Sample Calculus Lecture & Class Notes

Want to know what a class lecture at Tech is really like? This video of a sample calculus lecture, presented by Instructor Rena Brakebill, will give you a good idea of how lectures are structured and the level of depth into the subject matter that you should expect. The instructor in the video also gives some great tips on how to take notes effectively and key information you should have in your notes at the end of the lecture.

Instructor's Notes

One of the topics covered in Calculus II, MATH 1502, is improper integrals. We assume that students are familiar with various integration methods and applications of integrals from Calculus I or AP Calculus.

In this example, we need to find an area of a region, a volume generated by rotating this region, and the surface area generated by a curve, which is an upper bound of the region. When working with this type of problem, you must start by sketching the region or the curve involved. (We expect you to know how to graph basic curves without a calculator.) The region in this example has an infinitely long base. When we set up the integrals representing the area and the volume, we get improper integrals because the intervals of integration are infinitely long.

Be sure to convert each improper integral to a limit as N approaches infinity of a definite integral.

When you review the lecture notes, fill in intermediate steps that are left out and summarize what you have learned. Work similar problems to familiarize yourself with the concept.