Senior Mathematics in the Foote & Woodward

13 April 2022Lucca P, Whittall ‘22; Photo by Will P, Whittall '22

Although we only truly realized it upon returning from Spring Break, the last steps taken in and out of the Ross Academic Centre are already written in history. Blue fencing surrounds the Ross – soon be converted into a modern ocean-front building in the next two years. With the closing of the Ross, a temporary space has been developed in the Woodward, and the multi purpose rooms in the Foote have been put to use, allowing for classes to roll on.

Now, let’s get up to speed with a few mathematics courses.

Pre-Calculus 12 with Ms Wolinsky has been going well since the beginning of the year: with only a few more units to go, plenty of time will be available to study for finals. After leaving the Ross, the class has been relocated to the Foote where we have continued to learn about trigonometric functions and identities. Tait S, Rogers ‘22, is excited to “finish the final stretch of the year in Pre-Calc.”

Managing to keep things interesting two and a half months into studying trigonometry, Ms Wolinsky has assigned us a research project, to respond to the question “Why is this stuff in our math curriculum?” We can approach the task in a couple of different ways: investigate the history of a branch of mathematics, the practical applications of concepts, or to investigate the BC mathematics education program. Buchannon F, Rogers ‘21 appreciates the “flexibility of the project” and hopes to “learn something new about math on my own.”

In Calculus 12 with Mr Prokopchuk, our classroom has been moved to Woodward. Catching up to Ms Wolinsky, we have just begun learning about differentiation of trigonometric functions & identities. Just before trigonometry, we studied the applications of derivatives: related rates, linear approximation, minimum and maximum values, and curve sketching. Mr Prokopchuk always reminds us that the only way to get better at Calculus is to practice – we very frequently dedicate classes or parts of classes to group work to learn different ways of approaching the same problem.

For some, taking this course is a requirement for university, and for others, this year is the beginning of their advanced math education. Nonetheless, the courses remain interesting for everybody.

Lucca P, Whittall ‘22

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