: AP Calculus BC

Grade: 12

Pace is subject to change.

First Quarter
Limits, evaluating graphically, numerically, analytically
Delta-Epsilon definition of a limit
Derivatives, definition of a derivative, power rule, product and quotient rule, Chain
rule Implicit differentiation, related rates
Finding extrema
Rolles and mean value theorem
First derivative, second derivative tests
Integration, Riemann Sums
Transcendental Functions
***differential equations, and Eulers method Area
between 2 curves and volume of rotated solids

Second Quarter
Basic Integration Rules
Integration by parts
Trigonometric Integrals, including trigonometric substitution
Partial Fractions
Indeterminate Forms and LHopitals Rule
Improper Integrals
Sequences, Series, and Convergence
Integral Test, p-series
Harmonic Series, comparison
Alternating Series
Ratio and Root tests
Taylor Polynomials, Power Series, Taylor and Maclaurin Series

Third Quarter
Plane curves and parametric Equations
Parametric equations and Calculus
Polar Coordinates and polar Graphs
Area and Arc Length in Polar Coordinates
Vectors in a plane
Vector-value Functions, differentiation and integration
Velocity and Acceleration
Tangent and Normal Vectors
Arc Length and curvature

Fourth Quarter
Selected topics and test prep.