In my Calculus class, recently a discussion came up about when a derivative trig function would have a midline that is not 0. We quickly discussed the algebraic result of this question, but I thought afterwards that this was just too juicy of a discussion to let slide by.
So, on our new practice quiz, I decided to throw in one such bonus problem. (Go to the end.) They were AMAZED by the resulting graph when they worked on this in class today. One algebra-whiz kid was like, "This is NOT allowed! You cannot mix trig function with other functions!!" So hilarious!! I LOVE MY KIDS. I was pleased with their sense of wonder and surprise, but even more pleased that they were still able to look at and compare features between the derivative and original function graphs, even though they thought what they were looking at was super weird and not intuitive.
At the end of class, I off-handedly asked a couple of the fastest-working kids today, "So what's the average value of the derivative function?" They said, "...-1?" And then I asked, "How does that show up inside the original graph?" Those kids' eyes got so big and they said, "It has an average derivative of -1! OMG, you can see it!!!"
Cool graphical connections!!! We'll have to revisit this bonus problem as a class tomorrow, to make sure that everyone can appreciate the juiciness of this connection before we move on to other algebra goodness.
Showing posts with label grade12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grade12. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Exploring Sine and Cosine Derivatives
My onwards saga with differential calculus presented via explorations! (See previous post here.)
My kids recently did an exploration of sine and cosine derivatives. It was a little long, but I think well worth it. The idea is this:
* First, we spent a class period reviewing how to find a sine or cosine equation given a graph. This way I made sure that they'd have the pre-requisite exploration algebra skills.
* On the worksheet, they were given f(x) = sin(x) and asked to sketch its derivative using their knowledge of how to sketch derivative graphs. They're quite confident with this sketch, and then they decided that f'(x) = cos(x) by looking at its shape. I circulated and made sure that each kid used the dy/dx feature of their calculator to verify that the amplitude of f' is still 1, by making sure that the steepest part of f has a derivative value of 1.
* They then are given g(x) = cos(x), and again they started by sketching its derivative graph in order to determine that g'(x) = -sin(x) by inspection.
* They then made predictions for when the amplitude of the original function is not 1. In each case, they sketched the curve and then verified the max derivative value, in order to verify the amplitude of their resulting derivative graph.
* They repeated this for simple cases when the period changes. Based on their sketch of the derivative graph, they determined that the resulting derivative function would share the same period as the original functions, so they think k(x) = sin(2x) would have k'(x) = cos(2x). But, when they then checked the max derivative value along k(x), they realized that they were not correct. --WHY?? One of the kids immediately figured it out. I overheard him saying that because "sin(2x) is squished horizontally, that middle part of maximum steepness now becomes twice as steep as before, so obviously the amplitude will change." They checked this again using L(x) = cos(2x), whose max derivative (or steepness) is again 2, not 1, due to the horizontal compression. Brilliant!!
* They then tested their hypothesis out with M(x) = 3sin(2x), whose max steepness is now even steeper than 2.
* As a class, when we came together to discuss these exploratory problems together, I pulled up GeoGebra to guide our discussion. I entered something like M(x) = 3sin(2x) and had kids hypothesize just how steep that graph gets at x=0, since not everyone had quite reached the same conclusions before. If they said that the max derivative is 1, I entered y = 1x to show them that's unfortunately less steep than our curve is at x = 0. If they said 2, I entered y = 2x to show it's still less steep than our curve. Someone then guessed that the slope of the tangent at that point is 6, and we graphed it to see that y = 6x is indeed as steep as the curve gets. We then typed in M'(x) into the GeoGebra input bar, which automatically generates the formula AND the graph for the derivative. We discussed why the amplitude changes to 6, but why the period stays the same as that of M(x).
BAM! My kids are awesome!! They're able to now differentiate basic wave equations without knowing the first thing about chain rule. (Not yet, that's next, after we reinforce some other parts of our abstract analysis.) And they can explain the outcome of these sine and cosine derivative graphs! Yeah!!
