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AP Calculus Course Syllabus Fjelstrom
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AP Calculus AB Syllabus

Course Description:

AP Calculus AB is designed to be the equivalent of a first semester college calculus course devoted to topics in differential and integral calculus.  Through the use of the big ideas of calculus (modeling change, approximation and limits, and analysis of functions), students will be required to use definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions.  

This course features a multi-representational approach to calculus, with concepts, results, and problems expressed graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally.  Exploring connections among these representations builds understanding of how calculus applies limits to develop important ideas, definitions, formulas, and theorems.

Grades/Grading Criteria:

Grades will be calculated using the category weights listed below and the following grading scale.

 - Quizzes - 50%

 - Unit Tests - 30%

 - Assignments - 10%

 - Final Exam - 10%

A= 90% and above

B= 80% - 89.9%

C= 70% - 79.9%

D= 60% - 69.9%

F= 0% - 59.9%

Quizzes assess a specific concept or skill.  Unit tests consist of quizzes and other unit objectives.  Assignments consist of in-class work, out-of-class work, and class participation.  Students will have the opportunity to raise quiz scores through retakes, but unit tests can not be retaken.

If your final grade is a borderline grade (i.e. 79.5% or 88.9%), your performance throughout the whole semester will be examined in determining the final grade.  DO NOT ASK FOR YOUR GRADE TO BE ROUNDED UP!!!

Attendance/Make Up Work:

Assignments must be complete with all work shown for a student to receive full credit when the assignment is due.

Late work will only be accepted for partial credit for one week past the original due date.

It is the student’s responsibility to ask the teacher for makeup and absence work in a timely manner.  Email, Remind, messaging, website, and homeroom are appropriate ways to contact the teacher.  Students will be allowed two school days for each day of absence (up to five days) to make up the work they missed. An absence does not excuse the student  from the work missed.  Students are accountable for all assignments and assessments.

Please note: Failure to make arrangements and/or make up a missed quiz or test due to an absence before the makeup deadline will count as your first and/or second attempt.

Academic Honesty:

The students of El Diamante High School are expected to demonstrate the belief that personal integrity is basic to all solid achievement and that it is the responsibility of the school to maintain a climate in which honesty is expected and valued. Cheating is an obstacle to achieving this goal. With regard to schoolwork, cheating is defined as obtaining or providing any help on an assignment or test where the intent was that the student completes the assignment or test by themselves.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating. To plagiarize is to take ideas or words of another person and pass them off as one’s own. This applies to written material, and materials or information from Internet sources. Students are expected to provide adequate documentation as to the source of information used as an indication of academic honesty. Teachers reserve the right to use appropriate methods (Internet) in order to confirm the authorship of papers turned in by students.

The teacher’s professional judgment will determine whether cheating has occurred. Students shall not give an instructor cause to consider their actions dishonest. If it is determined that a student has cheated or plagiarized, the student will be subject to disciplinary consequences as outlined in the VUSD Conduct Code. Sources: Board Policy 5131.p – Administrative Regulation 5131.9a

Required Texts and Resources:

  • Textbook: Calculus, 8th Edition (Larson, Hostetler, Edwards)
  • Notebook or binder for notes and assignments

Optional items:

  • dry-erase markers
  • scissors
  • glue/tape

A graphing calculator will be required for the AP Test.  Some calculators will be available to check out.  We will be using the TI-Nspires in class, along with other web tools which are free and available at home.

Classroom Rules/Procedures:

Class Norms:

  • Come prepared and on time.
  • Respect others.
  • Make an effort.
  • Keep your work area clean.
  • Use technology appropriately.
  • Stay focused and on task.

Food is allowed in class as long as it is not a disruption.  Mr. Fjelstrom is allowed “unlimited samples” of any food eaten in class.

Restroom usage should only take place during independent work time (not during direct instruction or the first/last 10 minutes of class).  Ask permission before leaving class.

Teacher Information

My name is Mr. Fjelstrom (pronounced “fell-strum”) and I have been teaching for 23 years.  I am married to Mrs. Fjelstrom (who teaches English here at El D) and we have 3 sons (ages 19, 16, and 11).  We live in Kingsburg.

Room #: 352

Phone #: (559) 735-3501 ext. 1352

Email: jfjelstrom@vusd.org or jfjelstrom@vusd.us 

Website: http://nonstopmathfun.com 

Office Hours: T/Th @ 12:45pm or by appointment

Course Curriculum:

Semester 1:

Unit 1: Limits and Continuity

Unit 2: Differentiation: Fundamentals

Unit 3: Differentiation: Composites

Unit 4: Differentiation: Contextual Applications

Unit 5: Differentiation: Analytical Applications

Semester 2:

Unit 6: Integration and Accumulation

Unit 7: Differential Equations

Unit 8: Applications of Integration

Unit 9: AP Review

AP Test date: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 8 am