02.05.12 / School / Author: Starrodkirby86 / Comments: (0)
That’s a mouthful for a heading.
With the AP Calculus AB/BC exam ominously looming, practice and the like is an integral (pardon the pun) component to passing the test. This is a selection of a few problems from the Pearson Education AP Test Prep Series workbook. That’s just mumbo jumbo for another Calculus practice book with a plethora of practice problems to muster up.
This PowerPoint aims to explain how to solve problems in four stages: the problem, the strategy, the steps, and the conclusion. The questions are on the 2nd part of the exam, meaning that a calculator is fully utilized and harnessed to make solving problems much easier than the classic pencil-writing days of yore.
This PowerPoint features:
- 7 Calculus AB problems thoroughly explained
- A maximum of 3 steps to solve each problem!
- An unorthodox, original interface that tries to deliver an appealing, efficient look into explaining solutions
- Neat calculator tricks to speed up solving problems (though the PowerPoint assumes you have some knowledge of what they are)
- Hatsune Miku!
Screenshot:
Download:
AP Calculus AB Questions, Answers, & Explanations (Right-click the link and select “Save Target As…” (Or Save Link As, what-have-you) !)
24.09.11 / School / Author: Starrodkirby86 / Comments: (3)
(This article assumes using a Canon-based camera, particularly the higher-end models. While this can work for other camera brands, such as a Nikon D3100, specific camera items, like location on the camera or the interface, will be irrelevant)
The Big Things
Shutter Speed: On the main camera screen, this is the fraction number (or number in seconds) at the top left of the screen (in most modes). The number stands for how long the shutter is open and absorbing light. For example, 1/125 would mean the shutter would open for 1/125th of a second, while 5″ would mean the shutter would be open for a full five seconds.
You can freely edit shutter speed in the following modes: TV, M
To change shutter speed, move the sharp gear-like knob nearby the shooting button left or right.
The right kind of shutter speed is dependent on the lighting in your environment. A faster shutter speed (if the denominator number is higher) would produce more sharp and crisp shots, but because the shutter is absorbing such little light, the whole photo might turn out dark. A slower shutter speed accepts more light and can therefore make the photo brighter, but that acceptance of light can produce blurs.
For settings with natural sunlight, a high shutter speed would be preferable, such as 1/2000 to even 1/4000. For light indoors, shutter speeds of around 1/160 to 1/250 are fine. Photo’s can start getting blurry if they’re slower than 1/30, or even 1/60 at certain times. Just a note that these are ballpark numbers.
For dark settings indoors, a setting around 1/40 to 1/125 would be sufficient, but always experiment.
Aperture: Also known as F-Stop, on the main camera screen, this thing is the F-number at the top right of the camera interface. Aperture is the field of depth that the camera goes through. Anything that isn’t in the camera’s field (as determined by the F-number), would end up blurry. The higher the F-Stop number, the more the camera would have to accept everything in a sharp manner. A lower F-Stop value is meant for close-ups because the radius the camera goes at is much smaller.
You can freely change aperture settings in the following modes: AV, M
To change aperture in AV mode, simply move the sharp gear-like knob nearby the shooting button left or right. In M mode, press the flat-circle like AV button above the red-circled button (for recording or LCD-mode) on the main membrane of the camera. It’s nearby the top right of the camera screen.
The ideal aperture for regular candid and close-up shots should be somewhere around F4-F5.6 to F12. For large group shots or photographs with distance, go for something like F16-F24, or even higher.
Sometimes you simply want to focus on something up-close, not leaving much focus to the background. Or sometimes you want the whole environment to be in focus. This is what aperture controls.
ISO: This was a term used in traditional photography for the film sensitivity to the light. In our digital era of cameras, things are very similar. The ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. A higher ISO means that the camera will be more sensitive to light, therefore making pictures overall brighter. However, the trade-off comes in that this high sensitivity is very prone to the image becoming “grainy”, or filled with this “color noise”. A lower ISO, of course, has low chances of that graininess, but the images generally turn out darker due to less sensitivity.
You can freely change the ISO in nearly every mode.
To change the ISO, press the ISO button nearby the shooting button and adjust accordingly.
You can try trusting the camera’s judgment with an Auto ISO, or go for numbers yourself. In natural sunlight or places with high amounts of light, an ISO of 800 or even 400 would suffice. Darker areas, especially in the nighttime, will have to resort to higher ISO’s. I usually stick with 1600 or 3200 in those cases.
Quick Mode Lingo
Anything below P is an auto-setting and are perfect things to be used for beginners. However, you’re fully trusting on the camera’s ability to automatically adjust and make the right settings for you. It’s not correct all the time.
The movie projector icon can record movies if you press the red-circled button. It’s able to read audio and it has a very nice quality!
TV mode only allows you to change the shutter speed. It’s a great way of learning how shutter speed works, or letting the camera do the lazy aperture work for you. (Or seeing some proper usage of aperture?)
AV mode only allows you to change the aperture. The camera will take of shutter speed for you, so you can see which one’s clear and crisp, and not so much.
M mode is manual mode. This mode is advanced, but it can create extremely powerful shots.
Miscellaneous
Flash: To turn on the Flash compartment, press the Lightning Bolt button around the front of the camera, somewhat adjacent to the lens. The flash area from the top should open up. Do not interrupt or block the flash compartment, otherwise the camera will force itself to shut down, causing headaches for all of us. Having Flash on limits a few settings for shutter speed and aperture. Not all modes allow the usage of Flash (e.g. Default green box).
White Balance: There should be a button or some area that says WB. This stands for White Balance and adjusts the camera to the expected lighting setting under certain lighted environments. Experiment with what type of white balance works for you to create nice and artistic shots. The usual white balance for photo’s would be Auto, followed by Sunlight, Shade, and Cloudy. Tungsten Lighting is good, but only for creating an artsy blue-colored shot. It’s experimental.
Auto and Manual Focus: Around the camera’s lens area, there’s a slider to where you can set the camera to AF or MF (Auto-Focus / Manual-Focus).
The camera automatically adjusts to what you’d like to focus on with AF. To let the camera do its magical adjusting work, lightly hold onto the shooting button, but don’t press it entirely. This halfway phase lets the camera adjust accordingly and focus as needed, just like our human eye. However, if the environment is too dark, the camera will fail to find something to focus, jeopardizing your chances of a shot.
For MF mode, the camera will automatically make shots no matter what. You would have to do the focusing yourself. To do this, adjust the very front area of the lens and rotate it left or right. Do not get this confused with the zoom compartment of the lens! That’s the stem-like area. The small compartment to change manual-focus is nearby the rim of the lens and is a much smaller, black circle.
Auto-Focus will usually be the de-facto choice in taking pictures because of its convenience. Manual-Focus takes a while to get the right setting, and in an environment requiring quick skills, sometimes adjusting won’t cut it very well. However, Manual-Focus allows a lot more control when it comes to your shots.
Rule of Thirds: The Rule of Thirds is the strong point of what a photograph should possess.
Imagine a photo split up in a tic-tac-toe board. I’ll give you a visual example of a photo I took myself:
The points of intersection should be where the subject is placed. This will cause maximum impact and attention to the subject, creating more powerful and engaging shots. Depending on the settings, a camera can have their own rule of thirds guidelines when taking the shot.