My kids recently did an exploration of sine and cosine derivatives. It was a little long, but I think well worth it. The idea is this:
* First, we spent a class period reviewing how to find a sine or cosine equation given a graph. This way I made sure that they'd have the pre-requisite exploration algebra skills.
* On the worksheet, they were given f(x) = sin(x) and asked to sketch its derivative using their knowledge of how to sketch derivative graphs. They're quite confident with this sketch, and then they decided that f'(x) = cos(x) by looking at its shape. I circulated and made sure that each kid used the dy/dx feature of their calculator to verify that the amplitude of f' is still 1, by making sure that the steepest part of f has a derivative value of 1.
* They then are given g(x) = cos(x), and again they started by sketching its derivative graph in order to determine that g'(x) = -sin(x) by inspection.
* They then made predictions for when the amplitude of the original function is not 1. In each case, they sketched the curve and then verified the max derivative value, in order to verify the amplitude of their resulting derivative graph.
* They repeated this for simple cases when the period changes. Based on their sketch of the derivative graph, they determined that the resulting derivative function would share the same period as the original functions, so they think k(x) = sin(2x) would have k'(x) = cos(2x). But, when they then checked the max derivative value along k(x), they realized that they were not correct. --WHY?? One of the kids immediately figured it out. I overheard him saying that because "sin(2x) is squished horizontally, that middle part of maximum steepness now becomes twice as steep as before, so obviously the amplitude will change." They checked this again using L(x) = cos(2x), whose max derivative (or steepness) is again 2, not 1, due to the horizontal compression. Brilliant!!
* They then tested their hypothesis out with M(x) = 3sin(2x), whose max steepness is now even steeper than 2.
* As a class, when we came together to discuss these exploratory problems together, I pulled up GeoGebra to guide our discussion. I entered something like M(x) = 3sin(2x) and had kids hypothesize just how steep that graph gets at x=0, since not everyone had quite reached the same conclusions before. If they said that the max derivative is 1, I entered y = 1x to show them that's unfortunately less steep than our curve is at x = 0. If they said 2, I entered y = 2x to show it's still less steep than our curve. Someone then guessed that the slope of the tangent at that point is 6, and we graphed it to see that y = 6x is indeed as steep as the curve gets. We then typed in M'(x) into the GeoGebra input bar, which automatically generates the formula AND the graph for the derivative. We discussed why the amplitude changes to 6, but why the period stays the same as that of M(x).
BAM! My kids are awesome!! They're able to now differentiate basic wave equations without knowing the first thing about chain rule. (Not yet, that's next, after we reinforce some other parts of our abstract analysis.) And they can explain the outcome of these sine and cosine derivative graphs! Yeah!!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Backwards Intro to Differential Calculus
Towards the end of the summer I was brainstorming this idea of teaching Calculus backwards, starting with applications and graphing calculators, then manual Calculus skills, then finally tying those manual Calculus skills to various limits. It is now a little more than a month in, and I have to say that although I cannot compare this approach to a traditional curriculum because I've never taught Calculus the traditional way, I love the way that I am doing it!!!
After a unit on analyzing numerical and graphical derivatives, my kids have a very strong foundation of how to read/interpret graphs visually and how to sketch related derivative graphs carefully. Some of them even have a surprising ability to draw original functions given the shapes of the derivative graphs, even though we really didn't practice that as a class (not yet... I am saving it as part of our intuitive intro to integral Calculus).
And the best part of spending the first part of the year on application is that kids are now itching for algebra, because all of the visual introduction has really primed them for more specificity. They were so, SO excited today when I set them loose on an exploration regarding the power rule of differentiation. After just observing three examples that they generated via explorations on their calculator, they were fully able to generalize the pattern in partner pairs, and by the time they got to the back side of the worksheet, they thought it was just SO COOL that they could now differentiate by hand, without a calculator. It was so AWESOME to see. I've never seen kids so excited to differentiate by hand before! And, when they weren't sure whether they were doing something by hand correctly (ie. when they needed to differentiate a term already with a negative exponent on x), I would encourage them to put in an x value into their resulting f' formula and to check it against the dy/dx value that the calculator returns. Their tech skills from Unit 1 are now becoming a powerful tool for self-monitoring their process.
