As we embark on the second year of the AP Precalculus course, every student must have a graphing calculator for selected multiple-choice and free response questions on the AP Exam that is taken in May. Not all students have the funds to purchase these calculators. I would love the opportunity to provide those students with a calculator to use for the school year. It is imperative that students have the opportunity to practice with and learn how to use the graphing calculators from the very beginning of the course to ensure their success.
Technology should be used throughout the course as a tool to explore concepts.
In AP Precalculus, students should specifically practice using technology to do the following: Perform calculations (e.g., exponents, roots, trigonometric values, logarithms). graph functions and analyze graphs, generate a table of values for a function, find real zeros of functions, find points of intersection of graphs of functions, find minima/maxima of functions, find numerical solutions to equations in one variable, find regression equations to model data (linear, quadratic, cubic, quartic, exponential, logarithmic, and sinusoidal) and plot the corresponding residuals, perform matrix operations (e.g., multiplication, finding inverses).
With your help, we can give students the super power of graphing calculators and the confidence they need to be most successful on their AP Exam!
Nearly all students from low‑income households
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