Larson Calculus ?

[Martha in GA]

I think I read on this board that he first 5 chapters of Larson's calculus book constitutes Calculus I? My calculations show that to be more than 3 days per section. My ds would love it if I gave him that much time per section -- so, is it really true that 5 chapters is Calculus I? Or do most people move on to Calculus II? My ds will be a senior, if that matters.

 

Martha

[MomsintheGarden]

Yes, that's correct, chapters 1-5 of the Larson Calculus book (the one used by Chalkdust) constitute Calculus I. If your student successfully studies them, you can give them a full credit of high school Calculus. Your student would then be ready (with some test prep) for the Calculus AB AP exam.

 

If your ds gets through the whole book, he will have enough math for both Calc I & II, and be able to take the Calculus BC AP exam.

 

Please note that the DVDs sold by Chalkdust only cover chapters 1-5 of the book. DVDs for the rest of the book (+ Calc III - Multivariable Calculus) ARE available. Let me know if you need the ISBNs.

 

Blessings,

GardenMom

[Martha in GA]

I think I usually push my son too hard, so it is kind of freeing to know I only have to get through 5 chapters. Have any of your children taken the AP Calculus test? I hadn't really considered having my son take the AP test, but maybe I should...

 

Martha

[Susie-Knits]

I would like to add that my son did the Chalkdust Calc this past year. It initially was my plan to just do Calc 1 but he was making such strides that we went into Calc 2. MomsintheGarden gave me the isbn # for the new publishers dvds which we used. He was able to get well into Calc 2 during the senior year chaos.

 

He will be starting in Calc 2 in the fall at college - tested well at orientation and is getting credit for Calc 1 (no AP).

Edited June 30, 2010 by Susie-Knits
typo

[1bassoon]

And fwiw - I've got a copy of the CD Calculus for sale at a STEAL :) It's on the For Sale boards if you search for it.

 

(Sorry - commercial over now)

[MomsintheGarden]

I would like to add that my son did the Chalkdust Calc this past year. It initially was my plan to just do Calc 1 but he was making such strides that we went into Calc 2.

 

He will be starting in Calc 2 in the fall at college - tested well at orientation and is getting credit for Calc 1 (no AP).

 

Great! I'm so glad to hear that he is doing so well!

 

GardenMom

[MomsintheGarden]

Here are the DVD ISBNs, just in case anyone is looking for them.

 

ISBN-13: 978-547-21304-0

ISBN-10: 0-547-21304-2

Copyright 2010 by Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning

 

This is a 12-disc set contained in 2 parts. Captions for the hearing impaired are included (unlike the original Calc DVDs we bought from Chalk Dust). About half of the lectures are by the familiar Dana Mosely, and the other half are some other guy. It's in two cardboard cases, and is made to be used with the following books, all 9th editions by Larson & Edwards:

Calculus

Calculus of a Single Variable

Multivariable Calculus

 

If you have an older Larson text (ours is the 7th edition of Calculus of a Single Variable by Larson, et al), do not worry - the lessons work well with a little tweaking. The handy booklet included gives a DVD-to-text section correspondence for the three texts covered.

 

Disc 1 through the first 2/3 of disc 6 cover Calc I (first half of either Calculus or SV Calc texts). The last 1/3 of disc 6 through the first 1/3 of disc 9 cover Calc II (second half of either Calculus or SV Calc texts). MV Calc (+ Vector Geometry) is covered on the rest of disc 9 through disc 12, but you will need the MV Calc book (& SM) for it. Most high school students do not get through MV.

 

We heard that lectures were available from someone here in the WTM board. This set is difficult to find and will take some patience to locate. Try textbook distributors as well as dealoz.com. I'd recommend only buying a new copy, because that way there might be fewer problems. We have found and bought this set for a very reasonable price.

 

I hope you can find these if they are what you need!

 

Blessings,

GardenMom

[MomsintheGarden]

I think I usually push my son too hard, so it is kind of freeing to know I only have to get through 5 chapters. Have any of your children taken the AP Calculus test? I hadn't really considered having my son take the AP test, but maybe I should...