And, because they've already done some mixed applications with f(x) and f'(x) analyses, I can immediately set them up tomorrow to answering a question such as, "When will the instantaneous rate reach 2 along this graph?" and the skills that we have already worked on for choosing the correct tool between f and f' will come in handy then, to smoothly transition them into the new sets of manual skills (I hope!).
I am so excited! Also, in context, we are reviewing various algebra skills incrementally. On their next quiz/practice quiz, they'll be expected to show work to find standard-form equations of polynomials by hand, and then to differentiate them in order to answer follow-up questions. My plan is to loop in all of the manual algebra modeling skills alongside the new derivative and integral skills, so that the kids would always know that they need to keep up with all of the transformational concepts from Algebra 2 and Precalc, as part of the norm for our class.
So, Calculus is pretty much my favorite class to teach right now. So incredibly fun!!!! I cannot wait until we dig into more of these derivative skills, in order for us to talk about some juicy applications that require both algebraic and geometric analysis. YES!!!!!
After a unit on analyzing numerical and graphical derivatives, my kids have a very strong foundation of how to read/interpret graphs visually and how to sketch related derivative graphs carefully. Some of them even have a surprising ability to draw original functions given the shapes of the derivative graphs, even though we really didn't practice that as a class (not yet... I am saving it as part of our intuitive intro to integral Calculus).
And the best part of spending the first part of the year on application is that kids are now itching for algebra, because all of the visual introduction has really primed them for more specificity. They were so, SO excited today when I set them loose on an exploration regarding the power rule of differentiation. After just observing three examples that they generated via explorations on their calculator, they were fully able to generalize the pattern in partner pairs, and by the time they got to the back side of the worksheet, they thought it was just SO COOL that they could now differentiate by hand, without a calculator. It was so AWESOME to see. I've never seen kids so excited to differentiate by hand before! And, when they weren't sure whether they were doing something by hand correctly (ie. when they needed to differentiate a term already with a negative exponent on x), I would encourage them to put in an x value into their resulting f' formula and to check it against the dy/dx value that the calculator returns. Their tech skills from Unit 1 are now becoming a powerful tool for self-monitoring their process.
And, because they've already done some mixed applications with f(x) and f'(x) analyses, I can immediately set them up tomorrow to answering a question such as, "When will the instantaneous rate reach 2 along this graph?" and the skills that we have already worked on for choosing the correct tool between f and f' will come in handy then, to smoothly transition them into the new sets of manual skills (I hope!).
I am so excited! Also, in context, we are reviewing various algebra skills incrementally. On their next quiz/practice quiz, they'll be expected to show work to find standard-form equations of polynomials by hand, and then to differentiate them in order to answer follow-up questions. My plan is to loop in all of the manual algebra modeling skills alongside the new derivative and integral skills, so that the kids would always know that they need to keep up with all of the transformational concepts from Algebra 2 and Precalc, as part of the norm for our class.
So, Calculus is pretty much my favorite class to teach right now. So incredibly fun!!!! I cannot wait until we dig into more of these derivative skills, in order for us to talk about some juicy applications that require both algebraic and geometric analysis. YES!!!!!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Week 1 Teaching
My year at school has begun, and as of today, we have had a full 5 days' worth of classes, even though lots of kids were missing class here and there for special retreat-type of activities. I feel quite settled, and I am starting to learn most of the kids' names despite having a terrible memory.
I am thrilled about how Precalculus is going! It's almost too good to be true -- the kids can build their own patterns from colored blocks; they can write recursive equations to represent those patterns; they can explain the limitations of knowing only the recursive formulas; they can write explicit equations that turn out to be linear; they can sum arithmetic elements and explain why that sum must be quadratic, both from a graphical standpoint and an algebraic standpoint. And they're ready to break down quadratic patterns into linear elements, in order to find the formula for the n-th quadratic element! ...Rock ON, 11th-graders!! They will start their first project very soon, either tomorrow (if they understand all preceding concepts) or next week. It is a project that I adopted from the IB, watered down quite a bit simply because I don't want the kids to be scared off right away.
