Calculus 12  is designed for students planning to take calculus at the post- secondary level. The topics covered are Functions, Limits, Continuity, Derivative Rules, Curve Sketching, Related-Rate Problems, Max/Min Problems, Basic Integration and Area under the Curve problems. Students are encouraged to write the Challenge Exam offered by BC universities. The results from the exam may be used for credit toward first year math courses offered at our provincial universities.

Topics Include:

• Functions
• Limits
• Continuity
• Derivative Rules
• Curve Sketching
• Related-Rate Problems
• Max/Min Problems
• Basic Integration and Area under the curve problems

Why Take Calculus in High School?

• Estimates for the failure / drop-out rate for first year calculus at university are historically between 35-50%. (According to one student, it was 75% for SFU in a recent year.)
• “Students with a high school calculus course continue to do much better than students who had not taken a high school calculus course. In fact, the gap between these groups of students has widened significantly.” – Quote from UBC.
• Students who take calculus in high school end up GREATLY boosting their GPA at university by taking calculus there again. And these days, anything that boosts your overall university GPA is so important because of the fierce competition.
• Possible reasons for the much higher marks / passing rate:
  • The teacher support is way higher. At many universities, you may not even get time with your actual professor, and you are often simply a number.
  • The pace at high school is much more manageable… and an online format is often even more flexible there.
  • At university, it’s often just 1 or 2 midterms and a final exam that make up your whole mark. So if you have a bad day, too bad for you! But at high school, there are many more opportunities to get higher marks (numerous assignments, simple quizzes, chapter tests, etc).
  • Universities are often trying to weed out poorer students and make it very difficult to get 100%, so their tests can be tricky and not reflective of the assignments or even notes they gave in class. But in high school, the notes, assignments, quizzes and tests are all designed to be quite consistent and fair.
  • And finally, we have to keep in mind that you’re essentially redoing the same course!! So it’s very normal to expect to better the second time around… much better, in fact.
• Past students: Students who take calculus at high school so often come back and tell us how well they did at university and how glad they were that they took it in high school first.
• Poor math students: If you’re not great at math, all the more reason to take the course in high school, to give yourself that much of a better chance in university.

For a complete description of the Calculus 12 curriculum, see the Ministry document at: 

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/mathematics/12/calculus