AP Calculus BC Syllabus                                                                                                                                             Mr. Hamilton

Course Introduction and Purpose

The purpose of this course is to learn the basics of Calculus and to prepare you for the AP test in the spring.  In this course, we will focus on analytical, numerical, and graphical methods.  Technological and pencil/paper methods will be focused on in this course.  All students must have their own approved graphing calculator, as required by the AP Board. The standards that are covered in this course are the Common Core Standards.

Course Topics

                1^st Quarter –  Functions, Graphs, Limits, and Derivatives, with emphasis on parametric, polar, vector functions

                2^nd Quarter – Integrals, with emphasis on Integration by Parts

                3^rd Quarter – Polynomial Approximations and Series

                4^th Quarter – AP Test Preparation

  Lesson Delivery

The typical lesson will begin the day with a 5 minute activity.  After the activity, there will be time for questions over the previous day’s assignment.  The new lesson will then be covered, with the incorporation of lecture, activities, powerpoints, videos, etc.  Students will usually have time to practice the material in class.  After the lesson, there will be another 5 minute activity and homework will be assigned.  Lessons will generally be posted a week in advance on the website planbook.com. 

PlanBook Instructions

Go the website planbook.com.  In the top right, click on Student View.  Insert [email protected] for the e-mail address and mathrocks as the password.  Here, you will be able to see my plans for the current week.

Homework, Quizzes, and Tests

Homework will be typically be assigned daily.  Homework is due the following class day at the start of class.  Homework turned in after the start of class will gain reduced credit at 50% for one day, and 0% after that, as per the high school homework policy.  Homework will be through one of three delivery modes: MathXL, Planbook, textbook, and hand-outs. 

Quizzes may be given at any time, with or without warning.  Tests will have at least a 1 week notice.  Quizzes and tests will have 2 primary modes of delivery: online and paper.  Every Friday, you will be given either a quiz or test, depending on where we are with the material.

Grading

This course will follow the standard high school grading scale, but it is weighted on a 5.0 scale:

100 % - 90 %         A

89 % -   80 %         B

79 % -   70 %         C

69 % -   60 %         D

< 60 %                    F

Homework will be weighted at 30 %, quizzes at 30 %, and tests at 40 %.  Extra Credit may be given at the discretion of the teacher, but it will be available for every student throughout the course.  It will not be given at last minute to boost grades.

The Semester Grade is a composite of the two quarter grades and a semester final, with the weights as 40%/40%/20%.

Communication

I have an open door policy with regards to communication.  You can come in and speak, e-mail ([email protected]) or call (605 – 574 – 3030).  I will have the students set up an account with Remind for announcements or reminders.  This is an app that lets me communicate to a class as a whole through their phone without the exchange of personal phone numbers.  The app is dedicated to school use and has many safety features built in to it.  Attached to this sheet are instructions for the Remind app if you would like to create an account.

My Commitment

I will make every effort to assist you in learning the content for the course.  I will be available before and after school, as well as 7^th hour, which is my planning hour. 

I am looking forward to a great year and am excited to see what we can accomplish!