My vision of tying linearity and quadratics neatly together for the kids with the concept of sequences is working out well so far; we'll see how they fare on the first quiz! :)
In Calculus, I discovered on Day 1 that the kids were strangers to the powers of the graphing calculator. I spent the next day walking them through basic features, and since then they've been flying through the conceptual material which I've presented through explorations. Unfortunately, this class has had the most amount of absences, since the Seniors and various special leadership folks had to miss class starting on Tuesday of this week. That has caused the pacing to be a bit chaotic. The kids who have been here everyday now have a solid grasp of the derivative: what it is, how to read it from the calculator, and how it relates to average rate. They can visualize derivative graphs when looking at an abstract original graph of f, and in general I think their calculator skills are slowly maturing. Yay!
My Algebra 2 classes are two diverse groups. One is full of international students, some of who had just stepped off the plane to arrive in America with very little English comprehension. This has made for a very interesting challenge, trying to teach those kids in the same class as the native speakers. I think it is great -- it helps to teach all kids the virtues of patience and kindness, because some of the non-native speakers are much stronger in math than some of their native-speaking peers, so in my mind at least, it's a bit of give-and-take for everyone. The other Algebra 2 class is full of bubbly tenth-graders, and most of them are my advisees. I simply love that class! They don't work as fast as the other group through the material, but they're very responsible, eager to learn, and nice. Kids from my Grade 10 class keep saying that that seems like the fastest-passing period, and they seem to genuinely enjoy their time in class even though we're still on the nitty gritties of basic algebra. We're working our way through some knowledge about how to use the graphing calculator flexibly to check our work alongside reviewing skills from Algebra 1 and wrapping our mind around visual linear patterns. The first big project will be coming up soon though (next week!), and it's the rubber chicken bungee jumping project (I think at most schools, they use barbies), which will involve a significant amount of writing and really show kids what I expect this year from their analyses. Whee! I'm excited!
How are your school years going??
I am thrilled about how Precalculus is going! It's almost too good to be true -- the kids can build their own patterns from colored blocks; they can write recursive equations to represent those patterns; they can explain the limitations of knowing only the recursive formulas; they can write explicit equations that turn out to be linear; they can sum arithmetic elements and explain why that sum must be quadratic, both from a graphical standpoint and an algebraic standpoint. And they're ready to break down quadratic patterns into linear elements, in order to find the formula for the n-th quadratic element! ...Rock ON, 11th-graders!! They will start their first project very soon, either tomorrow (if they understand all preceding concepts) or next week. It is a project that I adopted from the IB, watered down quite a bit simply because I don't want the kids to be scared off right away.
My vision of tying linearity and quadratics neatly together for the kids with the concept of sequences is working out well so far; we'll see how they fare on the first quiz! :)
In Calculus, I discovered on Day 1 that the kids were strangers to the powers of the graphing calculator. I spent the next day walking them through basic features, and since then they've been flying through the conceptual material which I've presented through explorations. Unfortunately, this class has had the most amount of absences, since the Seniors and various special leadership folks had to miss class starting on Tuesday of this week. That has caused the pacing to be a bit chaotic. The kids who have been here everyday now have a solid grasp of the derivative: what it is, how to read it from the calculator, and how it relates to average rate. They can visualize derivative graphs when looking at an abstract original graph of f, and in general I think their calculator skills are slowly maturing. Yay!
