Education Technology


Computing Derivatives

Activity Overview

Sample problems that provide ideas about using SMG to assist students in learning to solve derivative problems. Prerequisites: ability to classify functions as power, exponential, product, and composition and how to decompose composite functions.

Before the Activity

Before starting, make sure that the TI-89 or TI Voyage 200 has SMG version 2.00 or higher installed. The latest version of SMG is available at education.ti.com. A user's guide and a SMG tutorial are also available at the same site. Start SMG by pressing [APPS], choosing SMG, and then pressing [ENTER].

During the Activity

This could be used as a self paced tutorial or could be broken up into sections for class instruction and practice.

After the Activity

Review student answers:

  • As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
  • Re-teach concepts as necessary