Instructor: Dave Rusin (rusin@math.utexas.edu)
Office hrs: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-1:45pm, and Wednesdays 10am-4pm
Feel free to drop in during those hours to my office, PMA 9.140.
I can also arrange additional times to meet pretty much any time during
business hours; send me email if you'd like to meet with me.
Class meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 2pm in CPE 2.214.
The class is split into two parts to meet separately with the
teaching assistant each Monday and Wednesday in PMA 6.104:
Unique ID 58495 meets M/W at 3pm
Unique ID 58500 meets M/W at 4pm
Nominally both groups are learning the same thing, but you will be
working on assignments with a group from your section, so come
each Monday and Wednesday at your assigned time.
Teaching asst: Paul Choi, yc32743@my.utexas.edu
TA Office hrs and location: Mon 5-7pm and Thu 3:30-6:30pm, PMA 12.116
Text: Calculus (9th Edition, "Early Transcendentals" version) by
James Stewart et al. There is an electronic version of the text
available (see below). Buy or borrow a book to get detailed
explanations of the material and to have plenty of practice problems
to work on. (Or not. Or use any other reference. But it is YOUR
responsibility to know what topics the class is working on.)
Your final exam date is still being settled; I'll announce it when known.
Students with a disabilities accommodation will start at the same time.
Those with a time conflict must make arrangements in advance; there
will be an alternative time slot that same evening.
Math 408L is a centrally-coordinated course: in order to maintain consistent course delivery across the Math Department, there is a course czar who has arranged the schedule, exams, and grading policies. I cannot make exceptions to the rules in the department's syllabus, which is available in Canvas. This document, on the other hand, is my phrasing of the same policies. (In the event of any discrepancy betwen the two, the Department-produced syllabus will take precedence over this one.)
Course webpage: http://www.ma.utexas.edu/~rusin/408L-25b/
Introduction to the theory and applications of integral calculus of functions of one variable; topics include integration and some applications, the fundamental theorem of calculus, techniques of integration, transcendental functions, sequences and infinite series, and an introduction to the theory and applications of differential and integral calculus of functions of several variables.
Please note that the goals of this course are not limited to algebraic manipulation (although you will be expected to do that kind of thing quickly and accurately). It is an explicit goal of this course to develop your mathematical intuition: many of the problems you will be asked to solve will require much more thought than symbol-moving. I also take it as an important step in your mathematical training that you learn to communicate mathematics well: what you write must hang together logically, and be presented with enough words to make the presentation comprehensible.
The Mathematics Department at UT offers a dozen different calculus courses with overlapping syllabi, each of them designed for students with different majors and levels of preparation. M408L is a general-purpose second-semester calculus course, open to students of any major who did well in a calculus-1 course (here at UT or elsewhere). There are other second-semester calculus courses open to science or engineering majors and to students with exceptionally strong calculus backgrounds, so you might want to check with me or with your academic advisor to make sure this is the best calculus course for you.
The prerequisite is a grade of at least C- in Mathematics 408C, 408K, or 408N, or suitable performance on an entrance exam (AP, IB, or CLEP). Please note that if you had a C- in calculus 1, you have the weakest background in this class and so you should be working hardest and getting the most help and feedback and the teaching assistant.
If you have not met the pre-requisites of the class, the Registrar will remove you within the first two weeks of the semester.
Only one of the following may be counted: Mathematics 408L, 408D, 408M.
There is a cycle of activity that we follow for each section of the book (typically one or two sections treated in each class meeting).
Our "lecture" meeting times together go by very quickly so we must make the most of them. Come to class daily, with all the materials you need to take notes and work problems.
During each of these regular sessions I will answer any questions that you may have from the Learning Module, and then present some more examples or some sample applications. I will have you work on problems in groups during the class, and wander around to help you. This is when the learning will happen! Sadly this class is far too big for me to help everyone so you and your neighbors should help each other.
Your semester grade will be based on a number of components. I strongly urge you to keep your own tally of these individual scores; you can then compute your overall grade yourself.
Learning modules: Quest will assign you a grade for each of these (0 to 100). I will drop your lowest three Learning Module scores. The average of the remaining ones will be your semester Learning Module Score. THIS WILL BE A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE AVERAGE REPORTED BY QUEST because Quest doesn't know that I am only averaging some of the scores. Note: Doing the Learning Modules well is your easiest way to raise your semester grade!
Online Homework: There will be questions for you to answer on Quest each week. This will enable you to get constant feedback on how well you are understanding the material. I will drop the three lowest homework grades and average the rest to give you a "Homework Score" of up to 100 points for the semester. Again: don't trust the Quest-reported score.