 

Martha

 

My oldest finished precalc in January of his senior year, and was able to study chapters 1-5 of the Calc text (+ test prep) before AP season in May. He took the AB Calculus exam, and got out of Calc I for college.

 

My second oldest was able to finish the entire Calc text (+ test prep) and just took the BC Calculus exam this year. We're waiting for her test scores :toetap05:.

 

My two used the 2008 Princeton Review book (any one will do) to get ready for the exam, but the real star in their learning was the Chalk Dust course. Both felt very well prepared.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[Joan in GE]

My oldest finished precalc in January of his senior year, and was able to study chapters 1-5 of the Calc text (+ test prep) before AP season in May. He took the AB Calculus exam, and got out of Calc I for college.

 

 

Garden Mom...Had your oldest started Precalc in September or before? (or after)?

 

Thanks for the info about how he was able to do all that between January and May...could I ask how many hours a day he spent? also how many hours on Precalc? (I'm trying to figure out for my son now...)

 

Thanks,

Joan

[Caroline]

Just out of curiousity, do the DVDs go with the early transcendentals book, or the book without the early trancendentals?

 

Here are the DVD ISBNs, just in case anyone is looking for them.

 

ISBN-13: 978-547-21304-0

ISBN-10: 0-547-21304-2

Copyright 2010 by Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning

 

This is a 12-disc set contained in 2 parts. Captions for the hearing impaired are included (unlike the original Calc DVDs we bought from Chalk Dust). About half of the lectures are by the familiar Dana Mosely, and the other half are some other guy. It's in two cardboard cases, and is made to be used with the following books, all 9th editions by Larson & Edwards:

Calculus

Calculus of a Single Variable

Multivariable Calculus

 

If you have an older Larson text (ours is the 7th edition of Calculus of a Single Variable by Larson, et al), do not worry - the lessons work well with a little tweaking. The handy booklet included gives a DVD-to-text section correspondence for the three texts covered.

 

Disc 1 through the first 2/3 of disc 6 cover Calc I (first half of either Calculus or SV Calc texts). The last 1/3 of disc 6 through the first 1/3 of disc 9 cover Calc II (second half of either Calculus or SV Calc texts). MV Calc (+ Vector Geometry) is covered on the rest of disc 9 through disc 12, but you will need the MV Calc book (& SM) for it. Most high school students do not get through MV.

 

We heard that lectures were available from someone here in the WTM board. This set is difficult to find and will take some patience to locate. Try textbook distributors as well as dealoz.com. I'd recommend only buying a new copy, because that way there might be fewer problems. We have found and bought this set for a very reasonable price.

 

I hope you can find these if they are what you need!

 

Blessings,

GardenMom

[MomsintheGarden]

Garden Mom...Had your oldest started Precalc in September or before? (or after)?

 

Thanks for the info about how he was able to do all that between January and May...could I ask how many hours a day he spent? also how many hours on Precalc? (I'm trying to figure out for my son now...)

 

Thanks,

Joan

 

My oldest started CD Precalc in August before his JUNIOR year. He worked straight through his Jr. year, the summer between Jr. and Sr. (just a bit), and the first half of his Sr. year. :)

 

Needless to say, we were both very glad he finished! He thought calc was easier than precalc. Please tell your dc that! I told my two oldest that calc was easier (if you have your trig functions memorized) and they thought I was crazy! Then they actually did calc, and thought it was fun!

 

GardenMom

[MomsintheGarden]

Just out of curiousity, do the DVDs go with the early transcendentals book, or the book without the early trancendentals?

 

The DVDs are organized to go with the books listed in the earlier post. I understand that Larson has a book called Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions, but I have not compared the content of that book with the Calculus of a Single Variable book that I own. CETF is written for a 3-semester engineering calculus sequence, so my guess is that most topics would be the same. Beginning calculus has to cover certain things, whether for engineering or general math students.

 

Sorry I can't help more. Maybe you could call Dana Mosely at CD and ask him - he might know the difference between the texts.