My Algebra 2 classes are two diverse groups. One is full of international students, some of who had just stepped off the plane to arrive in America with very little English comprehension. This has made for a very interesting challenge, trying to teach those kids in the same class as the native speakers. I think it is great -- it helps to teach all kids the virtues of patience and kindness, because some of the non-native speakers are much stronger in math than some of their native-speaking peers, so in my mind at least, it's a bit of give-and-take for everyone. The other Algebra 2 class is full of bubbly tenth-graders, and most of them are my advisees. I simply love that class! They don't work as fast as the other group through the material, but they're very responsible, eager to learn, and nice. Kids from my Grade 10 class keep saying that that seems like the fastest-passing period, and they seem to genuinely enjoy their time in class even though we're still on the nitty gritties of basic algebra. We're working our way through some knowledge about how to use the graphing calculator flexibly to check our work alongside reviewing skills from Algebra 1 and wrapping our mind around visual linear patterns. The first big project will be coming up soon though (next week!), and it's the rubber chicken bungee jumping project (I think at most schools, they use barbies), which will involve a significant amount of writing and really show kids what I expect this year from their analyses. Whee! I'm excited!
How are your school years going??
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Differential Calculus Intro - Feedback Please!
I find it difficult to brainstorm without laying down some specifics, so I pulled together a potential Unit 1 for introducing differential Calculus without actually introducing differentiation rules.
Please take a look, Calculus teachers, and let me know what you think! http://bit.ly/differentialCalculusIntro. I'll be trying to meet up with one of my new colleagues soon to discuss some of this material, since she is trying to pull together a projects-based Calculus class (somewhat more slow-paced than the regular Calculus class that I'll be teaching) and she's also working on the explicit incorporation of Habits of Mind this year into all of our curricula. But, in the mean time, I'd love any feedback on whether: 1. you think this is paced too slowly for a "regular" (non-AP) calculus class? 2. Are the worksheets relevant and appropriate for the level of course? Our classes are about 45 minutes each.
Thanks!
After this intro unit, depending on how my colleagues respond to my idea of "teaching backwards", I'll either be planning a similar "integral Calculus intro" unit that focuses on application and skips over the algebra skills, or we'll be doing manual differentiation skills as the next unit...
Addendum 7/31/2013: Thanks to Sam Shah, I will be sharing this link on the Calculus of saying I love you with my students during this first introductory unit to derivatives!
Please take a look, Calculus teachers, and let me know what you think! http://bit.ly/differentialCalculusIntro. I'll be trying to meet up with one of my new colleagues soon to discuss some of this material, since she is trying to pull together a projects-based Calculus class (somewhat more slow-paced than the regular Calculus class that I'll be teaching) and she's also working on the explicit incorporation of Habits of Mind this year into all of our curricula. But, in the mean time, I'd love any feedback on whether: 1. you think this is paced too slowly for a "regular" (non-AP) calculus class? 2. Are the worksheets relevant and appropriate for the level of course? Our classes are about 45 minutes each.
Thanks!
After this intro unit, depending on how my colleagues respond to my idea of "teaching backwards", I'll either be planning a similar "integral Calculus intro" unit that focuses on application and skips over the algebra skills, or we'll be doing manual differentiation skills as the next unit...
Addendum 7/31/2013: Thanks to Sam Shah, I will be sharing this link on the Calculus of saying I love you with my students during this first introductory unit to derivatives!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Calculus Project Resources
I am combing the web for project ideas. Here is a cheat sheet for myself, and maybe for you as well:
Designing a smooth-riding rollercoaster. I know that there are different versions of this project out there, and when the time comes, I'll be doing some shopping around to make sure I'm using the most kid-friendly version. I think my new school already has a version of this project floating around somewhere in the shared files.
Some sciency projects for Calculus.
Some nice activity sheets to spark discussion. (I know, they're not projects, but they're nice, no?)
Also, as a bonus find, I came across an easy-to-read explanation of what makes good math writing , and why writing is necessary in a math class.
Ah, I'm glad it's still just July. Even though I am keeping busy, summer is still cool and bright for another few weeks.
I like these Calculus writing projects because they're based in realistic context, and the kids have to
write a letter to explain their recommendations and to justify them with
math explanations.
More of the same type of writing projects, but extra nicely formatted.
