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Larry Peterson earned his B.S. in Mathematics Education from Utah State University and his M. Ed. from Weber State University. He has taught AP Calculus since 1976. Larry’s experience with Advanced Placement ranges from Calculus to Computer Science to Statistics and now to AP Precalculus. He has been a reader for the AP Calculus exam since 1993, serving as a Table Leader for six years. In 2003 and 2004 Larry was also a Question Leader. He is also a regular presenter at state, regional, national, and international conventions in mathematics and technology and has published materials for both AP Calculus, AP Statistics, and AP Precalculus.
Larry served on the Instructional Design Team for the College Board for AP Calculus. In addition to his work as a consultant for The College Board and The National Math and Science Initiative, Larry served a six-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. His awards include Milken Educator, Tandy Scholar, Disney American Teacher Award winner, and Utah Teacher of the Year. |
contact Larry at: [email protected] |
Class Prep: We will be using the TI-83/84 graphing calculator.
University Credit: List ways you will use the information given in class in your own classroom.
WHY this NEW AP PRECALCULUS course?
The ProblemEvery year, tens of thousands of American students are derailed by a common obstacle: inadequate preparation for higher-level math. A third of college students spend time and money on remedial math courses that don’t count toward their degrees because they lack sufficient math skills.
About the CourseIn AP Precalculus, students explore everyday situations using mathematical tools and lenses. Through regular practice, students build deep mastery of modeling and functions, and they examine scenarios through multiple representations. They will learn how to observe, explore, and build mathematical meaning from dynamic systems, an important practice for thriving in an ever-changing world.
AP Precalculus prepares students for other higher-level mathematics and science courses. The framework delineates content and skills common to college precalculus courses that are foundational for careers in mathematics, physics, biology, health science, social science, and data science.
What Will Students Experience in AP Precalculus?
Modeling Real-World Data: Students will apply the mathematical tools they acquire in real-world modeling situations. By examining scenarios, conditions, and data sets and determining and validating an appropriate function model, students gain a deeper understanding of the nature and behavior of each function type.
Exploring Multiple Representations: Students will examine functions through multiple representations. Students will gain a deeper understanding of functions by examining them graphically, numerically, verbally, and analytically.
Mastering Symbolic Manipulation: Students will develop rigorous symbolic manipulation skills needed for future mathematics courses. Students learn that a single mathematical object can have different analytical representations depending on the function type or coordinate system, and that the different analytical representations reveal different attributes of the mathematical object.
Harnessing a Dynamic World: Students will engage in function building that does not reflect a static view of things but embodies how things change. Every function representation characterizes the way in which values of one variable simultaneously change as the values in another variable change. This study of functions and their graphs as embodying dynamic covariation of quantities prepares students to understand an ever-changing world.
AGENDA
Day 1 – Course overview; Polynomials and Rational Functions
Welcome to AP Precalculus
Graph Match Activity
The Course and Exam Description
Treasure Map Activity
Rate of Change
Odd and Even Functions – Graphical Exploration
What’s in the Box?
Maximum Income – Quadratic Modeling
What Kind of Data is in the Table?
Day 2 – More Polynomials and Rational Functions
Temperature Modeling Activity
Always – Sometimes – Never
Mathematical Practices
Olympic Swim Times
Polynomial Investigation Activity
The Big 10
Polynomial and Rational Inequalities
Polynomial Card Sort Activity
How Much is that Truck Worth?
Day 3 – Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Clinton, Utah Population Modeling
US Population Modeling
Olympic Swim Times – Revisited
Newton’s Law of Cooling
Epidemic – Activity
Exponential and Logarithmic Practice
Semi-log plots
Planetary Power Models
Day 4 – Trigonometric and Polar Functions
Aunt Vi and Her Pedometer Activity
The Unit Circle
Graphing Sinusoidal Functions
Trig Practice
Sinusoidal Modeling
Polar Coordinates
Graphing Polar Functions
Connecting Rectangular and Polar Graphs
AP Classroom
Day 5 – Helping Our Students Learn
Equity and Access
The Exam
Prepping for the Exam
Grading Standards – 2024 Exam
Planning a Lesson
University Credit: List ways you will use the information given in class in your own classroom.
WHY this NEW AP PRECALCULUS course?
The ProblemEvery year, tens of thousands of American students are derailed by a common obstacle: inadequate preparation for higher-level math. A third of college students spend time and money on remedial math courses that don’t count toward their degrees because they lack sufficient math skills.
About the CourseIn AP Precalculus, students explore everyday situations using mathematical tools and lenses. Through regular practice, students build deep mastery of modeling and functions, and they examine scenarios through multiple representations. They will learn how to observe, explore, and build mathematical meaning from dynamic systems, an important practice for thriving in an ever-changing world.
AP Precalculus prepares students for other higher-level mathematics and science courses. The framework delineates content and skills common to college precalculus courses that are foundational for careers in mathematics, physics, biology, health science, social science, and data science.
What Will Students Experience in AP Precalculus?
Modeling Real-World Data: Students will apply the mathematical tools they acquire in real-world modeling situations. By examining scenarios, conditions, and data sets and determining and validating an appropriate function model, students gain a deeper understanding of the nature and behavior of each function type.
Exploring Multiple Representations: Students will examine functions through multiple representations. Students will gain a deeper understanding of functions by examining them graphically, numerically, verbally, and analytically.
Mastering Symbolic Manipulation: Students will develop rigorous symbolic manipulation skills needed for future mathematics courses. Students learn that a single mathematical object can have different analytical representations depending on the function type or coordinate system, and that the different analytical representations reveal different attributes of the mathematical object.
Harnessing a Dynamic World: Students will engage in function building that does not reflect a static view of things but embodies how things change. Every function representation characterizes the way in which values of one variable simultaneously change as the values in another variable change. This study of functions and their graphs as embodying dynamic covariation of quantities prepares students to understand an ever-changing world.
AGENDA
Day 1 – Course overview; Polynomials and Rational Functions
Welcome to AP Precalculus
Graph Match Activity
The Course and Exam Description
Treasure Map Activity
Rate of Change
Odd and Even Functions – Graphical Exploration
What’s in the Box?
Maximum Income – Quadratic Modeling
What Kind of Data is in the Table?
Day 2 – More Polynomials and Rational Functions
Temperature Modeling Activity
Always – Sometimes – Never
Mathematical Practices
Olympic Swim Times
Polynomial Investigation Activity
The Big 10
Polynomial and Rational Inequalities
Polynomial Card Sort Activity
How Much is that Truck Worth?
Day 3 – Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
Clinton, Utah Population Modeling
US Population Modeling
Olympic Swim Times – Revisited
Newton’s Law of Cooling
Epidemic – Activity
Exponential and Logarithmic Practice
Semi-log plots
Planetary Power Models
Day 4 – Trigonometric and Polar Functions
Aunt Vi and Her Pedometer Activity
The Unit Circle
Graphing Sinusoidal Functions
Trig Practice
Sinusoidal Modeling
Polar Coordinates
Graphing Polar Functions
Connecting Rectangular and Polar Graphs
AP Classroom
Day 5 – Helping Our Students Learn
Equity and Access
The Exam
Prepping for the Exam
Grading Standards – 2024 Exam
Planning a Lesson