AP Calculus BC. One of the hardest classes offered at OP, its difficulty has held up to expectations in recent weeks. Mr. Schultz’s class has dove into the challenging topics of series, including power series, Taylor Series, Maclaurin Series, and error bounds. For those unfamiliar with the world of Calculus, these terms may not make much sense, but trust me, they are fairly difficult topics for high school math. Regardless, the class is up to the task of mastering these areas before the AP test in May.

On Monday, December 9th, during a dark, rainy last period, Mr. Schultz’s AP Calc BC class went to battle with a quiz on power series, Taylor Series, Maclaurin Series, and error bounds, their first exam on such a topic. The quiz used multiple-choice questions from previous AP exams. To say it was easy would be a blatant lie. It was hard as students were challenged with abstract questions and problems. I, personally, found it fairly challenging, and had to guess on a few of the 15 questions. I gathered the opinions of some of my classmates to better gather as to how the quiz went:

Nate Yeager: “No amount of studying could have properly prepared me for what was experienced during that quiz”

Jack Mogen: “Kind of an issue”

Richard Williams: “There is a certain sense of dread that occurs when you realize half your answers are guesses.”

Aidan Watkins: ““I think I did better than last time, but don’t ask me about last time”

Andrew Stelmach: “Doesn’t matter where or when u take the quiz ur still gonna fail. Collegeboard bullies us.”

I think my classmates would agree with me in that the quiz was very difficult. However, I feel confident that we will be where we need to be by the arrival of the AP exam. This was only our first tested interaction with these topics. We have ample time to review, and, under the leadership and brilliance of Mr. Schultz, I have not doubt we will be ready come May.