This course is designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Examination in Calculus AB and covers the curriculum typical of the first semester of a college level Calculus course.  Students who are enrolled in AP Calculus AB are expected to work with functions represented in multiple ways: graphical, numerical, analytical, or verbal, and understand the connections among these representations.  They will examine the meaning of the derivative in terms of a rate of change and local linear approximation and use derivatives to solve problems, as well as the meaning of the definite integral as a limit of Riemann sums and as the net accumulation of change and use integrals to solve problems.  They will develop an understanding of the relationship between the derivative and the definite integral as expressed in both parts of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.

Students will develop a strong grasp of the Mathematical Practices:
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
7. Look for and make use of structure.
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The Standards for Mathematical Practice complement the content standards so that students increasingly engage with the subject matter as they grow in mathematical maturity and expertise throughout the high school years.

Units of Study

Semester 1:

Unit #1 = Limits
Unit #2 = Derivatives and Rules
Unit #3 = Applications of Derivatives

Semester 2:

Unit #4 = Integrals
Unit #5 = Applications of Integrals
Unit #6 = AP Test Review/Practice