First-day Handout
Spring 2016
M 408N –
Differential Calculus for Science
TTh 2 – 3:30,
CPE 2.214 (53210, 53215)
INSTRUCTOR: Dr.
Jane Arledge, RLM 9.144, arledge@math.utexas.edu
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday 12:30 – 1:30, Thursday 8:30 – 9:15, often available Tuesday 8:30 – 9:15.
WEB PAGE: www.math.utexas.edu/users/arledge
This course consists of three
hours of class, in the large lecture hall, and two hours of smaller-group discussion
sessions per week. You are expected
to attend all five hours per week. The
classes are directed by the instructor, and the
discussion sessions are directed by your Teaching Assistant (TA). During classes you will be working on
material you first see on the learning modules, and during your discussion
sessions you will further your understanding of that material. Your unique number
determines which of the two discussion sections is yours, as is indicated in
the table below.
Discussion
Section |
Teaching
Assistant for Discussion Sections |
|||
Unique
# |
Day |
Hours |
Building/Room |
Name: Isabelle Scott |
53210 |
MW |
2 – 3 |
CPE 2.206 |
Email:
iscott@math.utexas.edu |
53215 |
MW |
3 – 4 |
WEL 2.308 |
Office: RLM 13.156 |
TEXT: Calculus, Early Transcendentals,
7th Edition, by Stewart. This text, or its ebook
form, is required for this class.
Any other version of Stewart you buy at your own risk.
OBJECTIVES OF COURSE: Successful
students will leave this course understanding the basic concepts and having
mastered the computational skills of differential calculus. Topics include a review of
exponential, logarithmic and inverse functions (Ch. 1); tangents and velocity,
limits and limit laws, continuity, limits at infinity, the definition of the
derivative, at a point and as a function (Ch. 2); derivative rules, derivatives
of polynomials, exponential and trigonometric functions, the chain rule,
implicit differentiation, derivatives of logarithmic functions, related rates,
and linear approximation (Ch. 3); extrema, the Mean
Value Theorem, how derivatives affect graphs, indeterminate forms and LÕHospitalÕs Rule, optimization, and antiderivatives
(Ch. 4); areas and distances, the definite integral, and the Fundamental
Theorem of Calculus(Ch. 5). A
tentative calendar of coverage is attached, and may also be found on my web
page, or (on the online version of this page) at calendar. This course carries the Quantitative
Reasoning flag. Quantitative Reasoning courses are designed to equip you with
skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments
you will regularly encounter in your adult and professional life.
RESTRICTIONS AND PREREQUISITES: This
course is restricted to students in the College of Natural Sciences. The prerequisite for this class is the
appropriate score UT Math Assessment, and there will be no exceptions made to
this requirement. If you do not meet
this prerequisite, you will be dropped from this class. Read your email, and go to https://cns.utexas.edu/ut-math-assessment for more information.
OPTIONAL MATERIALS: It may be helpful to check
the accuracy of your homework with a calculator. However, work the problems by hand,
since
no calculators may be used during exams. Wolfram Alpha is not helpful on exams,
and if the app does your work, you will not learn the material.
GRADES: On all work, your grade will be computed
as a percentage: the number of points you earned divided by the number of
points possible. It is unlikely
that any grade will be curved. The
percentages of each type of work that will be used to compute your final grade
are listed below. Your letter grade will be given
based on your numerical average earned in the class, on a scale not stricter
than the following: you are
guaranteed a D for 60 or above, C- for 70 or above, C for 73 or above, C+ for
77 or above, B- for 80 or above, B for 83 or above, B+ for 87 or above, A- for
90 or above, and an A for 93 or above.
DEADLINES FOR DROPPING A COURSE: If you
drop a class on or before February 3, the class will not show up on your
transcript. If you drop a class
after that date, the course will show up on the transcript with a ÒQÓ
grade. After April 4, it is not
possible to drop a course except for extenuating (usually non-academic)
circumstances.
