“I Got Calculus”

The AP Calculus class of 2017 decided to teach the community about calculus in a less mainstream way. As Kendrick Lamar’s new album DAMN became a hit in high school and college culture, the song “DNA” was chosen to present calculus in a way everyone can understand. Through careful lyrical analysis, Coginchaug students were able to craft this masterpiece.

Substitute teacher Mr. Thomas Ryan and math teacher Mrs. Kathy Zygmont both got involved in the fun. Instead of Kendrick Lamar (who has racked up 44 different music awards in his career) rapping, we had Coginchaug’s own Sam Marteka, Dawson Hettrick, Emily Leibiger, Brian Jubelirer and Taylon Fay take control of the song.  Hogan Dahlman, Hettrick, Jubelirer and Fay are also responsible for the creative twist on all the lyrics in the video.

The students in the class were easily persuaded to take part in this project. Camden Stockdale claims, “This is a positive and fun learning activity.” According to Jack Murphy, “This has become a tradition. For the past three years, students in the AP Calculus class have chosen a popular song and created a video with only the acoustics. The words are all replaced to math terms, and students are given full creative freedom to add humor and equations as they please.” Murphy and Stockdale truly enjoyed this project, as it gave them a break from the excruciating work of the AP class, as well as letting them create something with their own imagination.