Mrs. Susan Ydstie
Room 206
sydstie@isd500.k12.mn.us
AP Calculus Syllabus
WHAT DOES “AP” MEAN?
AP or “ADVANCED PLACEMENT” enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school.
Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought out the most
rigorous course work available to them. Each AP course concludes with a college-level assessment.
The AP Calculus exam is scheduled for Thursday, May 7th at 8 am. It consists of multiple choice and short
answer questions and about half of the test must be done without a calculator. The exam is scored on a scale of
1-5. A score of a 3 or above is awarded college credit at most colleges and universities, saving you time and
money! While about half of my students the past two years have achieved a 3 or higher, ALL of my students
have left high school with a good foundation in calculus and other higher-level mathematics concepts, making
future college math classes easier.
WHAT TO EXPECT
 Bring your textbook (with a paper book cover), a notebook, a pencil and graphing calculator (I
recommend TI-83 or 84) with you to class every day. I will teach you some ways to use your calculator
to solve complicated problems, to check your answers found analytically, or to assist in the exploration
process. However, you will be expected to also be able to solve some problems without a calculator!

We will be using the Rule of 4 to guide our approach to learning and understanding each concept, which
means we will look at a concept from a graphical, numerical (table), analytical (equations and algebra)
and verbal representation.

Calculus is your doorway into more advanced mathematics as well as an opportunity to understand
concepts from physics, biology, economics and so much more. As such, we will try to look at these
applications as much as possible. Some of these applications will be assigned in homework problems,
whereas others will be more extensive projects in which you will be asked to explain your work verbally
or in a written format.

“This is hard!” Yes, some of the problems will require creativity, critical thinking, and other people to
solve. You may not see the solution right away, but don’t be discouraged. Being able to learn from
example problems, communicate your ideas and work together are important skills for your success in
the class. Come prepared on work days with questions and as much as you can do on your own.

The harder you work, the more prepared you will be for taking the AP test, which means saving you
time and money in college!!!
Mrs. Susan Ydstie
Room 206
sydstie@isd500.k12.mn.us
HOMEWORK
There will be homework for each section. Some sections may take more than one class period to finish, and
sometimes I will schedule in a work day where you have the opportunity to work on the homework with fellow
classmates. Allow yourself plenty of time to work with the concepts from each section (I suggest working on a
little of the homework each day) because some of the assignments may be time-consuming.
Your homework grade will consist of two parts. (1) Before we start a new section, I will ask to see that you
attempted every problem and showed your work. This will be worth about 6 points per assignment.
(2) On the day of the test, I will collect your notebooks and randomly select about 8-12 problems to grade on
correctness. Note: the entire solution will be taken into consideration and a mathematically incorrect solution
with a correct answer will not earn you full points.
Make sure to write legibly and organize your homework so that I can easily find the problems I am looking for.
TESTS
There will be tests about once or twice a unit, including a final at the end of each semester. Just like on the AP
test, there will be a calculator and non-calculator portion to all of your tests. You will have the option to do test
corrections in order to make up ¼ of the missed points. Test corrections must be done on a separate sheet of
paper, rewrite the complete correct solution and turn it in on or before the day of the next test.
GRADING
Your grade will be calculated based on a total points model
Tests
Homework correctness
Homework completeness
Projects
Participation
100 points each
50 points per chapter
6 points per homework assignment
60 points each
1 participation point per day
I follow the grading scheme of the Southland public schools:
Percent
100-99
98-94
93-92
91-90
89-85
84-83
82-81
80-76
75-74
73-72
71-67
66-65
below 65
Grade
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F
SCHOOLOGY
I have set up a Schoology page for this class where I will post important information and helpful websites
(access code: 9NV52-738GP). You will also be able to post questions to your classmates or write me a message.