Math 200: Calculus I

Spring 2006, UAF; Bueler

Instructor: Ed Bueler
Office: Chapman 301C.  Office hours online.
Phone: 474-7693
eMail: ffelb@uaf.edu
Class Time:  MWThF 8:00-9:00  Gruening 208
                      [plus Tuesday "recitation" time]
Text: Stewart, Calculus edition 5e
Class Web Site: www.dms.uaf.edu/~bueler/Math200S06.htm

The Course:   Calculus is the study of the limits of quantities defined by simpler mathematical operations (quotients and sums, especially).  It is the language in which most of nature and much of technology is described.  This course covers the basics of single variable calculus.  The goal is to have comfort with the meaning and basic manipulation of the three fundamental operations in calculus: (i) taking limits, (ii) differentiation, (iii) integration.  The latter two are the most important cases of the first.

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) in the textbook, Stewart's Calculus (Early Transcendentals edition).

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, which actually is designed to help as many students as possible succeed at learning the calculus, is an additional hour every week in a small "recitation" section.  This semester the sections are on Tuesday, at one of three times (8-9am, 9:45am-10:45am, 11:30am-12:30pm).  In these sections the only goal is to discuss homework and those questions which arose in lecture with a different person than myself, namely a teaching assistant.  I have deliberately put quizzes and midterm exams on Wednesday, the day after your section, to encourage wise use of this very beneficial fifth hour each week.

Exams and The Grade:  Three fourths (75%) of your grade will be determined by  four hours of exams:

Midterm Exam # 1 
Midterm Exam # 2
Final Exam		 Wednesday, March 1 (one hour in class)
Wednesday, April 5 (one hour in class)
Tuesday, May 9  10:15am-12:15 (two hours)
THE FINAL WILL BE AT THE COMMON "Freshman and sophomore mathematics" TIME!
The final exam will have two halves.  One half will cover new material.  One half will cover the entire course.  These two halves will each be worth the same number of points as each midterm.  Thus there will be four equally-weighted exams.  I will drop the lowest of the four.

One fourth (25%) of the total grade will be determined by approximately 10 quizzes.   These will be 20 minute in-class quizzes every non-midterm Wednesday, starting on 1/25. On the Monday before each quiz or midterm we will discuss in lecture the content of the exam.  On the Tuesday before each quiz or midterm, that is, on the day before the quiz or midterm, you will have a chance to ask questions again, of the teaching assistant.  I encourage you to "role play" me before each exam or quiz.  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.  Assuming 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?

There will be weekly homework assignments.  They will be announced on Wednesdays and will be applicable to the quiz/midterm on the following Wednesday.  They will not be collected.  They will contain mostly odd numbered problems, for which the answers appear in the back of the book, and a few even numbered problems.  When I assign an even problem it is a strong hint to the class to ask about that kind of example.

The course grade will be determined by points on the exams and quizzes, according to the schedule at right,  which represents a guarantee: Percent
90 - 100 % 
79 - 89 % 
68 - 78 % 
57 - 67 % 
0 - 56 % 		 Grade
A
B
C
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: 26 on Enhanced ACT Math or 600 on SAT Math or 56 on COMPASS College Algebra.  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, and you must have done reasonably well (no Cs or lower).

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 (www.uaf.edu/catalog/current/academics/regs3.html).  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 #1 and/or #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.  The makeup must occur no later than two class days after the exam date.

Resources:  Don't go a semester without taking advantage of  the Mathlab in Chapman 305.  This is a free study room and tutoring center which is open long hours including weekends; find precise hours posted on the door of Chapman 305.  It is staffed by advanced students who can be quite helpful.  If doing math homework gets lonely, go there to find fellow sufferers.  Another resource: The ASUAF Bookstore has many study guides for calculus.  Look into them.  I especially like a book titled "How to Ace Calculus : The Streetwise Guide"
by Colin Adams and others.

Calculators and Computers:   Please use them on homework!  They will never be required.  They will not be allowed on exams or quizzes.  I strongly recommend that technical majors build facility with a mathematical computer language (Mathematica or especially Matlab; also see the Integrator at www.wolfram.com).  I suspect that using technology will generally not save you time in Math 200, but that it will be extremely helpful to you.