Art, technology, and Calculus - what could be better? Designing a smooth-riding rollercoaster. I know that there are different versions of this project out there, and when the time comes, I'll be doing some shopping around to make sure I'm using the most kid-friendly version. I think my new school already has a version of this project floating around somewhere in the shared files.
Some sciency projects for Calculus.
Some nice activity sheets to spark discussion. (I know, they're not projects, but they're nice, no?)
Also, as a bonus find, I came across an easy-to-read explanation of what makes good math writing , and why writing is necessary in a math class.
Ah, I'm glad it's still just July. Even though I am keeping busy, summer is still cool and bright for another few weeks.
Calculus Brainstorm
I will be teaching Calculus for the first time next year. Yay! So excited about that. In the IB course, I had taught Calculus as a topic, but not as a full year-long course. I am very excited about the prospects of teaching an end-to-end Calculus class and having time to delve into all the nitty gritties. I am spending part of the summer sorting out the overall organization of the course, although I am sure it is to be changed once I start the year and chat with my future colleagues to get feedback.
In my mind, I picture two contrasting ways of structuring a Calculus course (and a hybrid way of doing something in between):
1. The traditional way: You introduce limits/infinity, followed by derivatives and their applications, followed by integrals and their applications, followed by mixed Calculus applications practice. Maybe you'd have a research component in the start of the year, in which kids do some research on all the modern applications of Calculus. From the various areas of applications, each student would choose one area to complete a capstone project on. This gives you chance to give them written feedback on their capstone project throughout the year, and their final paper to be submitted at the end of the year would have to contain an explanation of the relevant Calculus concepts, show example calculations that are applied within their area of research, incorporate technology as a way of enhancing/verifying their results, and they would present their projects to their peers as a way of solidifying the entire class's understanding of the applicability of Calculus.
2. Working backwards: You first spend some weeks taking the kids through the many ways of analyzing real-world problems using basic differential and integral concepts. They do everything on their calculator only, and they don't learn any of the algebra skills until after they have mastered the interpretation/application of results in the setup and analysis of a problem. Then, you peel away one layer of the magic and you work on all the core algebra skills of differentiation and integration without calculator, while consistently referring back to the applications that they have already seen, so that they don't forget the point of these algebra skills. Then, after they master doing all the same contextual applications manually and verifying their differentiated/integrated results via graphing calculators, you go on to more advanced concepts such as related rates problems, which cannot be explored solely on a calculator. Eventually, once the students have learned all the ins and outs of the core Calculus skills, you finally peel away the last layer of the magic and tie those "algebra shortcut" skills to the ideas of limits and infinity. The advantage of leaving limits to last is that the kids would already know what the derivative and integral formulas should look like by this point, and in taking the limits, they can self-monitor correctness. This "backwards" structure provides them with the full picture by the end of the course, of where everything comes from, but hopefully you have provided so much reinforcement of the applications that no kid will walk away from your class with only vague ideas of where Calculus is useful or how all the pieces are interconnected.
I talked briefly to one of my department chairs, and he is very supportive of the latter approach as an experiment. That makes me pretty excited! I will wait until I have chatted with the other Calculus teachers to start specific planning, since I have never taught Calculus as a full course before, but I think that our school culture is very supportive of teachers trying new things. So, I am going to try to wiggle my way towards a somewhat backwards organization of the course, because that makes the most sense to me.
I did some quick research, and these are the Calculus applications that I would like to introduce, either at the beginning of the year or at the start of each unit prior to developing those specific skills. Are there other ones that I am leaving out, but that are very common/useful for students to know?
In my mind, I picture two contrasting ways of structuring a Calculus course (and a hybrid way of doing something in between):
1. The traditional way: You introduce limits/infinity, followed by derivatives and their applications, followed by integrals and their applications, followed by mixed Calculus applications practice. Maybe you'd have a research component in the start of the year, in which kids do some research on all the modern applications of Calculus. From the various areas of applications, each student would choose one area to complete a capstone project on. This gives you chance to give them written feedback on their capstone project throughout the year, and their final paper to be submitted at the end of the year would have to contain an explanation of the relevant Calculus concepts, show example calculations that are applied within their area of research, incorporate technology as a way of enhancing/verifying their results, and they would present their projects to their peers as a way of solidifying the entire class's understanding of the applicability of Calculus.
