Math 200: Calculus I

Fall 2008 (Bueler)

Instructor: Ed Bueler
Office: Chapman 301C.  Hours online.
Phone: 474-7693
eMail: ffelb@uaf.edu
Course Web Site: www.dms.uaf.edu/~bueler/Math200F08.htm
 Class Time:  MWF 11:45-12:45 and T 11:30-12:30, Gruening 206  [plus Thursday section; see Course Web Site]
Text: Stewart, Calculus edition 6e, Chapters 1--6
WebAssign Access:   http://webassign.net

The Course:   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.  The latter two are important cases of the first.

Calculus is the language of physics and engineering, and much of chemistry, economics, and biology.  The most significant distinction between kinds of math is between continuous and discrete mathematics; calculus is the start of a serious study of the continuous type.  For example, position, momentum and energy in mechanics, financial market values, and electrical and magnetic field strenght all involve continuous quantities described using calculus.

The textbook is Stewart's Calculus (6th edition, Early Transcendentals).  We will cover chapters 1 (functions), 2 (limits and derivatives), 3 (practical differentiation), 4 (applications of differentiation), 5 (integrals), and 6 (first applications of integration).

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 as you are not likely to be the only one with a given question.

"Recitation" sections:   An important part of the structure of Math 200 at UAF is an additional hour every week in a small "recitation" section.  This is actually designed to help as many students as possible succeed at learning the calculus.  The sections are on Thursday, at one of three times (9:45--10:45 for F07, 11:30--12:30 for F08, 1:00--2:00 for F09; see Course Web Site for location).  In these sections the only goal is to discuss, with a person other than me, the homework and questions which arose in lecture.  The teaching assistant, Kassandra (Kasi) Buchholz, is a graduate student in mathematics.

WebAssign:  http://webassign.net  Some of the homework will be done online.  It will be the easiest part of the course, as long as you do just a bit every class day.  I will post a very few, basic problems for each class day; 3 to 5 problems of the easiest type in the section we are covering.  They will be due at the end of the class day (11:00 pm).  You will be able to do these problems on the day before the day they are due.  In fact you are encouraged to do them just before class on the day they are due.  You will have three tries to get these problems right; such feedback is a benefit of using WebAssign.    http://webassign.net

Exams, homework, and your course grade:

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

Midterm Exam I
Midterm Exam II
Final Exam		 Wednesday, 8 October (one hour in class)
Wednesday, 12 November (one hour in class)
Monday, 15 Dec, 10:15-12:15, Grue 206 (two hours in class)
The final exam will have two halves.  One half will cover new material.  One half will cover the entire course.  Each half will be worth the same number of points as each midterm.  Thus there will be four equally-weighted hour-length exams.  I will drop the lowest of the four so that the remaining exams will be 3 * 20% = 60% of your course grade.

20% of the course grade will be determined by the daily online WebAssign assignments described above;  http://webassign.net.  I will not drop any of your WebAssign homework grades.

20% of the total grade will be determined by approximately 12 weekly written (paper) homework assignments.   These will be due on Friday at the beginning of class; that's the day after your "recitation" section with Kasi, so you get a great chance for feedback.  I will drop your lowest homework score.

Regarding 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 in the previous week.  Assume I have the goal of covering the topics and asking questions which represent a reasonable range of difficulty (from easy to hard enough so that not all will succeed).  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.

The Grade:
The course grade will be determined by points on the exams and quizzes, according to the schedule at right  --->

The schedule represents a guarantee.  Note I will use plus/minus grades as illustrated. 		Percent
93 - 100 %
90 - 92 %
87 - 89 %
82 - 86 %
79 - 81 %
76 - 78 %
  71 - 75 %
68 - 70 %
65 - 67 %
  60 - 64 %
57 - 59 %
0 - 56 %
 Grade
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Prerequisites:    The official policy is "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).  As a practical matter you must have taken a precalculus class (like MATH 107 or its equivalent in high school), have covered trigonometry at the precalculus level (through MATH 108 or its equivalent), and you must have done reasonably well (no Cs or lower).  Less than this is, in the absence of further information, a warning sign about success in Calculus.  There will be a placement quiz in the first week of class.

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.  I will work with the Office of Disabilities Services (203 WHIT, 474-7043) to provide reasonable accommodation to student with disabilities.

Makeup exams:  I will create makeup versions of Midterm Exams I and II 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.

Mathlab in Chapman 305:  Please take advantage of  the Mathlab in Chapman 305.  This is a free study room and tutoring center which is open long hours, including on weekends.  Precise hours posted on the door of Chapman 305 and at www.dms.uaf.edu/dms/MathLab/MathLab_sched.html.  It is staffed by advanced students who can be quite helpful.  There are computers in this room where you can do the daily WebAssign-ments.  If doing math homework gets lonely, go there to find fellow sufferers.

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