HOMEWORK AND QUIZZES (13% of final grade): As you know, you learn math by doing
math. The expectation is that the work you do beyond the five hours of class
and discussion will require around 10 hours per week of your time.
This work is part of your grade for two reasons; firstly, we want you to be
motivated to do it, and secondly, there are problem-solving skills that can be
developed only by working on more interesting problems, such as those that will
be assigned during your discussion sessions, that cannot be assessed on
exams. In addition, as IÕm sure you
are aware, doing or not doing assigned work will have a large indirect effect
on your grade.
Due dates for the Quest
homework will be listed online in the Quest system. The material covered the previous
week will determine material covered on the quizzes – the course calendarÕs
listed section may not match the reality, and the only way to know for sure
what material will be on quizzes is to attend class. There are no
makeups for the quizzes, and no late homework will be accepted for any reason. As noted below, we will drop some of the
quiz and homework scores to allow for legitimate reasons for not being in class
to take the quiz (ill with the flu, family emergency, etc.) or for not doing
the homework (computer crashed, Quest was down at the last minute, etc.). Please do not ask if we will accept a
late assignment or give a makeup quiz.
We will not.
Quizzes (5%): On
Monday discussion sections, you will be given a worksheet consisting of several
interesting and challenging problems. You will work in class on these problems,
as directed by the TA, during the discussion. You will continue to work outside of
class on these problems. In addition, you will be given a quiz
on Wednesdays, with questions drawn from the previous weekÕs work, from Quest
and/or the worksheet. There will be
approximately 15 quizzes; we will drop at least 2 of your lowest quiz scores
from your quiz average.
Online work:
Our online content delivery system is
called Quest, which can be accessed by going to the page at https://quest.cns.utexas.edu logging in, and selecting this class. You will be charged a one-time $30 fee
to use this service*, which is mandatory for this class. There are approximately 29 of each of
two types of online assignments for this class; we will drop at least 4 of each
of the two types of online scores from your averages.
Learning
Modules (LM) (4%): Quest LMs are online learning modules
that, along with the current section of the text, are designed to help you
learn the basics of the material that will be used in depth in the next class. The LMs will consist of some videos about
the material, text to read, and some practice questions. Take notes while going through the
learning modules – these notes will be your class notes. During class time, you will be working
on related problems. The LM assignment
will be due at noon each class day (Tuesday and Thursday).
Postclass (4%): Quest postclass assignments consist of online Quest exercises,
which will summarize the material discussed during class, and will be due at 12pm
on the Monday or Wednesday following the class. This is a quick turnaround on a Tuesday,
since you have only that night and the next morning to work on the exercises,
so get started early. The reason
for this due date and time is so that you will be prepared for the more
challenging work you will do in the discussion section that afternoon.
EXAMS (87%
of final grade): You must bring a
valid photo ID to all exams.
Notes, books, phones, and calculators cannot be used or even visible during
exams. You
will not be able to leave the exam room once we begin distributing exams
– take all necessary breaks before the exam is distributed.
Regular
semester exams: There will be two midterm exams during the regular
semester, each covering a little over 1/3 of the course material. Some of the questions on each exam will
be multiple choice, like problems on Quest, and some
will require that you show your written work, as on the worksheets. These exams will be given during the
normal lecture period. Each exam
will comprise 29% of your final grade.
Exam
I: Thursday, March 3 Exam
II: Thursday, April 21
Final exam: You will
have a comprehensive final exam during finals week. This exam will be given in
a room different from the lecture hall, on Monday, May 16, 10 am – 12 pm.
The final exam will comprise 29% of
your final grade. Your final exam will
replace the lower of your two regular semester exams, if the final exam score
is higher than either of them. If
you fail to take Exam I or Exam II for any reason, the 0
that you earn will be your low score that gets replaced by the final
exam score. If you miss both Exam I
and Exam II, you will not pass the class.
