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, 7^th 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 L’Hospital’s 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 “Q” 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 I’m 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 calendar’s 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 week’s 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 department’s 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.