Calculus and Analytic Geometry I                     Instructor: Martin Jackson
MATH 121A                     Office: Thompson 602
Fall 2004                     Phone: 879-3567
MWTF 8:00-8:50 Thompson 320                     E-mail: martinj@ups.edu
Course Overview and Text
This course begins the three semester calculus sequence. After successfully completing this course, a student should be able to A detailed list of specific objectives is available on the course web page. In addition, a student completing this course should improve critical thinking and logical reasoning skills along with gaining proficiency in reading and writing technical material.
We start with a quick review of some background material, including topics from algebra, trigonometry, and the basics of functions. We then examine the fundamental idea in calculus, the limit of a function. The limit notion is central to all other concepts in calculus. The first such concept is continuity of a function.
Following our study of limit and continuity, we turn our attention to the derivative of a function. This concept and its applications will occupy the bulk of our time in the first semester. Many applications of calculus involve using a function and its derivative to model real-world phenomena. An example of this is the relation between position and velocity.
We will end the course with an introduction to the definite integral of a function. The second semester of the calculus sequence continues with further study of the integral and its applications.
The text for this course is Calculus, 3rd ed., Monty J. Strauss, Gerald L. Bradley and Karl J. Smith, (Prentice-Hall, 2002). We will cover the material in the text through Section 5.4.
Course Web Page
A web site for this course is located at
www.math.ups.edu/~martinj/courses/fall2004/m121A/m121A.html
or go to www.math.ups.edu/~martinj and follow the obvious links. The web site will have a list of assignments and due dates. I will also post announcements and comments about questions or issues that come up in class. You should check the web site for new announcements several times each week. Class handouts will be available to download as PDF files.
Grading, Coursework, and Policies
In class, we will discuss new material, respond to questions from reading the text, and work through assigned problems on which there are difficulties. When we discuss new material, the focus will be on "the big picture." That is, we will look at new ideas in their simplest form and how these ideas fit together. Often, we will not consider details and variations in depth during a first pass through new material. Your mastery of the details will begin outside of class with a careful reading of the text and work on the assigned problems. We will address the details by responding to questions on the reading and problems that you bring to class. You are expected to participate in class by being present (and alert), by responding to questions I pose, and by asking the questions that you have. I will often ask for ideas on how to proceed in a given problem or in developing a new concept. You should develop the habit of contributing ideas even if you are not confident your idea will work out.
Outside of class, you should read the relevant sections of the text carefully. This will generally include working through the reasoning of arguments and filling in steps that are omitted in calculations. You should keep a list of specific questions from the reading and find answers to those questions either in class, with me outside of class, with study partners, or with a tutor.
The text is also a source of problems that are essential in building understanding and skill. I will assign homework problems from the textbook on which I expect you to spend considerable time and effort. For most sections we cover, I will also designate several problems to be collected and evaluated. You should not get in the habit of focusing only on the problems designated to be turned in. You will need to do many more problems in order to become facile with the concepts, techniques, and applications. The typical schedule for homework will be to get a new assignment one class meeting, address questions from that assignment in the following class meeting, and have a due date on the class meeting following that.
Projects will be second type of assignment to be completed outside of class. The purpose of the projects is to present challenges, often open-ended, that go beyond the routine of homework problems and to provide practice in technical writing. For each project, you will compose a written report. This should be done in complete sentences with enough detail for a reader to follow your reasoning and reconstruct your work. All graphs should be done on graph paper or with appropriate computer assistance. I encourage you to work on these projects in small groups. If you do work on a project with others, you must do your own write up of the results.
Each problem set and project will have a due date. If you wish to turn an assignment in after the due date, you must talk with me before the due date. Under reasonable circumstances, I will grant individual extensions for deadlines. If you submit an assignment after a deadline (or an agreed upon extension), I will assess a penalty equal to 10% of the assignment's maximum point value for each working day that the assignment is late.
In order to assess your learning, we will have five exams and a final exam. The date for each of the five exams during the semester will be announced at least one week in advance. The last exam will be during the last week of classes and will carry less weight than the other four exams. I write exams so that approximately three-fourths of each exam is "straightforward" and the remainder involves more challenging problems. By this, I intend that a well-prepared student can do the "straightforward" problems without hesitation but will often or always have to struggle with the challenging problems.
The final exam will be comprehensive. It is scheduled for 12:00-2:00 pm on Monday, December 13. It is University policy that no exceptions can be made for taking a final exam at the scheduled time. Please do not make travel arrangements that conflict with the scheduled final exam time.
To determine course grades, I calculate a total course score according to the following weights:
                        
Homework     15%
Projects     10%
Exams     60%
Final exam     15%
I assign a preliminary course grade based on an objective standard (93.3-100% for an A, 90.0-93.2% for an A-, 86.7-89.9% for a B+, 83.3-86.6% for a B, etc.). I then look at each student's performance subjectively. Occasionally I will assign a course grade that is higher than the objective standard. For example, if a student has a grade of B according to the objective standard but has shown steady improvement, I might assign a course grade of B+.
Office Hours
I am generally available in my office for help several hours each day. I am often in my office during the day in hours at which I do not have a scheduled class, meeting, or other activity. You can see my weekly schedule at
     www.math.ups.edu/~martinj/schedule.html     
Feel free to come look for me. To be (almost) guaranteed that I will be in, come during one of the hours labeled as an "office hour." You can also call, send e-mail, or stop me after class to schedule an appointment for a specific time.


Important Dates for Fall 2004
Tuesday, September 7 Last day to add a course
Monday, September 13 Last day to drop a course without record
Monday, September 27 Last day to drop a course with an automatic W
Note that University policy mandates a grade of WF if you drop a course after Monday, September 27 unless "there have been unusual circumstances beyond the student's control and the student's work has been of passing quality." For full details, see the Academic Policies section of The Logger.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.38.
On 29 Aug 2004, 19:18.