The ability to distinguish between exact and inexact differentials is an important part of solving first-order differential equations of the form Adx + Bdy = 0, where A(x,y) [not equal to] 0 and B(x,y) [not equal to] 0 are functions of x and y However, although most undergraduate textbooks motivate the necessary condition for exactness, i.e. the…

The current study aims to explore the impact of the two-column format in writing simple mathematical arguments. That is to say, a structured method of presenting a mathematical proof or argument by using a tabular layout with two columns. The underlying goal of the research reported in this paper is to inform understanding of how to effectively…

This quantitative correlational study examines school-level longitudinal outcomes of eighth-grade algebra universal acceleration in 15 U.S. school districts when compared with selective acceleration in 289 school districts. Universally accelerated school districts had higher enrollments, with large effect sizes, in geometry, algebra 2, and…

A simple in-class demonstration of integral Calculus for first-time students is described for straightforward whole number area magnitudes, for ease of understanding. Following the Second Fundamental Theorem of the Calculus, macroscopic differences in ordinal values of several integrals, [delta]"F"(x), are compared to the regions of area…

We use Taylor's formula with Lagrange remainder to prove that functions with bounded second derivative are rectifiable in the case when polygonal paths are defined by interval subdivisions which are equally spaced. As a means for generating interesting examples of exact arc length calculations in calculus courses, we recall two large classes of…

In this note, some variants of Cauchy's mean value theorem are proved. The main tools to prove these results are some elementary auxiliary functions.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight issues related to students' personal inferences that arise when students verbally explain their justification for calculus statements. We conducted clinical interviews with three undergraduate students who had taken first-semester calculus but had not yet been exposed to formal proof writing activities…

In undergraduate mathematics, deductive reasoning plays important roles in teaching and learning various ideas, and is primarily characterized by the concept of logical implication. This comes up whenever conditional statements are applied, i.e., one checks if a statement's hypotheses are satisfied and then makes inferences. In calculus, students…

We use Taylor's formula with Lagrange remainder to make a modern adaptation of Poisson's proof of a version of the fundamental theorem of calculus in the case when the integral is defined by Euler sums, that is Riemann sums with left endpoints which are equally spaced. We discuss potential benefits for such an approach in basic calculus courses.

For a function "f": [real numbers set][superscript n]\{(0,…,0)}[right arrow][real numbers set] with continuous first partial derivatives, a theorem of Euler characterizes when "f" is a homogeneous function. This note determines whether the conclusion of Euler's theorem holds if the smoothness of "f" is not assumed. An…

Bramlett and Drake (2013) suggest that the ability of teachers to teach proof is crucial for students to learn and develop formal and informal proofs. Teachers need to be involved in the process of proving and have a firm understanding of the critical role of proofs in order to effectively engage their students in proving activities. It is…

The literature dealing with student understanding of integration in general and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus in particular suggests that although students can integrate properly, they understand little about the process that leads to the definite integral. The definite integral is naturally connected to the antiderivative, the area under…

Research using the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic suggests different models of how student learning may evolve in the progression of undergraduate mathematics coursework: from elementary courses in Calculus to more advanced courses in Analysis. An ideal model suggests that the theory-driven learning in the latter serves as a natural…

The study focused on how university students constructed proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC) starting from their argumentations with dynamic mathematics software in collaborative technology-enhanced learning environment. The participants of the study were 36 university students. The data consisted of participants' written…

This paper offers instructional interventions designed to support undergraduate math students' understanding of two forms of representations of Calculus concepts, mathematical language and graphs. We first discuss issues in students' understanding of mathematical language and graphs related to Calculus concepts. Then, we describe tasks, which are…