Instructor: Dave Rusin (rusin@math.utexas.edu)
Office hrs: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-10:30am, and Wednesdays 11am-4pm
Feel free to drop in during those hours to my office, PMA 9.140.
I can also arrange additional times to meet; send me email if
you'd like to meet with me.
I am teaching this course to two separate groups of students this Fall.
Each class meets with me every Tuesday and Thursday in CPE 2.208 ; in
addition, you will meet with the Teaching Assistant every Monday and
Wednesday. Times and places for these meetings depend on your "Unique ID":
53570: with me at 2:00pm; with TA at 2:00pm in UTC 3.124
53575: with me at 2:00pm; with TA at 4:00pm in PMA 7.104
53580: with me at 3:30pm; with TA at 10:00am in UTC 3.122
53585: with me at 3:30pm; with TA at 3:00pm in CPE 2.212
Teaching asst: TBA
TA Office hrs and location: TBA
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 is Friday, December 13; I expect it to be in the regular
classroom. There is no provision for taking the final exam earlier or later.
Course webpage: http://www.ma.utexas.edu/~rusin/408N-24b/
Course description: Introduction to the theory and applications of differential calculus of one variable; topics include limits, continuity, differentiation, mean value theorem, and applications; antidifferentiation and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Its objective is to provide students with practical mathematical skills necessary for advanced studies in all areas of science and engineering.
Please note that "mathematical skills" here refers to more than 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. M408N is ordinarily taken as a first calculus course by well-prepared science majors. If that does not describe you, you are still welcome here, but you might want to check with me or with your academic advisor to make sure this is the best course for you.
The prerequisite is an appropriate score on the mathematics placement exam or Mathematics 305G with a grade of at least B-. 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 403K, 408C, 408N.
There is a cycle of activity that we follow for each section of the book (typically one class meeting per section).
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 would like to have you work on problems in groups during the class.
Your semester grade will be based on a number of components:
Learning modules: Quest will assign you a grade for these and at the end of the semester it will provide me your average score (0 to 100). I will adjust this a bit by dropping your lowest two learning module 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 after each class. This will enable you to get constant feedback on how well you are understanding the material. Note that Quest will subtract points for wrong answers, so think carefully before you answer or you could end up with a negative score! (Why?) I will drop the two lowest homework grades and average the rest to give you a "Homework Score" of up to 100 points for the semester.
Written Homework: About once a week I will post a homework assignment to Canvas. This will consist of 2 or 3 assigned problems. The point of these assignments is so that we can actually see your work on a problem (just as we look for on exams). Write out your solution neatly, scan it to a PDF, and upload to Canvas. The grader will make comments and score the paper; the grades will be stored on canvas. Note: The grader will reject papers that are late, unreadable, or incomprehensible. I will drop the lowest two scores and average the rest.
Exams: There will be 3 mid-term exams, to be held during the usual class period, and a comprehensive final exam. The exams will be a mix of multiple-choice and free-response questions. The midterms will have about a dozen questions for you to answer in the 75 minutes; the final is a bit longer but you have 2 hours for it.
I expect the midterms to be given on the Tuesdays and Thursdays shown on the schedule below, during the class period, in the classroom. The final exam will be Friday December 13, at the times shown below; I expect to use our regular classroom for it. Mark your calendars now!
Because my exams tend to be hard, I have a way to "curve" the exam scores. I will compute both your raw score and your curved score and whichever is higher for you will be the score I use when computing semester grades. The curving method is simple: I compute the mean, mu, and the standard deviation, sigma, of the class's raw scores, and then a person with a raw score of X will get a curved score of
85 + 10 (X-mu) / sigma(with a maximum curved score of 105 and a minimum of 0). This way the mean curved score will be 85 and the standard deviation of the curved scores will be 10. In effect, the average grade is then a "B" and being off by one standard deviation from the class average raises or lowers your grade by one letter grade.
Extra Credit: Occasionally I may ask a question on an exam that might offer the chance to get a few additional points. That's it: there is no other way to get "extra credit" to offeset a poor exam score or homework average. So prepare well and do things right the first time.
Letter Grades: Each of these 100-point numerical grades 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 |
Your final semester grade is simply a weighted average of the components: learning module, homework, midterm grades, and the final count equally (15% each) and the written homework a little less (10%). When I combine these components, I do the arithmetic as is done for high-school GPAs: A=4.0, B=3.0, etc; "+" and "-" are one-third of a letter grade up or down. An average of 3.83 rounds down to an A- (4-1/3) while 3.84 rounds up to an A (4.00), etc. Sadly, the university does not permit me to report scores of "A+" but internally I do track those terrific students whose semester average is 4.17 or above!
Note that in this way your weekly homework grades and so on are giving you approximations to your eventual semester grade. If you don't like the grades you are getting, please see me (or the T.A.) before a bad pattern sets in. For most people the LM and HW grades pull their average up and their tests pull their average down, but the deviation is not typically large. 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. There is no opportunity to re-take an exam, so prepare properly in advance!
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.
Course drop dates:
Adding this class, on the other hand, is not possible after the fourth class day.
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, just as is your textbook, etc. 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 governor, a first lady, and Mr. "Alright alright alright!" to remind you: UT Honor Code
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.
Transcript flags: 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. You should expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your use of quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems. This course may be used to fulfill the math component of the university core curriculum and addresses the following three core objectives established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: communication skills, critical thinking skills, and empirical and quantitative skills.
Attendance: There is no online option for this course, although attendance is not mandatory anyway. But who are we kidding? 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 Natural Sciences, the tuition alone costs you $80 for every one of those 30 class meetings. Are you really going to throw away $80 you have already paid, 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. But there are two other ways to get help here at UT:
CalcLab: The Mathematics Department offers assistance to all students taking Calculus courses in our new Calc Lab. Here's the department's web page about this: https://www.ma.utexas.edu/academics/undergraduate/calclab/ The Calculus Lab is in PMA 8.136 and is staffed most weekday afternoons. (This semester's schedule will appear on the preceding web page.) 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!
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 an "Algebra Refresher" on Sept. 3, 2024 - Sept. 5, 2024. They also offer
Aug 26-29: 1.4-1.5 [Brief TA meeting Monday]
Sep 2- 5: 2.1-2.4 [No TA meeting Monday]
Sep 9-12: 2.5-2.6
Sep 16-19: 2.7-2.8 and review
Sep 23-26: TEST1, 3.1
Sep 30- 3: 3.2-3.4
Oct 7-10: 3.5-3.7
Oct 14-17: 3.8-3.10
Oct 21-24: TEST2, 4.1
Oct 28-31: 4.2-4.3
Nov 4- 7: 4.4-4.5
Nov 11-14: 4.7-4.9
Nov 18-21: 5.1, TEST3
Nov 25-28: [No classes]
Dec 2- 5: 5.2-5.3
Dec 9 : [Monday TA meeting only]
Comprehensive final exam Friday, December 13 (CPE 2.208)
Uniq IDs 53570-75 (2:00pm class): final at 1:00pm
Uniq IDs 53580-85 (3:30pm class): final at 3:30pm
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-fourth of this group of bright, hard-working students ends up with a D or F, or withdraws. 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. I can try to help you with the material, or with your study habits, or else advise you to withdraw. Let's make this the first-ever 100% successful Math 408N 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.