Calculus Surprise!

1. Calculus exam coming up on Monday. Covers interpretations of definite integrals, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, integration by substitution, and integration by parts. Today a student asked me about the integration questions: was I going to tell them which method to use to evaluate the integral or were they going to have to figure out which method to use. Student was NOT HAPPY with the answer.


2. One of my calculus students has a health condition (median age of survival with this condition is in the 30s) and has not been to class all week. I emailed the student to see if the health condition was to blame. No, just garden-variety not coming to class. Student was shocked that I noticed the absenses and proactively asked.


3. Today I taught trig subs. The students acted as if it made sense. Even the part at the end with the triangle and substituting back for x. My turn to be surprised!