Math 191 Section 002- Calculus I Fall Semester 2004

Instructor: Dr. Carolyn Yackel
Office:220 Ware Hall
Office Phone Number: 301-5982
E-mail:yackel_ca@mercer.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 1-2 PM, Wednesdays 1-2 PM, Thursdays 3-4 PM, Fridays 10-11 AM and by appointment. You do not need to make an appointment in order to come during office hours. Office hours will be cancelled on days when the university is not in session. (For example, office hours are cancelled during fall break.)

Text: Calculus: Concepts and Contexts, 2nd Edition by James Stewart

This course will cover material from chapters 1-5.4.

Prerequisite: Math 133 or a sufficiently high score on the mathematics placement exam

Course Objectives: The successful student will

Acquire and hone calculational skills involving both "work by hand" and calculators,
Develop a personal library of familiar functions, understood by formulas, graphs, tables, and words,
Understand the basic ideas of a first course in Calculus, including limits, derivatives, integrals, and their applications,
Be able to express mathematical thoughts and ideas using graphs, tables, formulas, and words, and
Gain an appreciation for the subtle specificity required in making a mathematically correct statement.

In this class we will work to achieve the above goals by using

Reading. You are expected to read the text for understanding. To make the most of the course, you need to read in order to keep up with the syllabus. If section 2.1 is to be covered on a given day, you should read section 2.1 before that class period. Reading mathematics is a slow process-most mathematicians consider a rate of 2 to 5 pages of mathematics per hour as a quick pace. · Exercises. A group of exercises from each section will be recommended. These will neither be turned in nor graded. However, you should use these exercises to hone your skills and to make sure that you understand the material. You should do enough of the exercises that you become comfortable with the material, including with calculation. If you need to do more exercises to achieve that level of comfort than is on the list of recommended exercises, simply choose more problems from the book and do those.
WebWork homework. WebWork is a highly effective system of on-line homework. In this course, WebWork will be used primarily for routine problems. Group work will be used to give more conceptually based questions. This does not mean the WebWork problems are easy. I expect that the problems will take you several hours per week. I suggest that you print a hard copy of the problem set at the beginning of the week, and work the problems as we cover the material. Each day you will find that you can do more of the problems. At the end of each day you should enter the answers for the problems that you worked that day. Computer errors are infrequent, so if the computer says that your answer is wrong, it probably is. The first thing to do is to check that you typed in your answer correctly. Often people have trouble with WebWork, because they do not understand order of operations (how parentheses work). If you've entered the problem correctly, check that the computer thinks you've entered what you think you've entered by clicking on the preview answer button. If you still haven't found your mistake, go back over your work (which you should have written neatly on scratch paper, labeled with the problem number, and saved) and try to find where you could have made an error. If you cannot find a mistake, it sometimes helps to try reworking the problem from the beginning without looking at your previous work. If that still doesn't work, it's time to go get help. Sources of help are the textbook, your group members, the SI, tutors at the Academic Resource Center, and me. You are always welcome at my office during office hours. Many students also ask me questions after class. WebWork assignments will be due approximately weekly. Access is obtained by following links from the site http://mathww.mercer.edu/. Directions for the use of WebWork are given on a separate sheet. ·
Group work. Groups are to serve as a forum for discussion, intellectual exchange, and accountability. A group should be supportive of its members, encouraging each individual to learn and understand as fully as possible. Your group will hold you accountable for doing the reading, while providing a forum for discussion and communication. In addition, each group will turn in a single set of well-written homework problems once per week. These problems will often be challenging and require effective teamwork to solve. Group work is most effective if everyone comes to group on time and prepared. You should prepare by reading and thinking about the problems before the group meeting. During the meeting, you should respect everyone's time by arriving promptly and staying on task. You will need at least two meetings per week. You must not split up the problems and assign them to individuals. The entire group needs to work on the entire problem set. After the problems are written up, each group member must read for corrections. By submitting a problem set with your name on it, you certify that the work is yours and it conforms to the standards of the Honor Code. If your group cannot solve a problem together, then you may ask the SI, tutors at the Academic Resource Center, or me for help. Problems must be submitted in order and affixed by a STAPLE. (Problem sets in which the problems are out of order and/or the pages are not stapled together will be docked points.) The due date will be Fridays by 2 pm sharp. Guidelines on group meetings and write-ups are contained on the handout Group Work in MAT191.
Class time. Class time will involve a mixture of interactive lecture and thought provoking activities. Sometimes the in-class work will be done in pairs or in groups of three or four. Occasionally, we may meet in a computer classroom. Come to class ready to think!
Reflection. It is easy to think that if you only do your assignments, you will succeed. However, without time for reflection upon the material and an attempt to integrate new ideas into your existing knowledge base, it is unlikely that you will truly learn the material. Thinking about mathematics each day will make the material easier to learn deeply and to retain. Each time you read your book, study your notes, try some homework problems, or even just think about mathematics, you are studying for the exams.