2. Working backwards: You first spend some weeks taking the kids through the many ways of analyzing real-world problems using basic differential and integral concepts. They do everything on their calculator only, and they don't learn any of the algebra skills until after they have mastered the interpretation/application of results in the setup and analysis of a problem. Then, you peel away one layer of the magic and you work on all the core algebra skills of differentiation and integration without calculator, while consistently referring back to the applications that they have already seen, so that they don't forget the point of these algebra skills. Then, after they master doing all the same contextual applications manually and verifying their differentiated/integrated results via graphing calculators, you go on to more advanced concepts such as related rates problems, which cannot be explored solely on a calculator. Eventually, once the students have learned all the ins and outs of the core Calculus skills, you finally peel away the last layer of the magic and tie those "algebra shortcut" skills to the ideas of limits and infinity. The advantage of leaving limits to last is that the kids would already know what the derivative and integral formulas should look like by this point, and in taking the limits, they can self-monitor correctness. This "backwards" structure provides them with the full picture by the end of the course, of where everything comes from, but hopefully you have provided so much reinforcement of the applications that no kid will walk away from your class with only vague ideas of where Calculus is useful or how all the pieces are interconnected.
I talked briefly to one of my department chairs, and he is very supportive of the latter approach as an experiment. That makes me pretty excited! I will wait until I have chatted with the other Calculus teachers to start specific planning, since I have never taught Calculus as a full course before, but I think that our school culture is very supportive of teachers trying new things. So, I am going to try to wiggle my way towards a somewhat backwards organization of the course, because that makes the most sense to me.
I did some quick research, and these are the Calculus applications that I would like to introduce, either at the beginning of the year or at the start of each unit prior to developing those specific skills. Are there other ones that I am leaving out, but that are very common/useful for students to know?
Calculus applications
1. Optimization
* Maximum enclosed area
* Build a box (hands-on activity)
* Max/min rotating distances from a fixed point (incorporate technology)
2. Instantaneous rates / steepness
* Falling ladder analysis (exploratory starting with diagrams/tables)
* Learning curve, length of list vs. memorization time (lead-in with experiment)
* Marginal cost / marginal revenue / marginal profit
* Incremental effect of education/experience on income
* Rates of change within different savings account setups after fixed time
3. Summation of variable quantity
* Physics applications (distance, velocity, acceleration)
* Total work required/done in stretching a spring
* Total interests paid on a loan over time
* Supply and demand analysis – total opportunity cost for producer
* Supply and demand analysis – total consumer surplus, total producer surplus
* Architectural integration for accurate surface area
* Center of mass (difficult)
4. Average of a function
* Average velocity
* Average day length over a season
* Average power of an AC circuit
* Moving average of stocks (mini-project?)
* Maximum enclosed area
* Build a box (hands-on activity)
* Max/min rotating distances from a fixed point (incorporate technology)
2. Instantaneous rates / steepness
* Falling ladder analysis (exploratory starting with diagrams/tables)
* Learning curve, length of list vs. memorization time (lead-in with experiment)
* Marginal cost / marginal revenue / marginal profit
* Incremental effect of education/experience on income
* Rates of change within different savings account setups after fixed time
3. Summation of variable quantity
* Physics applications (distance, velocity, acceleration)
* Total work required/done in stretching a spring
* Total interests paid on a loan over time
* Supply and demand analysis – total opportunity cost for producer
* Supply and demand analysis – total consumer surplus, total producer surplus
* Architectural integration for accurate surface area
* Center of mass (difficult)
4. Average of a function
* Average velocity
* Average day length over a season
* Average power of an AC circuit
* Moving average of stocks (mini-project?)
5. Related rates (we won't work on these until later in the year)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)