 

GardenMom

[Caroline]

The DVDs are organized to go with the books listed in the earlier post. I understand that Larson has a book called Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions, but I have not compared the content of that book with the Calculus of a Single Variable book that I own. CETF is written for a 3-semester engineering calculus sequence, so my guess is that most topics would be the same. Beginning calculus has to cover certain things, whether for engineering or general math students.

 

Sorry I can't help more. Maybe you could call Dana Mosely at CD and ask him - he might know the difference between the texts.

 

GardenMom

 

Thanks. That is what I wanted to know.

[Martha in GA]

I have the 8th edition of both the Calculus book and the DVDs. I'm sure the DVDs don't change much between editions, so if anyone needs the ISBNs for the 8th edition, copyright 2006 by Houghton Mifflin, it's

0-618-52804-0. (Textbook ISBN: 0-618-50303-X)

 

Martha

[Tardis Girl]

Hey, I am looking for find CD pre-calc used if any of you are done with yours. :D I posted on the WTB board a few days ago, but please feel free to email me if you are ready to part with your Chalkdust!!

 

In the meantime, I'm following this thread with great interest, as I think my dd wants to go this route. It's encouraging to hear about your kids taking the AP or testing out of calc. Thanks for sharing!

[MomsintheGarden]

could I ask how many hours a day he spent? also how many hours on Precalc? (I'm trying to figure out for my son now...)

 

I'm sorry I forgot to answer that part of your question. It's been a while (he's a 2008 grad), but I would say probably 2 hours a day. He's a pretty fast worker. Princeton Review sections were done immediately after he covered the corresponding material in Larson. The last two weeks before the AP were reserved for practice tests.

 

For precalc, I'd say 1-2 hours a day, unless I had time to work with him on his assignments. One of the limiting factors was me because I do all of the math checking, K-Calculus. That takes me a while, especially to go over the problems he missed. While he reworked them, I sat with him and gave appropriate hints, while checking other children's work. Sometimes I put off the checking/tutoring for longer than I should. That kept my ds from moving forward a few times.

 

His sister finished Precalc at the end of September of her senior year. She chose to finish the Larson text at the beginning of March and work through the entire PR book during March and April. Her self-made schedule had her double-timing it through Larson, spending 2-4 hours a day on Calc, especially for Oct. - Jan. Part of her motivation was because she really wanted to take the BC exam and get out of Calc entirely for college (future biochem major). She was also inspired to prove to me that she made a good choice to take a break from math the summer before. She had been behind in math from 5th grade on, and had had to work on it during the summers to catch up.

 

I believe ds could have gotten done with Precalc faster if I'd been more savvy about my goals for him and kept on top of his work. He is definitely not the lazy type, but would just skip problems that looked too hard (c'mon, just at least write the givens!) and not complain if I couldn't get to tutoring him for several days. He's learned to be more proactive in college, though :).

 

When planning for Calculus, remember that you can skip Calc Chapter P if your student has done Larson's precalc or another strong precalc book. We didn't do chapter tests because none are provided, and my dc were going to be tested at the end anyway. My ds did some of the P.S. Problem Solving problems (very interesting if you have time), but my daughter did none of them. Dd also did Appendix A, Additional Topics in Differential Equations (7th ed. text), because that material is required for the BC exam. The Appendix A material is now in Chapter 6 of the 9th edition (don't know about 8th ed.). We skipped the Section Projects. We also skipped the last chapter of Precalc on Limits (our is Ch. 12, 3rd ed.), because that material is covered in Calculus Chapter 1. Even with all of those omissions, there is still plenty of learning to do!

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[Joan in GE]

Thanks Garden Mom!

 

No worries about me was not thinking there is not plenty of learning to do even without all those things you took out (it did not make the mountain look that much smaller :001_smile:)- I am just impressed about how you keep track of it all!

 

Joan

[Tardis Girl]

I love this board!! What great details, MomsintheGarden, thank you so much for sharing. So I assume your kids did pretty well on their respective Calc AP tests? (Anyone feel free to comment if your kids actually took the tests.)