Assessment: A measure of your progress and your course grade will be based on the following distribution. WebWork Homework-- 10% Group Homework-- 15% Exams 1, 2, 3, and 4-- 15% each Final Exam-- 15% Important Dates:

tr>ItemDateLabor day/No Class Mon., Sept. 6Exam 1 (1.1-2.5) Fri., Sept. 10 Exam 2 (2.6-3.5) Fri., Oct. 8 Middle of the Term Fri., Oct. 8 Fall Break/No Class Mon. & Tues., Oct. 11-12 Last day to withdraw Tues., Oct. 26 Exam 3 (3.6-4.5) Wed., Nov. 3 Thanksgiving/No Class Wed.-Fri., Nov. 24-26 Exam 4 (4.6-5.4) Fri., Dec. 3 Last Day of Class Mon., Dec. 6 Final Exam see schedule

Policies:

The exam dates are fixed. Make-up exams will be given only in extreme cases and when written, verifiable proof is provided. Such cases include death in the immediate family or severe illness. Such cases do not include conflicting weekend travel plans, failure to prepare, other exams or assignments due the same day, or forgetting about the exam.
Regular, punctual attendance is key to success in this course; hence, it is expected. Students are responsible for obtaining information and assignments distributed during class.
Written assignments will be accepted until 3pm on the due date, after which they will be considered late. The official course clock is the instructor's watch. Homework consisting of more than one page must be held together with a STAPLE. Homework problems must be submitted in order. The penalty for late homework is stiff. Homework submitted n calendar days late will receive its score multiplied by (.5)n.
Students are responsible for all material presented in class and all material in the text. · Announcements made in class or posted on the class web page are considered official notification.
Students who receive a D or F on any assignment need to make an appointment to meet with me as soon as possible.

Honor Code: The Mercer University Honor Code, found in The Lair, applies to all assignments and tests given in this course.

Technological Devices: Calculators: It is strongly recommended that the student have access to a graphing calculator for use in the class. Use of a TI-92, TI-89, or equivalent calculator with symbolic solving capabilities is not permitted. You may check with your instructor to see if your calculator is appropriate to use in class. Since I will use the TI-83 Plus graphing calculator for any in-class demonstrations, I recommend the student have a TI-83 Plus for use in homework assignments and on tests where permitted. Any misuse of a calculator on a test is a violation of Mercer's Honor Code. In particular, using the calculator's storage facility to store formulas, equations, text, etc. is a violation of the Honor Code. In addition, unless I indicate otherwise, the graphing calculator is only to be used for numeric computation and for graphing. If the student is unsure of the correctness of using a capability of the calculator, the student should consult me.

Other Devices: Out of courtesy for all those participating in the learning experience, all cell phones and pagers must be turned off before entering any classroom, lab, or formal academic or performance event.

Students who believe that they possess disabilities for which accommodation is required must so inform the instructor at the close of their first class meeting. They must then indicate the nature of their disability and the sort of reasonable accommodation requested. If you believe that you possess a disability for which reasonable accommodation must be made, you must consult with the instructor of this class immediately after your first class meeting. You will then identify the disability and the reasonable accommodation requested. The instructor will refer you to Student Support Services for evaluation, documentation of your disability, and a recommendation as to the accommodation, if any, to be provided.
If you do not consult with the instructor and follow up at Student Support Services, as provided above, you will thereby waive any claim to a disability and the right to any accommodation pertaining thereto.