Calculus

I have had the pleasure of teaching Jacob in class for two years; in Pre-Calculus as a sophomore and currently as a junior in AP Calculus AB. Jacob's greatest strength in class is his inquiring attitude. He has a unique ability to analyze and reflect on the problem-solving process. While solving complex mathematics problems, he will refine and improve his problem-solving strategy until he obtains the correct solution. When I give his assessments back, Jacob critically examines his mistakes…

challenges the next level holds. My tutors have always been encouraged me throughout my time at Mathnasium. Now, I know I am not perfect at math, but I do learn from my mistakes quickly. In my junior year, I took AP Calculus AB, and it challenged me to work harder and study even more. My Calculus teacher is one of the most…

It was February 2015, my class test for AP Calculus. I was struggling with my 2nd problem (out of 6) and half of my time had passed by.Looking at the next question, I groaned.I couldn’t remember how to compute the 2nd derivative of a function. That was when I realized how much I was struggling with the free response sections of the AP Calculus test, I took it into my own hands to study so I can achieve a 5.My teacher had told me that a 4 was sufficient but I aspired to achieve a 5 because that…

The quality that is most important to me, is one that was defined by the hardest professor that I have had so far. During this past summer, I took Calculus 1 in a summer semester course at my local community college. It was indeed rigorous and really pushed me to my limits, however I held my own and stood strong. While in the class, my peer asked me a question regarding a topic she did not understand, and I responded with a correct explanation regarding the topic. When I responded it was…

The fundamental problem with the greatest happiness for the greatest number, is that it eradicates genuine people and turns them simply into numbers. This is shown explicitly in Bentham’s hedonic calculus, which turns ethics into a calculation. The issue with this is that it can deem blatantly immoral acts as “the right thing to do”. Following this philosophy, we can easily justify, injustices and the violation of rights such as gang rape, murder or the general suffering of others in order to…

The Calculus Controversy is a very famous argument among many mathematicians. This argument consists of one simple question: who invented calculus? Many mathematicians argue Isaac Newton invented calculus; others say it was Gottfried Leibniz. Let’s start with Isaac Newton. Isaac Newton attended the University of Cambridge. In 1666 he was sent home due to a plague, thus resulting in free time on his own. Because of this, he came up with what we know now as calculus. Newton didn’t call it…

When I saw AP Calculus AB on my schedule for 11th grade, I expected to like it as much as any other math class. However, I was wrong. I loved it. I loved learning how concepts I had learned in previous classes were useful. I loved the childlike wonder I would experience whenever a mathematical revelation was made. I loved the thought that I was calculating numbers that gave answers about how the universe operates. Furthermore, I found a subject that helped me to capture my curiosity…

well as what we shall do” in which he wrote in his Principles of Morals and Legislation in 1789. Also associated with Bentham and his ideas was the hedonic calculus. Under this idea, one makes his or her choice based on what one feels as the greatest pleasure for the greatest number and outweighs the pain. Those that follow the hedonistic calculus may also believe in taking risks when one is faced with an unknown happiness result (Tyler, 2005). The risk is due to the fact that one does not know…

Pre-calculus Research Paper Many people believe that winning at casinos is purely luck. But, if based on this logic, how do casinos stay in business? Is it merely luck, or is the gambling industry actually based on mathematics? In order to understand how these methods work, one needs a basic understanding of the difference between combination and permutation. In everyday life, combination is like taking a test. Some people start from the front, the back, or right in the middle, the order the…

I decided to interview my pre-calculus professor Sarah Fritch for this response. Her first year of college was enjoyable, she initially started as a chemistry major, and in her second semester she decided that she didn’t like chemistry. She changed her major to math because liked calculus class. She was also involved with Christian ministry. I expected her to be a major of some sort of math because that’s what she teaches and it fits her personality, and I found it relieving that she changed her…