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Calculus BC

Chris Yetman

Photo of Chris Yetman

Chris Yetman was born and raised in Southern Arizona.  He received his B.A. degree in Mathematics and English Literature from Carleton College in Northfield, MN and completed his teacher certification courses and 24 units of doctoral math courses at the University of Arizona.  He’s been teaching at Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson since 1988 and been teaching AP Calculus since 1990. This year Chris teaches 2 sections of Algebra 1 and 1 section of AP Calculus BC, giving him an interesting view on the evolution of the high school student.  

He has over 20 years of experience working at the Advanced Placement Reading. During that time he has been a Reader, Table Leader, Early Table Leader, Question Team Member, and Question Leader. He’s also worked for the National Math and Science Initiative (NMS) since 2018, facilitating training sessions for their College Readiness Program (CRP) and Laying the Foundation (LTF) program and working directly with students for AP test review. 

Chris and his wife, Elethia, have two grown kids and three cats.  Chris lives in Tucson, AZ and enjoys cooking, gardening, running, camping, hiking, backpacking, and especially traveling across the world with his lovely wife. Recent travels include trips to Spain, Scotland, Italy, Peru, Holland, Belgium, and France.

Course Description

This course is intended for both new and experienced AP Calculus teachers. We will look closely at the AP Calculus Course and Exam Description (CED). We will take a tour of the AP Classroom web site and investigate other online resources such as Desmos, Delta Math, Calc Medic, etc. We will discuss the use of the graphing calculator (TI-84 series) and share some tips and tricks to help students use it more efficiently. We will explore the main topics of the AP Calculus courses, focusing on teaching strategies and resources to help increase student understanding. We will examine the 2022 and 2023 AP Calculus AB and BC Exam Free Response Questions along with their answer guidelines and sample student responses. We will also look at the 2018 and 1019 AP Calculus AB and BC International Practice Exam (IPE) Multiple Choice Questions. We will practice scoring student responses and discuss ways to incorporate all these items into our classrooms.

Agenda

Specific Mathematical Content:

AB Calculus Topics 

  • Chain Rule Differentiation
  • Implicit Differentiation and Related Rates
  • Rate In/Rate Out Problems
  • Mean Value Theorem
  • Curve Sketching
  • Integration and The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
  • Graphical Stem Problems
  • Differential Equations and Slope Fields
  • L’Hôpital’s Rule

BC Calculus Topics (in-depth)

  • Euler’s Method
  • Integration by Parts
  • Partial Fractions
  • Improper Integrals
  • Sequences and Series
  • Taylor Series
  • Convergence Tests
  • Intervals of Convergence
  • Taylor Polynomials and Error Bounds
  • Parametric equations
  • Polar coordinates
  • Vector valued functions

Note: A TI 84 graphing calculator will be needed throughout this course participants should come prepared with their own devices.