Class XI Math Course Descriptions

PRECALCULUS AND AN INTRODUCTION TO DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS: extended study of functions and trigonometry begun in Class X. Additional topics may include vectors, conic sections, parametric equations, polar coordinates, probability and statistics, and sequences and series. Calculus topics include limits and derivatives. This course prepares students for the study of AB calculus.

PRECALCULUS EXTENDED AND DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS: extended study of functions and trigonometry begun in Class X, as well as vectors, conic sections, parametric equations, polar coordinates and graphs, probability and statistics, and sequences and series. Calculus topics include limits, derivatives and applications of derivatives. This course prepares students for the study of BC calculus.

CALCULUS B: differential and integral calculus of functions of one variable with applications; power series. Students wishing to take the College Board AP BC calculus exam will find this course provides suitable preparation. After the AP exam students study Combinatorics and Probability.

STATISTICS AND STATISTICAL MODELING: introduction to the practice of statistics. Topics include organization of data, probability and random variables, and drawing inferences from data. Computers and calculators are used extensively.

CHAOS THEORY AND FRACTALS: chaos theory, a cutting-edge field of math that took off with the advent of modern computing, has applications in everything from meteorology to the stock market and beyond. This course studies fundamental ideas in chaos theory and the mathematical discipline of dynamical systems, an area of math focused on systems that change over time. Starting with the idea of iteration, students will explore how small changes in initial conditions can produce big differences in outcomes and come to understand a hallmark of chaos theory and dynamics: Even the most simple and deterministic systems can produce unpredictable behavior and even the most complex systems can reveal some kind of order. Finally, students will see how these ideas apply to the beautiful world of fractals, including the Julia sets and the Mandelbrot set. This course is offered through the Interschool consortium. (half credit; throughout the year)

COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING: collaborative exploration of problem-solving skills and strategies including topics from combinatorics, number theory, advanced algebra, geometry, probability and graph theory. Problems studied include examples from past AIME and U.S. Math Olympiad competitions. This course is offered through the Interschool consortium. (half credit; throughout the year)