LOF Calculus -- Is it enough?

[mumto2]

My dd has just started this course. She loves math and plans to pursue it as a career in some form. She wants to finish this and move on to the lof statistics book. Will she know everything she needs to for AP Calculus exam or should she do a conventional course like Saxon too? Thanks for any ideas and imput. I don't want her to miss something vital.

[Barbara H]

I really don't think there is enough substance in LOF to prepare for an AP calculus exam - AB or BC. I would suggest supplementing with a more traditional curriculum. We really liked Thinkwell for calculus and that might be worth a look. You can get more specifics about the AP exam on the College Board site. Students definitely need practice writing out problems in order to do well on the exam.

[creekland]

The one student I know of who used LoF for statistics then took the AP test did horribly on it even though he get several 5s on other AP tests. He felt he knew statistics, but nonetheless, he couldn't prove it by the AP test.

 

It may not be much data and says absolutely nothing about Calc, but we've opted to steer clear and use more traditional texts (and my guy got a 5 on AP Stats). We're using Thinkwell for Calc and he's doing well. He won't take the AP though. He's going pre-med and we want the course at a 4 year U instead.

[HodgesSchool]

we've opted to steer clear and use more traditional texts (and my guy got a 5 on AP Stats).

 

Do you have a statistics text to recommend?

[creekland]

Do you have a statistics text to recommend?

 

I looked up the specific info I posted right after he got his score back. Here it it:

 

The Practice of Statistics (Third Edition) by Daniel Yates, David Moore, & Daren Starnes.

 

Since my guy was self-studying, I bought him the Teacher's Edition (used). I needed him to have the answers to the problems. The ISBN to find it is:

 

978-0-7167-7703-8

 

I also bought the companion CD software which he used some. Here's the ISBN for that:

 

0-7167-7712-6

 

The REA Guide (4th Edition) is:

 

978-0-7386-0790-0

 

All of the recommendations were from here and I fully appreciate them! They worked for my guy. If you go to Dealoz you can plug in the ISBN #s and see who's selling and for what price.

[mumto2]

My dd and I have looked everything over and we really appriciate your advice. She wasn't planning on the AP before spring 2013 so she will have plenty of time to do some extra work. The online videos look great-- we also found some at NROC.

 

Thanks for the statistics info too. She already has LOF but will probably do that course too.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Here are some links from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

 

 

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?source=tr&resourceId=10530

 

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/clep/calculus_fact_sheet.pdf

 

http://clep.collegeboard.org/exam/calculus/resources

 

 

Looks like it might be CLEP prep but not AP prep.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Excelsior! Academy

[CaffeineDiary]

I looked at a sample of the Life of Fred calculus book and it was, frankly, appalling. It is utterly inadequate even as an introduction to the topic, and certainly isn't appropriate study material for the AP exam.

 

I'd suggest starting here: http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/courses/highlights-of-calculus/. The textbook associated with this class can be found here: http://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-18-001-calculus-online-textbook-spring-2005/textbook/

 

This presumes your kid has a solid grounding in algebra, which is necessary to grasp the subtleties of calculus.