QR assignments: These worksheets will be completed during your meetings with the TA. You will work on these in a group with some fellow students, then enter your answers individually into Canvas. I will drop the lowest four of these grades
Exams: There will be 3 mid-term exams, to be held on Tuesday evenings from 7-9pm, on the dates shown below. A comprehensive final exam will be held during Finals Week at the time established by the Registrar. The exams will be multiple-choice questions chosen from the Quest database. The exams are hard, but fair. If your final exam score is higher than your lowest midterm score, I will replace the latter with the former!
UPDATE: Our midterm exams will be held in BUR 106 at 7pm. Students with acommodations from the D&A office whould go instead to PMA 5.104 at 6pm. Students with time conflicts should speak to me in advance; whatever we arrange will take place in UTC 2.102A.
Extra Credit: There is no way to get "extra credit" to offset a poor exam score or homework average, there are no "retakes", and there are no mechanisms to compute your grade differently from everyone else's. So prepare well and do things right the first time.
Final Semester Grades: Your final semester grade is simply a weighted average of the components:
(0.05 x LM) + (0.10 x HW) + (0.06 x QR) + (0.18 x T1) + (0.18 x T2) + (0.18 x T3) + (0.25 x Fin)
Letter Grades: This 100-point numerical grade is then converted to a letter grade according to the following scale: https://xkcd.com/2329/ Just kidding. I use a pretty standard conversion formula:
| 97.0-100 | A+ |
| 93.0-96.9 | A |
| 90.0-92.9 | A- |
| 87.0-89.9 | B+ |
| 83.0-86.9 | B |
| 80.0-82.9 | B- |
| 77.0-79.9 | C+ |
| 73.0-76.9 | C |
| 70.0-72.9 | C- |
| 67.0-69.9 | D+ |
| 63.0-66.9 | D |
| 60.0-62.9 | D- |
| 0-59.9 | F |
If for some reason there is a deviation from this scale it will be applied uniformly to your lecture section, and it will be announced in class.
Exam conditions: Textbooks, notes, and electronic devices (including phones and calculators) are not permitted during exams. Please notify me well in advance of any special situations, e.g. students with a documented learning disability who require extra lighting, so that I may arrange the required accommodations. (You will need the letter from the D&A office before the first exam.)
No late work: It is in general not possible to make up missing assignments or exams after the due date. If you believe you will have to miss a graded event, please notify me in advance; I will try to arrange for you to complete the work early.
Late course entry: If you enroll within the first four class days of the semester, and have missed any graded material, I will adjust the weighting of your graded sections accordingly so that you are not penalized. No such accommodation is made for students who enroll on the 5th day or later. (Such students must enroll through the MPAA advising center in PMA, and ordinarily I do not admit students who ask to enroll then if they have missed any graded activities).
Key dates:
Textbook: The materials for this class are available through the Longhorn Textbook Access (LTA) program, a new initiative between UT Austin, The University Co-op and textbook publishers to significantly reduce the cost of digital course materials for students. You are automatically opted into the program but can easily opt-out (and back in) via Canvas through the 12th class day. If you remain opted-in at the end of the 12th class day you will receive a bill through your "What I Owe" page and have until the end of the 18th class day to pay and retain access. If you do not pay by the 18th class day, you will lose access to the materials after the 20th class day and your charge will be removed. More information about the LTA program is available at https://www.universitycoop.com/longhorn-textbook-access
Quest: 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 $30 charge per student per class for its use, with no student being charged more than $60 a semester. This goes toward the maintenance and operation of the resource. Please go to http://quest.cns.utexas.edu to log in to the Quest system for this class. 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. Quest provides instructional material for this course which is mandatory. For payment questions, email quest.billing@cns.utexas.edu.
Academic Integrity: Please read the message about Academic Integrity from the Dean of Students Office. I very much prefer to treat you as professionals whose honesty is beyond question; but if my trust is violated I will follow the procedures available to me to see that dishonesty is exposed and punished. In case you are unfamiliar with the UT Honor code, please allow a First Lady, a governor, and Mr. "Alright alright alright!" to remind you: UT Honor Code New this Fall: The Dean no longer grants faculty members the opportunity to use our discretion when handling suspected violations; all cases must be reported to the Dean's office.
Students with disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.
Campus safety: Please familiarize yourself with the Emergency Preparedness instructions provided by the university's Campus Safety and Security office. In the event of severe weather or a security threat, we will immediately suspend class and follow the instructions given. You may wish to sign up with the campus alert programs.
