Math 200: Calculus I

Fall 2013          sections F07, F08, F09            Bueler

Instructor: Ed Bueler
Office: Chapman 301C.  (Hours online.)
Phone: 474-7693
eMail: elbueler@alaska.edu

Class Time:  MWF 11:45-12:45  Gruening 206
                      T 11:30-12:30  Gruening 206
                      [and a Thursday section; see below]
Text: Larson & Edwards, Calculus edition 5e
Course Web Sitewww.dms.uaf.edu/~bueler/Math200F13.htm

The Course and Lectures:   This course covers the basics of single variable calculus.  You will learn the meaning of, and basic manipulations of, the three fundamental operations in calculus: (i) limits, (ii) differentiation, (iii) integration.  Differentiation and integration are limits.

Calculus is the language of physics and engineering, and much of chemistry, economics, and biology.  In these fields there is both continuous and discrete mathematics.  Calculus is the core theory of continuous mathematics.  For example, position and energy in mechanics, the velocity of a fluid, magnetic field strength, and probabilities in brownian motion all involve continuous quantities described using calculus.  People do also use calculus to approximately describe things that are actually discrete, like populations or votes or the numbers of molecules in a chemical process.

The textbook is the Early Transcendental Functions 5th edition of Larson & Edwards, Calculus.  We will cover chapters 1 (review of functions), 2 (limits), 3 (derivatives), 4 (applications of differentiation), and 5 (integrals).

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday you will see me and I will be either lecturing on new material, answering your questions, asking you questions, or doing exams (see below for dates).  You are expected to ask questions in class about the lecture or about homework assignments.  Such questions are a great use of the class' time! You are unlikely to be the only one with a given question, so please do ask.

"Recitation" sections:   An important part of Math 200 at UAF is an additional hour every week in a small "recitation" section.  So this is a 5-day-a-week class!  This section is designed to help as many students as possible succeed at learning the calculus.  The sections are on Thursday, at one of three times:
  F07 (CRN 76561)  =  9:45-10:45    Gruening 303
  F08 (CRN 76562)  =  11:30-12:30  Brooks 104A
  F09 (CRN 76563)  =  8:00-9:00      Chapman 104

In these sections the main goal is to discuss, with a person other than me, the homework and questions which arose in lecture.  There will also be required quizzes in these sections.  Attendance at sections is mandatory.  The teaching assistant Vikenty Mikheev, a graduate student in mathematics, is fully able to answer your calculus questions.

WebAssign:   Please go to http://webassign.net right away and log in.   To get started, hit the "I have a class key" button and enter     uaf 3303 9761    You'll then establish a username and you will enter your "access code" which you got with your textbook.

Not-for-credit "WebAssignments" will be available each week.  I encourage you to do a part of this every class day.  You'll do the problems and submit your answers and they will be graded.  On the second submission you'll see the answers.  I will not use your WebAssignment score in determining your grade.  You are encouraged to work with other students on WebAssignments.

Exams, quizzes, and paper homework determine your course grade:

60%
of your grade will be determined by  four hours of exams:

Midterm Exam 1
Midterm Exam 2
Final Exam
15% of course grade
15% of course grade
30% of course grade
Monday, Oct. 7 (one hour in class)
Monday, Nov. 11 (one hour in class)
10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 17 (two hours in class)

20% of the course grade will be determined by weekly quizzes.  (Exception: on weeks where there are midterm exams there will not be a quiz.)  These will be given in the first 20 minutes of your Thursday section.  Solutions will be handed out immediately and are a great topic for discussion.  These quizzes are also intended to help you with Exams by giving you an opportunity to see the kinds of questions which arise on exams, and my style in writing them.  I will drop your lowest quiz score.

20% of the total grade will be determined by weekly written (paper) homework.   These will be short, just a few problems, but they are likely to be the hardest problems I ask.  You are encouraged to work with other students on this paper homework.  I will announce each assignment in lecture and post the due date at the course web site.  Late paper homework is not accepted.  I will drop your lowest paper homework score.

Preparing for exams: I encourage you to construct practice problems by "role-playing" me before each exam.  That is:  Assume that I am a reasonable person who wants to test whether you comprehend what was lectured on and assigned.  Assume I have the goal of covering the topics and asking questions which represent a reasonable range of difficulty.  What questions would I ask?  If you do this role-playing then you will be able to generate a very close approximation of the exam I will give.  And you will get a good grade.

The Grade:
The course grade will be determined by points on the exams and quizzes, according to the schedule at right.  I do not give C- grades.  --->

The schedule represents a guarantee.
Percent
93 - 100 %
90 - 92 %
87 - 89 %
82 - 86 %

79 - 81 %

76 - 78 %
 
68 - 75 %
65 - 67 %
 
60 - 64 %
57 - 59 %
0 - 56 %

Grade
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
D+
D
D-
F

Prerequisites:
    The official policy is "a grade of C or better in MATH 107X and 108 or placement for MATH 200X."  In the latter case, you can be placed in MATH 200 if you have certain scores on exams: 28 on Enhanced ACT Math or 640 on SAT Math or (56 on COMPASS College Algebra and 46 on COMPASS Trigonometry) or 90 on Accuplacer College Math.  As a practical matter you must have taken a precalculus class, have covered trigonometry at the precalculus level, and you must have done reasonably well.  Less than this is, in the absence of further information, a big warning sign about success in Calculus.

Placement Test in first week:  There will be a short in-class Placement Test covering prerequisite material on Monday 9 September.  This Test will be graded and the score used to advise you on whether you were properly placed in Calculus I.  You are required to take it and you will get a fixed amount of credit for taking it regardless of your score; your score will only be used for placement.

Adds, Drops, Withdrawals: The last day for adding a class is Friday September 13.  The last day for dropping a class is Friday September 20.  The last day for withdrawing, with a W appearing on your transcript, is Friday November 1. If, in my opinion, a student is not participating adequately in the class, I may elect to drop or withdraw this student. Inadequate participation includes but is not limited to: missing an exam, repeatedly failing to take quizzes or to complete paper homework, or having a failing average at the withdrawal date.  (But I am OK with giving a D or F at the end of the semester for failing work.  Don't count on me doing you a favor.)

Policies:   The Department of Mathematics and Statistics has reasonable policies on incompletes, late withdrawals, early final examinations, etc.  See www.dms.uaf.edu/dms/Policies.html .  You are covered by the UAF Student Code of Conduct.  If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please inform your instructor during the first week of the semester, after consulting with the Office of Disability Services, 203 Whitaker (474-7403).

Makeup exams:
  I will create makeup versions of Midterm Exams 1 and 2 if necessary, provided you have a convincing reason for me to do so and you let me know at least two class days before the exam.  It is Department of Mathematics and Statistics policy that Final Exams cannot be given early or late.

Math and Stat Lab in Chapman 305:  Please take advantage of  the Lab in Chapman 305.  See reverse for draft schedule.  This is a free study room and tutoring center which is open long hours, including on weekends.  It is staffed by advanced students.  There are computers in this room.  If doing math homework gets lonely, go there to find fellow sufferers.

Other resources:  Individual tutoring is also available through the ASUAF.  The UAF Bookstore has study guides for calculus.  I especially like How to Ace Calculus : The Streetwise Guide by Colin Adams and others.