Book: Active Calculus (Boelkins et al.)


Active Calculus is different from most existing calculus texts in at least the following ways: the text is free for download by students and instructors; in the electronic format, graphics are in full color and there are live html links to java applets; the text is open source, and interested instructors can gain access to the original source files upon request; the style of the text requires students to be active learners — there are very few worked examples in the text, with there instead being 3-4 activities per section that engage students in connecting ideas, solving problems, and developing understanding of key calculus concepts; each section begins with motivating questions, a brief introduction, and a preview activity, all of which are designed to be read and completed prior to class; the exercises are few in number and challenging in nature.

Thumbnail: A straight line tangent to a curve. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported; AxelBoldt via Wikicommons)

This page titled Book: Active Calculus (Boelkins et al.) is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Matthew Boelkins, David Austin & Steven Schlicker (ScholarWorks @Grand Valley State University) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.