Spring 2012

Calculus I

Math 1220

Instructor

Professor Niloufer Mackey

(nil.mackey AT wmich DOT edu )

Home

Office

6618 Everett; Phone (269) 387-4594.

Office Hours

MF  11 - noon;  TR   3 - 4pm     Other times by appointment. Right before class is definitely not a good time to see me.

Class Time

MTRF 2 - 2:50pm, Rood 3395. Please turn beepers and cell phones off during class. Regular attendance is required.

Prerequisite

At least 3 and one half years of college prep mathematics in high school and a satisfactory score on the placement examination, or the completion of Math 118 (or an equivalent college level precalculus course) with a grade of C or better.

Text

University Calculus: Elements with Early Transcendentals by Hass, Weir, Thomas. Custom edition for WMU. Addison Wesley/Pearson. Please bring this text with you to every class.

Math Tutor Lab

Free help available in Rood 2261, M -- R 9am - 6pm, F 9am - 2pm.  Check http://www.wmich.edu/math/labs/index.html for updates on hours.

Other Resources

Student Solutions Manual, Part I,   accompanies the text and contains solutions to the odd-numbered problems. If the bookstore does not have it, look for it on-line.
Calculus, Schaum's Outlines Series: 3000 solves problems in Calculus.   Low-priced, with oodles of solved practise problems, used by generations of calculus students. Look for it on-line.
Another low-priced resource is How to Ace Calculus: A Streetwise Guide by Adams, Hass and Thompson. Summarizes the important ideas, gives frank advice with generous helpings of humor.
Finally, a no-cost resource is Calculus  by Gilbert Strang, available on-line through the MIT Open Courseware project.

Calculator

The department recommends a TI-89 or higher for this course.  Calculators may not be allowed on certain exams and quizzes.

*Course Rationale: Calculus has been described as the mathematics of change. In the real world, when we are trying to understand a quantity or process, we do not usually start with a formula. Rather, we start with some knowledge of the way in which the quantity changes. Calculus provides us with a precise language and a powerful tool for exploring this change, no matter what its source. Thus you will encounter the ideas of calculus throughout science -- in astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, economics, physics, psychology....

The ideas of calculus took centuries to develop and then refine, so you should expect to spend many hours of hard thinking every week to understand them!

*Course Objectives:

  1. Understand the central concepts and main applications of calculus.
  2. Develop sufficient compuational skills for subsequent calculus courses, and for applications to other areas.
  3. Develop abilities to tackle multi-step problems and to explain the process.
  4. Develop mathematical reasoning skills.
  5. Develop mathematical writing skills, including learning the proper use of mathematical notation.

*Syllabus:  Chapters 1 - 4 : Limits and Derivatives; Differentiation Rules; Applications of Differentiation; Integration.

We will cover about 2 or 3 sections a week, starting with Section 1.3. Functions are reviewed in Sections 1.1 and 1.2. Please study these sections on your own. We will skip Sections 2.9, 3.7, and 3.9.

*Attendance: Regular attendance is required.

*Homework  will be assigned on a daily basis, but will not be collected. It is essential to do it promptly.  Working together in study groups is highly recommended. Maintain a separate notebook of solutions. Write up neat, complete solutions, including reasoning and explanatory sentences. The list of homework problems can be found at http://homepages.wmich.edu/~mackey/Teaching/122/hw122-sp12.pdf

*Quizzes:  10-minute quizzes will be held every Friday at the end of the class period. There will be an additional quiz on Tues Jan 10, on Sections 1.1 and 1.2 (pre-calculus material). No make-up quizzes will be given; instead, your lowest quiz score will be dropped. No calculators will be allowed on certain quizzes.

*Exams:   Tentative dates for 50 miniute in-class exams are Fri Feb 3 and Fri Apr 6. A comprehensive two-hour Final Exam will be held during Finals Week, on Mon Apr 23, from 12:30 to 2:30pm.

*Differentiation Test:  A 20 minute test on differentiation rules, will be given at the end of class on Thurs Mar 1. No calculators will be permitted on this test, and no partial credit will be given for solutions. The purpose of this test is to encourage you to master the rules of differentiation.

*Makeups for exams will be permitted only in those cases when a student documents a genuine medical or personal emergency. The lowest quiz score will be dropped, and no makeup quizzes will be given.

*Evaluation:

Quizzes

Exam 1

Exam 2

Differentiation Test

Final

20%

20%

20%

15%

25%


Your course grade will be determined by the scale:

94

88

79

74

65

60

55

A

BA

B

CB

C

DC

D



*Important Dates: 
           Mon Jan 16:  MLK Day, no classes
          Mar 2 - 9: No Classes. Spirit Day, Spring Recess
          Mon Mar 19:  Last day to Withdraw
          Fri Apr 20:  Last day of instruction (for this class)
          Mon Apr 23  12:30 - 2:30pm, Final Exam (for this class)

*Academic Integrity:  You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. [The policies can be found here under Academic Policies, Student Rights and Responsibilities.] If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.

* Incompletes: Departmental rules will be followed regarding ``I'' (Incomplete) grades. An ``I'' grade may be assigned only when circumstances beyond the student's control prevent completion of a small segment of the course. Incompletes will not be granted under any circumstances when a student is doing unsatisfactory work; such students are advised to withdraw from the course.

* University e-mail policy:   The only email address to be used for communication between WMU students and faculty and staff is the email address associated with a BroncoNet ID.  Students cannot automatically forward email from this address to other addresses.  Students can access this email account or get instructions for obtaining a BroncoNet ID at GoWMU.wmich.edu.


Last modified: Mon Apr 16 13:52:46 EDT 2012

[ home ]    [ Math 1220 ]    [ classes ]   [ selected papers ]   [ selected links ]