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Web 2.0!

=[|Interactive Calculus Tool] from Illuminations= This tool allows students to explore graphs and their properties using calculus functions. Many students have difficulty grasping the connections between functions and derivatives, or between curves and tangent lines. This is a nifty tool for creating your own graphs, then experimenting with the properties around it. Students have the ability to make a complicated function then test their own ability to create the derivative. The tool can also be used for approximating area with integrals. Below, I have graphed a polynomial by hand, and have approximated the area under the curve from x=0 to x=7. The program can then give the exact area, and as we see below, the approximation was fairly accurate. This is fun to use and very educational, and is perfect for a calculus unit on graphing derivatives or tangents.