Syllabus for Mathematics 2350 - 01 - Calculus III - Summer I, 2004

 

  FAQ

 

General Information

  

Class Participation

 

Homework

Testing

  Grading System  What you should
also know

 

Please read this syllabus carefully. You will be responsible for all the information given here, and for any modifications to it that may be announced in class.

Text: The textbook for this course is Calculus, (3rdedition), by Monty Strauss, Gerald L. Bradley and Karl J. Smith.

Instructor: Lourdes Juan, Assistant Professor of Mathematics


Office:      235 Mathematics
Phone:      742-1469
Email:      ljuan@math.ttu.edu
URL:      www.math.ttu.edu/~ljuan
Office hours:      Tue/Thu:  2:30--3:30 p.m.

and by appointment.

Class Participation: The first day of class, you may select your regular seat, which should be used for all lectures. If you are unable to see or hear properly or are otherwise dissatisfied with your seat, please consult me about a reassignment.

You are expected to attend all lectures, and are responsible for all information given out during them. As explained under ``Grading System'' later in this syllabus, excessive absences will result in points lost from your class participation grade, while superior attendance will add a few extra points to your total.

This course requires your full effort, so it is expected that you will give your complete attention to the instructor for the full class period. Activities such as eating, sleeping, reading, listening to headsets, conversing with other students, and so on do not constitute class participation. Students engaging in such behavior during the lecture may be counted as absent.

Arriving late for class will interrupt the lecture and distract the students who came on time. This is unfair to your classmates and you will be counted absent if you are not on time.

Homework: It is absolutely essential to work a large number of problems on a regular basis. Problem assignments are given in the Class Schedule and Homework Assignments page.

The assignments will not be collected but the problems in the quiz and exams will be taken from them. I recommend that while working on the assignments you use the following format:

1.
Use standard sized blank, ruled, or graph paper. I recommend that you use a loose leaf notebook so that you can insert new pages and replace old pages with corrected ones. Also, I suggest that you put only a few problems on each page.
2.
Each problem should be clearly and uniquely identified in the format c.s #n, where ``c" is the chapter, ``s" is the section, and ``n" is the problem number. For example, problem 29 in section 15.7 should be labeled as 15.7 #29. The problems should be in the order in which they appear in the book.
3.
The problem itself should be written out, in abbreviated form if appropriate, followed by your solution. Your homework solutions need not be polished masterpieces of mathematical exposition, but should be legible, and the solutions should clearly indicate the steps used to arrive at the solution. If you can write a clear explanation of what you are doing, you will understand it. If you understand it, you will retain it.

Homework is only assigned as a learning device to help you master the ideas and techniques of calculus. As a university level student, it is essential for you to allocate your time so as to learn the most with the least effort. For example, crossing out something you want to remove is much faster than erasing, even though the result might not look as pleasing to the eye. The homework assignments are the bare minimum for most students to gain basic familiarity with the material. As manager of your own education, it is up to you to work whatever additional problems may be necessary for you to achieve a good understanding of the subject.

You may consult with other students about the homework problems, indeed I encourage you to do so. However, you will need to write up the solutions in your own words. It is a complete waste of time to just copy from a solutions manual or from someone else's work. If you decide to turn in work that is not your own, I cannot stop you, but you will not learn the material adequately and you will pay a heavy price on the exams which constitute 75% of your course grade.

Answers to the odd-numbered problems appear at the end of the textbook. For help, you should come to my office hours, or make an appointment with me to come at another time. Email is the best way to contact me.

Testing: The exams will consis of homework problems. Examinations will be given during the regular lecture hour on the following dates, covering the listed sections.

Exam I   Friday, June 11  Sections 10.2,10.4,10.5, 11.2--11.7.
Exam II   Friday, June 18  Sections 12.2--12.7
Exam III   Friday, June 24  Sections 13.1--13.5

The final examination will be held on Saturday, July 3rd, from 8:00 a. m. to 10:30 a. m. University regulations require that you take it at that time. It will cover all sections listed in the class schedule.

All tests must be taken at the scheduled times, except in extraordinary circumstances. Please do not arrange travel plans that prevent you from taking any of the exams at the scheduled time. If you cannot take a test at the scheduled time, you should contact me in advance. No makeups will be given. The missed test/quiz will be replaced with the corresponding portion of the final. Check the grading of your exams carefully when they are returned; all grading errors should be brought to my attention as soon as possible.

