Terms: 3
Grades: 10, 11, 12, PG
Prerequisite: BC Calculus and Permission of the Department
This course is the continuation of the traditional sequence in the study of Calculus, often labeled “Calculus III” in a university setting. After a thorough treatment of vectors, it extends the tools and techniques of single variable calculus to functions of several variables and applications in three-dimensional space and beyond. Multivariable calculus finds application in economics, engineering, physics, business, and any field of study where problems involve more than one input variable. The syllabus and text used are similar to those of a one-semester university course, but with a focus on mastering core ideas rather than striving to be comprehensive. Note that the course does not typically allow the student to bypass a university requirement; students most often retake Calculus III in college. The absence of a prescribed AP curriculum allows the course to take time out to dig deeper into some topics, follow tangents that touch on important mathematics, and explore a wide range of mathematics outside the narrow Calculus curriculum.