Online for the 2024-2025 School Year
Teacher: Jeff Lanctot
Email: jfrylan.calc@gmail.com
Calculus has been one of the most influential ideas in human history. Its impact on our daily lives is incalculable with most changes in the past 300 years coming from technological and scientific developments fundamentally based upon calculus. Calculus pulls together many of topics studied in previous math courses and transforms them from mechanical, seemingly unrelated topics into powerful, interrelated tools for analyzing real-life situations – situations that involve motion and change. This course provides the foundation on which we can truly understand and advance the world around us and prepares students for the AP Calculus AB Exam.
Text: Calculus of a Single Variable - Early Transcendental Functions, 5th edition by Larson and Edwards. A free PDF version of the textbook will be available as part of the course. If you want a hardcopy, the specific ISBN# is 978-0-538-73552-0; the list price is approximate $100 for a new hardcopy version and significantly less (almost free) for a used version.
Technical Requirements:
- TI-84/89 or equivalent graphing calculator
- Scanner to submit multiple handwritten pages as a single PDF file via e-mail
Class Tuition Fee: EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: $725.00 After June 30, $775.00
Who Should Apply: The course is open to students in 10th through 12 grades who have strong mathematical skills and interests. Students should have completed High School mathematics through and including geometry, algebra II, trigonometry (particularly radian measure and periodic functions), and elementary functions and their notation. These functions include linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric and piecewise-defined functions.
Equivalent to a 1st semester college level calculus course, Calculus AB is intended for students interested in majoring in mathematics, engineering, any of the sciences including earth or environmental sciences, pre-med, or architecture. Successful completion of this course and the AP Exam in May provides credit at most major colleges and universities. Perspective students in this course should review their targeted college or university websites for specific expectations.
Course Description: Calculus has been one of the most influential ideas in human history. Its impact on our daily lives is incalculable with most changes in the past 300 years coming from technological and scientific developments fundamentally based upon calculus. Calculus pulls together many of topics studied in previous math courses and transforms them from mechanical, seemingly unrelated topics into powerful, interrelated tools for analyzing real-life situations – situations that involve motion and change. This course provides the foundation on which we can truly understand and advance the world around us.
This course prepares students for the AP Calculus AB Exam. It begins the first week of September and concludes with the AP Exam in early May. It covers all of the topics specified by CollegeBoard, the administrators of the AP Exam, including the study of limits, derivatives, integration and their applications.
While I have weekly office hours for extra help clarification, this course has no specific meeting time, yet has a clear schedule with readings and assignments. Each week I provide an overview of the topic being studied with a keen focus on the key points as well as the identifying areas beyond the scope of the course. Our textbook is the primary source of information and was specifically selected for readability and coverage of material. My teaching philosophy is to not waste the student’s precious time with unnecessary reading, videos, projects, assignments, or required scheduled “chats”, but to focus attention on the key topics of the course. Videos correlated directly to the textbook problems will be available to students but are not required. I will often reference additional resources which may provide another perspective on the topic being studied but these again will be optional.
Students are expected to spend 8-10 hours weekly on the class This will include reading, completing practice problems, simulated AP multiple choice questions, and free response problems. As mentioned above, there is no specific meeting time. Students utilize the online discussion boards to interact with classmates and me, to post any questions they have from the reading material and homework assignments, and to answer classmate’s questions. I am always available via email and for live chats on an as-needed basis.
There is a secure web board for all members of the class (and parents) to post all kinds of comments, questions, interesting fun facts or links, or even non-calculus related communication between members of the class. I make myself available as much as humanly possible – via the web board, via email, and via online chat or telephone if necessary – and work very hard to respond to questions as quickly as possible.
Grading: Grading will be based upon completed homework assignments (I post the answers before the student has to submit them so they can check and correct their answers a priori), short quizzes, unit tests, and mid-term and final exams. Grade points are also earned by completing Multiple Choice Questions with a student being able to continue answering questions until the required number of points are achieved.
Calculus BC: Calculus BC extends Calculus AB with some additional topics requiring it to be a faster-paced, more intensive course than this course. At this time, I am only offering the AB course.
How to register: Simply click on the link below, download the MSWord document to fill out and submit via email. I will review the application and get back to you within a few days. If accepted, you may register and pay the course tuition through the PAHS Online Store.
http://www.mgutilan.com/info/CalculusABApp.pdf
Instructor Qualifications: This will be my 13th year teaching Calculus AB over the Internet, and I am a recently teacher of AP Calculus in a public school for the past 15 years (being retired means I am available almost anytime for addressing questions, issues, or providing clarification). I have also been a teacher of AP Physics through PA Homeschoolers for 14 years, so am not only well versed on the issues of on-line learning, but also bring a deeper understanding of the value of Calculus as a mathematical tool. I have a B.S. and an M.S. in Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and Cornell University, respectively. Prior to teaching, I worked as an electrical engineer and technology executive for 20+ years for companies including Bell Laboratories, Alcatel, Motorola, and Verizon. In 2017, I was given the Partners in Excellence Award as one of the top AP teachers in the State of Massachusetts. My wife, Mary, and I homeschooled our three children through high school.