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Must be doing something right?

Highlight of the Day:

Context: AP Calc class, talking through some multiple choice (no calculator) problems from a practice test.


Problem:
what is  ;

Me (typical first question): So....what should we do?
Student: Substitute the 2 in for t to find the answer
Me: Why would we want to do that?
Student: Well, f(x) is the integral there, which means it's really the anti-derivative of the function. We want the derivative of that anti-derivative, which basically means we want the stuff inside the integral. So if you just substitute 2 in, you'll get the answer.
Me: You basically just explained the first part of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus that you struggled with when we first talked about it. Woohoo!

Granted, I know his explanation skips the step where t in the integrand becomes x after you take the derivative, but the conceptual understanding of the relationship between derivatives and integrals is there. Made my day.
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Comments

  1. Shireen DadmehrApril 1, 2010 at 9:29 PM

    Super Cool. They GET it! Nice way to ease into the weekend.

    Ms. Cookie

    ReplyDelete

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