Our primary focus this semester will be upon learning the skills associated with Differential and Integral Calculus for functions of a single variable, with some expansion to functions of more than one variable near the end of the course. At the same time, we will look at applications of these skills, mostly as they pertain to business and economics. The text we will use for the course is Brief Calculus and Its Applications, 10th Edition, by Goldstein, Lay and Schneider.
I may be reached by phone at x66856, but a better way
to reach me is by email.
If you require my approval for something, do
not consider having left a message for me
as equivalent to having obtained that approval.
Course Objectives
Contacting the Professor
My office is NH 281. The hours
I am intentionally in my office for student
questions are posted on my homepage,
and are subject to change during the semester. If we
cannot hook up at one of these times, feel free to
talk with me about an appointed time to meet, or swing
by my office in the hopes that I am available to help.
If you feel yourself falling behind in the class, it
is very important not to put things off, but to seek
help right away. Do not wait until a time close to an
exam before speaking with me.
Reading your Textbook
Read carefully each section of the textbook that we cover.
Reading a math book is not like reading a novel, and can be
frustrating at first. For a rationale on why you should
do it, and advice about how to get the most out of your
reading, go to
this page.
Do so either the day we cover it, or in anticipation the night before. The sections we will cover are indicated on the course calendar, which, though subject to change, is fairly reliable for about a week in advance of the current day.
Use of Technology
Most course information including this syllabus,
homework assignments, a
calendar showing due dates,
test dates, etc. (updated as often as a couple of times each week),
and handouts are accessible via a web browser. (Remember to
use a different browser than Microsoft's Internet Explorer,
such as Mozilla.) While
many announcements, hints, etc. may be given in class, things
that cannot wait until the next class period will be
sent to you as email messages. Thus, it is important that
you be checking your email at least twice daily,
once during the day and once at night.
A graphing calculator will be helpful in the course, so if you do not already have one, please speak with me. In addition, your assignments may include problems for which you are required to visit various webpages and perform certain tasks there. Such activities can be carried out at any computer with an internet connection, which includes those in open computer labs about campus.
Give as much attention to presenting your solutions in a coherent manner (using mathematical symbols as part of your sentence structure) as you give to actually solving problems, as it is the explanation of each problem that is graded (not simply the answer itself). Submission of work that incorporates another's writeup, even on homework, will be considered academic dishonesty. (See Section 4.2.8 of the Faculty Handbook.) You may borrow someone's idea for solving a problem. When it is the case that this borrowing represents a significant step in your answer, indicate this on your write-up (i.e., give the person's name if a member of the class, the url of the pertinent website, etc.).
Your participation grade will be determined at my discretion.
You can easily earn the full credit with regular attendance
(an absolute necessity if you wish to do well in the course, anyway),
demonstrating your curiosity in class (either on topics
being discussed in class or in the text), asking questions via email,
taking an active role in a regularly-meeting
study group, etc. It is only in noting an obvious lack of these,
a lack of respectful behavior in class on your behalf,
your using class time to complete homework, or some other type
of problematic activity (about which I will speak with you)
that I will begin to deduct from your participation grade.
At semester's end, I will compare your grade on the final
exam with what you have received on the three in-class exams.
If the final is better than any one of the three, I will replace
the worst of these with the final exam grade, so that the final
will count as 41% (instead of 24%) of your semester grade.
This page maintained by:
Thomas L. ScofieldEvaluations
Your grade will be determined from your performance on various
assignments and examinations, with weights assigned to each type
of assessment as follows:
Homework
10%
Exams
each 17%
Quizzes
10%
Final
24%
Participation
5%
Accomodations
Reasonable academic accomodations will be made for individuals with
documented disabilities. Any student who this concerns should
notify one of the Coordinators for Services for Students with
Disabilities located in the Student Academic Services office, HH 455.
That student should also meet with me during the first two weeks of
the semester to discuss academic accomodations.
A Final Note
Please speak with me about problems or issues as they arise during the
semester, so that you do not get behind. I would also be glad to hear
your comments about how the class is going, giving us the chance to
understand one another's goals and make changes in the course when it
seems appropriate.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
Calvin College