You should carefully examine the exam dates above, since being
available for all exams is a requirement for this course, and because of the
final replacement policy, there are no makeup exams.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Upon
request, the University of Texas at Austin provides appropriate academic
accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office
of the Dean of Students at 471-6259 or 471-6441 TTY. If you require accommodations, you must let
me know before February 3.
STUDENT CONDUCT:
Please come to class on time. If
you will be late or need to leave early for some legitimate reason, please let
me know in advance, and sit near the exit.
Coming and going during class is distracting to your fellow students,
and they do not like it; we know this because they complain about it. Please do not disturb students in the
class who are trying to learn.
Computers, cell phones and
other electronic devices must be put away out of sight during exams. During class, you may take pictures of
the board, but texting etc. is not allowed. If you wish to use a computer, you must
speak with me first.
Cheating is dishonorable and
disgusting. Keep in mind that most
students are honest, and honest students do not like cheaters, and they do report
what they see. If you are caught
cheating, you will be penalized as harshly as possible under the rules of
UT. Do not cheat.
ATTENDANCE: This course is structured with the
expectation that you will attend every lecture and discussion session, and your
grade will benefit from your attendance.
Of course, sometimes an absence is necessary. In such a situation, you should contact
a classmate to get notes, due dates and other information for the class you
missed. Please introduce yourself
to and write the names and contact information of at least six classmates
below.
If you choose to miss class,
do not email or otherwise contact your TA or me to ask what material was
covered during class, what the assignments are, when assignments were made or
are due, what sections the exams will cover, or any other question that has
been answered or will be answered during class. I will not respond to such queries. If you miss class, accept responsibility
for your absence without involving me.
ADVICE: You
should think about this fact: I will write the problems and lead the discussion
in class, and will write the exam material (which is 87% of your grade). Come to class. Taking notes,
including definitions and examples from the preclass
videos, everything written on the board during class, worked out problems with
notes, as well as any relevant comments, will be directly correlated to your
grade in this class. I will pass on information not in the book, such as
hints to help you remember necessary facts, and common errors and how to avoid
them, and I will focus your attention on certain aspects of the material.
If you do not write these things down, you will forget them. If you have
to choose between listening and writing, write – you will then have a
record of what was said. In particular, during
the class I will tell you exactly what you need to learn and understand in
order to do well on the exams. Studying your notes (with asterisks
beside material I have emphasized) and working problems without assistance will greatly aid you in doing well on the
exams. Since I tell you what to expect on exams during class time, there
will be no exam review per se during the TTh class.
You have access to the math
departmentÕs Calculus Lab.
Information is found at http://www.ma.utexas.edu/academics/undergraduate/calculus-lab/ Use it! In
addition, drop-in tutoring and exam reviews (free) and private tutoring (not
free) for this class are available in the UT Sanger Learning Center in Jester (http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/slc), as well as some workshops, reviews and classes. If you need help, please avail yourself
of this assistance. I have office
hours, and am happy to meet with you; you should take advantage of this
access. I can help you. Come as soon as you have questions
– if you wait, it will be hard or impossible to catch up.
Before you email me to ask a
question about the rules or procedures of this course, please read through this
handout to see if the answer is written here. I tried hard to include in
this document information that you are likely to ask; please use it.
*This course makes use of the web-based Quest content delivery and
homework server system maintained by the College of Natural Sciences.
This homework service will require a charge of $30 per student for its use,
which goes toward the maintenance and operation of the resource. After
the 12th day of class, when you log into Quest you will be asked to pay via
credit card on a secure payment site. You have the option to wait up to 30 days
to pay while still continuing to use Quest for your assignments. If you are
taking more than one course that uses Quest, you will not be charged more than
$60/semester. Quest provides mandatory instructional material for this course,
just as is your textbook, etc. For payment questions, email quest.fees@cns.utexas.edu.
© Jane Arledge, The University of Texas, January
2016 -- Distribution of this document to a third party (other than for
evaluation of the course as transfer credit) is a violation of the author's
intellectual property rights.