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Teacher Delivery Guide: Calculus (CA) : Content Learners Should Be Able To Notes Calculus (CA)
Teacher Delivery Guide: Calculus (CA) : Content Learners Should Be Able To Notes Calculus (CA)
CA2 Know that the gradient function gives the gradient of the
curve and measures the rate of change of y with x .
CA3 Know that the gradient of the function is the gradient of the
tangent at that point.
CA4 Find the equation of a tangent and normal at any point on a e.g. Find the equations of normal to the curve
curve. y = x 3 - 2x + 3 at the point (1, 2).
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CA9 Be aware that integration is the reverse of differentiation. e.g. be able to find the equation of a curve,
given its gradient function and one point.
CA10 Know what is meant by an indefinite and a definite integral. Understand the constant of integration.
CA12 Find the area between a curve, two ordinates and the x-axis.
The key starting point of integration is the recognition that integration is the reverse of
differentiation. If the understanding of differentiation is not in place, then this topic is much more
difficult. If it is being taught at a separate time to differentiation then a recap may be useful before
beginning, if it being taught as a direct follow up, or at the same time, this should not be necessary.
That there are two purposes to integration should also be made clear. One being to find the
original function given its gradient is perhaps the most obvious when considering it as the reverse
of integration. However, it is also an infinite summation process and therefore can be used to
calculate the area. This can and should be done visually so that they understand both its nature
and as a consequence that areas below the axis are negative.
Polynomial integration should be relatively straightforward with the exception of the constant c .
Although slope fields are not covered, they are useful for demonstrating the differing values of the
constant c , and technology can be very useful for visualising and experimenting with the family of
curves that are generated by integration.
Students will be familiar with the equations of motion with constant acceleration from mathematics
1
and science. Differentiating s ut at 2 with respect to t makes a good introduction to the
2
application of calculus in kinematics and together with investigating the area under a velocity time
graph make a good concrete use of calculus in a practical situation. The physical world is full of
moving objects, the use of practical demonstrations, experiments and simulations can help
learners make the link between the algebraic formulae and real world experience.
Students often struggle with calculus due to fundamental issues with the rules of arithmetic.
Similar issues with calculus may relate to problems working with indices.
OCR 6 Algebra
Analytical calculus requires confidence with working with algebraic terms, expressions and
dy
equations. The link between the completed square form and the evaluation of 0 can be
dx
made to review GCSE quadratic functions. This section of the GCSE course also includes the use
of constant acceleration kinematic formulae.
It is important to link all work on calculus to the graphs of the functions to reinforce understanding
and help provide a sense check when solving complex problems. The GCSE course includes an
informal appreciation of gradient and areas under graphs, which also links to the numerical
methods section in the FSMQ for estimation and interpreting the results in context.
Misconceptions
Many problems with calculus can be linked to errors in general arithmetic and algebraic
manipulation.
dy
Understanding and d as operators significantly helps future work on parametric and implicit
dx dx
differentiation, particularly the latter. If this is not achieved early on learners tend not to grasp the
dx
strange that appears each time that a function of y is differentiated, nor how x and y as
dy
functions of t can be combined back together.
The constant c is one of the most common misconceptions in integration. Often when
differentiation is taught learners are informed that a constant term “just disappears”. If this is taught
in relation to the transformation of graphs, so that the constant term simply moves the graph up or
down and does not affect the gradient, then adding it back in at the end is less problematic. The
function, as a result of integration is the simplest case and could actually be any of a number of
parallel functions.
Progression
FSMQ
This section links closely with the numerical methods section. Teachers may wish to start with the
numerical methods as a natural progression from the informal estimation within GCSE before
introducing the analytical calculus of this section. Alternatively, the section on numerical methods
could follow this section to cover those situations where students do not yet have the techniques
for analytical results.
This section introduces the concept of calculus that is developed in the AS/A Level courses.
Thinking Contextually
The extensive use of graphs throughout this topic is vital to gaining an understanding of what is
going on. However, there are other ways to set this process into context.
The work on rates of change should all be set into practical contexts so that this too becomes a
practical based topic rather than purely symbolic manipulation. However, it is often here that
students can find a difficulty because each type of question is slightly different and there is no
“magic formula” to solve them. A carefully built understanding of the format of this section should
help to overcome this.
constant acceleration and Geogebra Simulation of car and scooter from traffic lights where the car accelerates CA15
average speed from u=0 and the scooter has constant u=8m/s
Traffic Geogebra Set of twenty simulations of road situations and the associated kinematic CA15
graphs.