disappointed in AP Calculus AB

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi everyone,

I’m taking AP Calculus AB this year. It’s not usually offered in my school, but when there’s a demand for it they get a part time teacher (we have classes <once a week). It’s mostly self teaching; most of the students in class use Khan Academy and prep books.

Anyway, I’m finding it extremely dull! I was never a math person, but last year I had a great algebra II/ trig teacher that made me more interested in math. That was one of the reasons I wanted to take calculus. I thought it would delve into the “secrets” of math and explain why we’re finding limits, derivatives, and so on. However, it seems as though it’s just a series of finding answers for questions and not knowing the significance of what I’m doing.

So, the questions:
Do you feel the same way as I do about calc?
Do things get explained more later on in the curriculum?

Thanks!

2

Totally depends on the teacher. I’m in AB right now and it is sooo difficult because my teacher stresses understanding way more than formulas and things of that ilk. He prefers to let us create our own formulas, continually tweak them, and eventually revealing to us the actual formula.

I’m sure I’ll appreciate it in the future. Right now, my GPA isn’t particularly fond of it.

3

@mohammadmohd18 That sounds like a really cool class, but I can see how that would be frustrating if it’s lowering your GPA.

4

Sorry, I suppose I didn’t answer your question much. Will things get explained more later on? Maybe. What percentage of people that take AB with your teacher have had 5s on the AP test? Or even a passing grade? If he’s teaching so stiltedly, that may be boring, but at least you’ll methodically and reliably be able to get a 4 or 5 on the test.

5

@mohammadmohd18 No prob, this thread was more about expressing my frustration about how boring it is. You see, I should be doing calc homework now…

I don’t know about the scores of past students. There wasn’t even a class last year. Other years, the kids that took it were extremely smart and math-y types, so I’m sure they had no problem. We don’t really learn in class, we mostly review what we had to prepare.

6

I suppose that’s good. You’re in charge of what you learn. He just intones tired formulas.

I need to do APUSH. Good luck :).

7

Have you gotten to optimization problems yet? Or even just velocity = dx/dt and acceleration = dv/dt?

8

@bodangles not yet; we started pretty recently

9

Maybe keep an open mind about utility until you get to the application problems, then? That’s where calculus really felt useful and relevant for me.

You may also be able to research the whys behind the hows online, after you learn the hows in class.

10

In order to understand science – practically, historically, philosophically – a familiarity with calculus may be essential. Calculus represents the natural language of physics, for example, and may at the same time relate to Zeno’s paradox.