Contents
Lab 1: What Should You See Graphically?
Lab 2: Functional Collages
Lab 3: Important Limits and Their Extensions
Lab 4: Numerical Derivatives
Lab 5: Derivative of the Inverse Function
Lab 6: Getting to Know "Cow" Culus Differentially
Lab 7: Mattie's Mean Value Adventure
Lab 8: "Mattie, We've Got You Clocked"
Lab 9: A Differential Equation That Models Exponential Behavior
Lab 10: The Integral Function
Lab 11: Want to Market a Calculus Book?
Lab 12: Cars A and B, Where Are You?
Lab 13: Differential Equations – Visually and Analytically
Lab 14: Applications of Calculus, Review I
Lab 15: Applications of Calculus, Review II
Preface
It is now difficult to remember what
calculus was like before graphing
calculator technology. It is also getting
increasingly difficult to find students
who can remember any of their high school
mathematics without using their numerical and
graphical technological friend. What has been
more difficult is for teachers to find
technological lab experiences that let the
student take charge in cooperative learning
settings. When using the labs in this book,
we recommend that the teacher take a step back
and let students discover the results for
themselves. Teacher involvement can be
limited to making sure all students know how
to use the technology and are actively
involved in doing the exercises.
These labs have been student tested in
Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB and BC
classes at Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. We have also used them with
calculus teachers in AP Summer Institutes over
the past eight years. We are grateful to the
many students who have educated us in the
creative use of technology and who have
thereby inspired us in the writing of these
lab sheets. We are also thankful for those
teachers who have solicited our work for use
in classes.
We have thoroughly revised the labs for
this book and added several new labs.
In addition to students and teachers who
have assisted us in this project, we are
grateful for the wise counsel and enhanced
editorial revisions offered by Gary Litvin at
Skylight Publishing. Finally, we must mention
our wonderfully patient family members who
have given us the time and space to write,
rewrite and finally publish. Thank you, Mark,
Don, Amanda, Allison, Ryan and Ashley.