Grading system: There will be 270 points possible as follows:

Points:

  

Percent:

  

 

30  12  Class Participation
20  8  Quiz
50  20  Exam 1
50  20  Exam 2
50  20  Exam 3
50  20   Final Exam
250  100  Total possible
The class participation grade will be determined as follows. If you have 4 absences or less, you will receive the full 30 points of class participation credit, plus three bonus points for each class fewer than 4 missed (thus you can earn up to 12 bonus points for superior class participation). The 5th through 10th absences will each subtract 5 points from the 30 points of class participation grade.

Course grades will be determined according to the following scale:

Total points:     Percent     Grade:
218.5-250.0     87.50-100.00    A
193.5-218.0     77.50-87.34    B
168.5-193.0     67.50-77.34     C
137.0-168.0     55.00-67.34     D
0.00-136.5     0.00-54.84    F
Grades are calculated by computer but errors in recording or entering scores can occur. Please keep your tests and homework so that you can verify the posted totals at the end of the semester, if you think that an error may have occurred.

Withdrawal Policy: Until June 17, you may withdraw and receive a ``W'' grade, no matter what scores you have so far achieved. June 29 is the last day to drop a course, transfer between colleges, or withdraw from the University.

Grade of Incomplete: The grade of ``I'' is a special-purpose grade given when a specific task needs to be completed to finish the coursework. This is typically a term paper or other special assignment, so rarely makes sense in a mathematics course. An ``I'' cannot be given to avoid receiving a low grade.

Calculators: This is a course of mathematical concepts and techniques, not a course of mechanical computation, so we will have little use for calculators. A few of the homework problems may require the use of a basic scientific calculator, which can perform numerical calculations, and can give values of the trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, exponential, and logarithm functions. Such a calculator can be purchased at discount stores for a few dollars. A basic scientific calculator can be used during exams, although it is not necessary to have one. However, since knowing the graphs of the standard functions from trigonometry and calculus is an essential skill, use of graphing calculators during exams is prohibited. Use of any calculator with the capability to store formulas or other information is also prohibited during exams.

Academic Misconduct: Cases of academic misconduct are inexcusable and will be punished to the maximum extent possible under University regulations. Don't do it.

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability that may interfere with the demonstration of your abilities, please contact me as soon as possible to arrange accomodations necessary to ensure your full participation in the course.

Final Grades: You may come by to see your graded final exam at any time before the end of the next semester. You will be able to obtain your grades from our course website as soon as they are available.

Internet Resources: On the Internet there are numerous websites that contain theory, tutorials, and problems with solutions, for calculus and in some cases more advanced material. Our course web page has a link to some of these sites, and if you follow it to the UC Davis Calculus Page, there is a much longer list there.

Advice: It is important to think about the subject daily or almost daily (you will learn much more in two hours a day for seven days than in seven hours a day for two days). Mathematics is best absorbed in small bits through repeated exposure, so it is more effective to work the homework problems from one section a few at a time over a period of days, rather than all at once in an extended session. This means you may be working problems from several sections of the book at the same time- this is actually better, since they will reinforce each other. If you approach the homework in this way, you will spend no more total time or effort, and will learn more. Occasional work sessions with fellow students can be very productive, as long as one avoids the pitfall of becoming dependent on others.

Working problems is your most important learning technique, but the exams will also draw on the ideas and key examples given in class. Take careful notes during the lectures, or if this does not work well for you, obtain them from someone else. The lectures provide your road map to learning the subject.

Always use correct mathematical notation. (Example 1: write the ``='' sign only between two mathematical objects that really are equal-- some students just seem to use it as a random space filler. Example 2: always write ``sin(x)'' and ``cos(x)'', never just ``sin'', which makes ``sin cos '' ambiguous-- does it mean the product `` sin(x)cos(x) '' or the composition `` sin(cos(x)) ''?) Good notation will help keep you on the right track during exams, but you will only use good notation in a stressful exam situation if you have been using it habitually on your homework problems.

Nothing is more important than staying completely caught up; cramming is even less effective in mathematics than in other courses. If you need help, go to office hours or arrange an appointment immediately; do not compound your difficulties by delaying.