Syllabus/Homework

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The Secant Line Approaching The Tangent Line

Here is a Geometer's Sketchpad video with audio (Larger Version) of me describing approximating the slope of a tangent line with a secant line.

Here is a Winplot demonstration of a secant line that can be used to approach a tangent line.  You may need to download the file to your desktop and then use the freeware Winplot to open the file (by opening Winplot, clicking on Window, clicking on 2-dim, clicking on File, clicking on Open, and then opening SecantSlope from your desktop.  You can use the sliders to vary the values of A and H.  The A-value gives you the x-value at a point on the graph of the function you are looking at.  The H-value gives you the x-value of another point on the graph of the function you are looking at in terms of A + H (so H is your delta x).  The secant line through the points on the graph of the given function with x-values of A and A + H is graphed and its slope displayed at the top of the graph.  The default function is f(x) = 3sin(x), a function from trigonometry.  This function is named FN and you can edit the definition of FN by clicking on Equa, choosing User functions ... , highlighting the function and editing its definition.  Changing the definition to x^2 for example will produce a different graph.

Intro and Section 1.1

Sections 1.2, 1.3

Sections 1.4, 1.5

Sections 1.4, 1.5

Review for Exam I

Exam I

Sections 2.1, 2.2

Sections 2.3, 2.4

Section 2.5

Section 2.6

February 18

Review for Exam II

Exam II

February 25

Sections 3.1, 3.2

Sections 3.3-3.5

Sections 3.6, 3.7

Sections 3.7, 3.8

Sections 3.8, 3.9

Review for Exam III

Exam III

Sections 4.1, 4.5

Sections 4.2-4.3

Sections 4.4, 4.5

Sections 4.4, 4.6

Sections 4.6, 5.1-5.2

Review for Exam IV

Exam IV

 Sections 5.3-5.5

Sections 6.1-6.3

Review for Exam V

Exam V

Re-take Exams