AP CALCULUS

Summer Pre-Work

Name:
BUILD YOUR HOME SCREEN
Preparing Resources for the School Year
Overview

Date:

As of April of this year, over 138 million people in the U.S. owned a smartphone. Applications, or Apps, are easily the most exciting and useful features on most smartphones. Apps are computer programs aimed at completing a particular task or helping with a certain area of life. Apps are meant to make whatever we need to do easier and more successful. For instance:

If you are going to the movies, the Fandango app locate a theater nearby.

allows you to look up showtimes, buy tickets, or to see

Maybe you have found a movie playing at Gallery Place. You might use the Metro app when the next Green line train is leaving near your house. Maybe instead, your Aunt from out of town will drive you. You might use the Maps app her directions.

to give

Think about an App that you use all the time and write about it below. What is the name of the app? When do you typically use it? What tasks can it perform? Write about it below:

Your AP Calculus Home Screen Most users of smartphones keep their most important and necessary Apps on their home screen. Your summer project will be about building your own AP Calculus Home Screen. In this case, the Apps are fundamental skills, knowledge, and concepts that are essential for navigating Calculus effectively. You will need to create these Apps to go on your Home Screen. These Apps should come from your prior Math work in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus. These Apps should contain the following: An icon to visually identify the App. A description of what the App does. A list of when the App can be used. An explanation of the relevant facts, definitions, formulas, rules, and skills associated with the App.

Sample Quadratic Formula App Below is an example of what a simple App can look like:

QUADRATIC FORMULA APP This App uses a formula to find solutions to quadratic equations of the form ax2+ bx + c = 0.

This App can be used to do the following: Determine how many solutions a Quadratic Equation has. Find Solutions to Quadratic Equations. Find the zeroes (x-intercepts) of Quadratic Functions without a graph.

This is how the App works:

Often, the simplest way to solve "ax2 + bx + c = 0" for the value of x is to factor the quadratic, set each factor equal to zero, and then solve each factor. You have heard this called the diamond method and looks like this: x2 5x + 4 = 0 (x 4)(x 1) = 0 x 4 = 0 or x 1 = 0 x = 4 or x = 1. But sometimes the quadratic is too messy, or it doesn't factor at all, or you just don't feel like factoring. While factoring may not always be successful, the Quadratic Formula can always find the solution.

The Quadratic Formula uses the "a", "b", and "c" from "ax2 + bx + c", where "a", "b", and "c" are just numbers; they are the "numerical coefficients". The Formula is derived from the process of completing the square, and is formally stated as: For ax2 + bx + c = 0, the value of x is given by: For the Quadratic Formula to work, you must have your equation arranged in the form "(quadratic) = 0". Also, the "2a" in the denominator of the Formula is underneath everything above, not just the square root. This formula can be used when you are looking to find the zeroes or x-intercepts of a function:

x2 2x 4 = 0

Building Your Home Screen Your task then is to build a Home Screen with 4-5 Apps by the first day of class (Aug. 26th). These can be printed out in a packet and handed in or collected in one word document and emailed. You are free to select the topics you create apps for, but you they should come from the topics listed below: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) Rate of Change/Slope Area Linear Functions Quadratic Functions Exponential Functions Logarithms Trigonometric Functions (sine, cosine, tangent) Trigonometric Ratios and Identities Limits

Note about Rule of Four: In AP Calculus, we approach every concept (and you must master every concept) from four different perspectives:

Analytic/Algebraic This is the "x's and y's" equation manipulation that most students think of when they think "math." Numeric You have to be able to apply calculus concepts to numerical data (lists and tables of numbers). Graphical You need to be able to interpret, manipulate, and draw graphs relating to calculus concepts. Verbal You must be able to explain calculus concepts in clear, concise, correct English.

Your Apps should attempt to touch on as many of these pers pectives as possible.

Resources To successfully complete this assignment, you will need to use more than just the information in your head. Many of these topics, though familiar, are probably immediately at the forefront of your brain. Because of this, you will need to access outside resources to help you with this task. Here are a list of resources: Chapter 1 of the AP Calculus Textbook. https://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard http://www.ixl.com/math/ https://www.purplemath.com