Counseling: Students often encounter non-academic difficulties during the semester, including stresses from family, health issues, and lifestyle choices. I am not trained to help you with these but do encourage you to take advantage of the Counselling and Mental Health Center, Student Services Bldg (SSB), 5th Floor, open M-F 8am-5pm. (512 471 3515, or www.cmhc.utexas.edu
Religious holidays: If you are unable to participate in a required class activity (such as an exam) because it conflicts with your religious traditions, please notify me IN ADVANCE and I will make accommodations for you. Typically I will ask you to complete the required work before the religious observance begins.
Sharing of Course Materials is Prohibited: No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments (quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets, may be shared online or with anyone outside of the class unless you have my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing of materials promotes cheating. It is a violation of the University's Student Honor Code and an act of academic dishonesty. I am well aware of the sites used for sharing materials, and any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in sanctions, including failure in the course.
Attendance: There is no online option for this course, although attendance is not mandatory anyway. But who are we kidding? Have a look at the schedule below; apart from three exam dates, we meet as a big group just 25 times this semester for instruction. At the pace of this class, any time you miss a class, you are a couple of sections behind! That's hard to make up. Plus, if you are (to take a common example) paying in-state tuition for 12 undergraduate credit-hours in the College of Engineering, the tuition alone costs you $86 for every one of those 25 class meetings. Are you really going to throw away an $86 ticket you have already paid for, just so that you can sit home and eat Cheetos on the couch?
Your primary sources of human help this semester should should be your instructor and your teaching assistant, either in class or in office hours. If there is anything you don't understand perfectly, you should be in class or in our office! We are here to help you, but you have to take the first step.
There are two other great ways to get math help here at UT:
CalcLab: The Mathematics Department offers assistance to all students taking Calculus courses in our new Calc Lab. The Calculus Lab is in PMA 8.136 and is staffed most weekday afternoons. (This semester's schedule will appear here.) If you go there during those hours you will typically find two graduate Teaching Assistants and some undergraduate Learning Assistants whose job it is to help you learn the material, perhaps clarifying some point from our class or the textbook, perhaps giving hints on homework. Please take advantage of their help!
Sanger Center In addition to visiting the instructor or the teaching assistant during office hours, you might want to make use the services of the Sanger Learning and Career Center. The Sanger Center offers several forms of tutoring to students throughout the semester; I invite you to peruse the whole list, but in particular they will have a "Calculus Refresher for M408L" on Sept. 2, 2025 - Sept. 4, 2025. They also offer reviews of the material before each of the exams (including the final). These are not run by the math department but I believe they are high-quality reviews designed just for you! They also offer
Aug 25-28: 5.3,5.4 [Meet in the M/W location Monday] Sep 1- 4: 5.5,(6.1) [No TA meeting Monday] Sep 8-11: 6.1,6.2 Sep 15-18: 7.1,7.2 Sep 22-25: 7.3,7.4 Sep 29- 2: TEST1, 7.5 Oct 6- 9: 7.8,(14.3) Oct 13-16: 14.3,15.1 Oct 20-23: 15.2,11.1-11.2 Oct 27-30: TEST2, 11.3 Nov 3- 6: 11.4-11.6 Nov 10-13: 11.6-11.8 Nov 17-20: 11.9,11.10 Nov 24-27: [No classes] Dec 1- 4: TEST3, Semester Review Dec 8 : [Monday TA meeting only]
You may have spent most of your mathematical life working on problems by yourself. This is a good thing; you become self-reliant. However, I strongly encourage you to work with one or two other students in this class on a regular basis. Challenge each other to solve the problems, to explain the concepts, and to ask each other for help. This is the way mathematics is done in the real world, and practicing this now can help you this semester and beyond.
Since you are adults, I leave it to you to monitor your level of understanding on your own, and to seek help when you need it. But please allow me to share my experience. Every student who starts this class has met the pre-requisites and has the expectation that he or she will succeed. Nonetheless, every semester, about one-fifth of this group of bright, hard-working students either withdraws or ends up with a D or an F. No one likes this outcome. Please be attentive to your progress on homeworks and midterms. If you find you are always asking other people for help while studying; if you find that it takes you hours and hours to complete every homework set; if the learning modules give you a lot of trouble, or you score less than half the possible points on a midterm exam: in these cases, you CAN succeed, but ONLY if you change your patterns immediately. Optimism is a wonderful thing but it alone cannot bring the results you may want. Please see me early in the semester if you think you may have trouble during this course, or if you get poor grades. I can try to help you with the material, or with your study habits, or else advise you to withdraw, but you have to change something to get a different outcome. Let's make this the first-ever 100% successful Math 408L class!
One more suggestion: have fun this semester! Some of us think math is so cool that we end up doing it for a living. I will try to convey to you some of what's kewl, and invite you to consider majoring (or minoring) in math, joining the math club, or simply taking more math classes. I am always happy to talk in my office about mathematics topics beyond what we discuss in class.