Oklahoma State University - Department of Mathematics

Calculus I (MATH 2144) Fall 2008

Attendance

Because of the high correlation between poor attendance and low grades, you are expected to attend every class session. Class attendance means that you are in class on time and stay for the entire class period. Each absence without a valid reason takes away 10% from your attendance score and lowers your final grade according to the grading scheme. You are expected to participate in class discussion and you are responsible to learn the material covered in class and that in the corresponding sections in your textbook.

Homework

Homework will be assigned and submitted in the online system WebAssign.

To get started, follow the instructions in http://www.math.okstate.edu/~mschulze/teaching/08F-MATH2144/self-enrollment.pdf using the Class Key obtained during the first class meeting and your Access Code. For information on how to obtain your Access Code, see http://www.math.okstate.edu/access_codes_fall_2008.

You can find some useful tips for using WebAssign in http://www.math.okstate.edu/~mschulze/teaching/08F-MATH2144/webassign-tips.pdf.

WebAssign has student tech support that you can use if you experience technical problems. A guide and FAQ are available at https://www.webassign.net/info/students.html. If reading that doesn't solve your problems, you can go to the Help Request page at https://www.webassign.net/info/help.html. There are also phone numbers for tech support listed at https://www.webassign.net/info/contact.html.

Examinations

There will be 3 midterm exams and a final exam which contribute to your final grade. Date and time for each exam will be announced in class and appear online in the course schedule. Make-up exams will be given only under exceptional circumstances and if you contact me in advance. Books, notes, and electronic devices are not permitted during exams. To gain credit your answers must be clearly presented. Your work must show how you proceeded to find the answer or why your answer is correct. Scratch work should be clearly separated from what is to be graded and the final result should be marked by drawing a rectangle around it.

Grades

The contributions to your total score will be weighted as follows.

ContributionAttendanceHomework3 Midterm ExamsFinal ExamExtra Problems
Weight (final grade)5%20%3 x 15%30%10%
Weight (6-week grade)10%40%1 x 50%NANA

Your total score will be truncated to an integer percentage and determines your final grade as follows.

Total Score0-59%60-69%70-79%80-89%90-100%
Letter GradeFDCBA

Curving may be applied in form of a linear adjustment to all scores on a particular exam. I reserve the right to decide borderline cases based on class attendance and subjective impressions such as effort and conscientiousness.

How to learn?

Your starting points are the textbook and the lecture. It is easier to follow the lecture if you have seen the material before and presented from a slightly different point of view. I strongly recommend that you read each section in your textbook at home before it is covered in class. Try to isolate what you do not understand and be prepared to ask questions during the lecture.

Do not hesitate to ask questions. If something is unclear to you in class, just ask. You can be sure that many of the other students have the same question but do not dare to ask. If you let me know what your problems are, I can adapt the lecture and make it easier for you to follow. There are no stupid questions. On the contrary, asking the right question is often an important step in the process of solving a problem.

The importance of working on example problems can not be overemphasized. Try to work on the homework problems intensively and pick additional similar problems from the exercises sections of your textbook.

Discussion is crucial to understand mathematics. I strongly encourage you to discuss both the material covered in class and your solutions of the homework problems with other students in your section. The best way to check your own understanding of a subject is to explain it to someone else.

Where to get help?

Ideally you solve the homework problems on your own or working with other students in your section. If you realize that you do not understand the homework problems, seek help immediately. With a backlog of not understood material it extremely difficult to catch up with the class again.

Free tutoring and other services for this and similar mathematics courses are provided by the Mathematics Learning Resource Center (MLRC). The MLRC is located on the 4th floor of the classroom building and you need to check in for tutoring in room CLB 420. Calculus Tutoring hours for fall 2008 will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 3:00pm-9:00pm and Wednesday 3:00pm-6:00pm. For more information, see http://www.math.okstate.edu/mlrc.

You are always welcome to see me in my office hour or contact me by email if you have any questions or problems. If my office hours do not fit your schedule, please contact me by email for an appointment.

Course Schedule

The following course schedule is preliminary.

Class Meeting Date Sections in Textbook: Subject/Exam Addendum
108/181.1,1.2: Four Ways to Represent a Function & Mathematical ModelsTable of mathematical symbols
208/201.3,1.5: New Functions from Old & Exponential Functions
308/211.6: Inverse Functions and Logs
408/222.1: The Tangent and Velocity Problems
508/252.2: The Limit of a Function
608/27Continued
708/282.3: Calculating Limits Using the Limit Laws
808/29Continued
909/032.5: Continuity
1009/04Continued
1109/052.6: Limits at Infinity; Horizontal Asymptotes
1209/08Continued
1309/102.7: Derivatives and Rates of Change
1409/11Continued
1509/122.8: The Derivative as a Function
1609/151.1-2.8: Review for Exam 1
1709/171.1-2.8: Exam 1Solutions
1809/183.1: Derivatives of Polynomials and Exponential Functions
1909/193.2: The Product and Quotient Rules
2009/223.3: Derivatives of Trigonometric Functions
2109/243.4: The Chain Rule
2209/253.4,3.5: Chain Rule & Implicit Differentiation
2309/263.5: Implicit Differentiation
2409/293.6: Derivatives of Logarithmic Functions
2510/013.8: Exponential Growth and Decay
2610/023.9: Related Rates
2710/03Continued
2810/063.10: Linear Approximations and Differentials
2910/08Continued
3010/093.11: Hyperbolic Functions
3110/134.1: Maximum and Minimum Problems
3210/154.1,4.2: Maximum and Minimum Problems & The Mean Value Theorem
3310/164.3,4.5: How Derivatives Affect the Shape of a Graph & Curve Sketching
3410/17Continued
3510/204.4: Indeterminate Forms and L'Hospital's Rule
3610/22Continued
3710/234.7: Optimization Problems
3810/24Continued
3910/273.1-4.7: Review for Exam 2
4010/293.1-4.7: Exam 2Solutions
4110/304.9: Antiderivatives
4210/315.1: Areas and Distances
4311/035.1,7.7: Areas and Distances & Approximate Integration
4411/055.2: The Definite Integral
4511/06Continued
4611/075.3: The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
4711/10Continued
4811/125.4: Indefinite Integrals and the Net Change Theorem
4911/135.5: The Substitution Rule
5011/146.1: Area between Curves
5111/176.2: Volumes
5211/19Continued
5311/206.3: Volumes and Shells
5411/216.3: Volumes by Cylindrical Shells
5511/244.9-6.3: Review for Exam 3
5612/014.9-6.3: Exam 3Solutions were presented as Review for Exam 3
5712/036.4,6.5: Work & Average Value of a Function
5812/044.8: Newton's Method
5912/051.1-6.5: Review for Final Exam
61Sec. 1/21: 12/08 8:00-9:50 MSCS 445
Sec. 6/26: 12/08 10:00-11:50 PS 153
1.1-6.5: Final Exam

Extra Problems

You can gain extra credit by solving some of the following extra problems. The due date for the problems below is 12/01/2008 and each of them is worth 10 points. More extra problems will be posted on WebAssign.

Extra Problem 1: Find an algebraic function with the same asymptotes as the function in Figure 5 on page 132. For the vertical asymptotes, also the left- and right-sided limits should coincide with the corresponding limits of the given function. Solution: 3|x|/|x+1|+|x|/|x-2| (which is algebraic as |x| is the positive root of x2).

Extra Problem 2: (a) Find a continuous function defined on a closed interval that has infinitely many critical numbers. (b) Give arguments and show calculations to support that your function really has this property. (c) Does the closed interval method serve to determine the global extrema of your function? Solution: (a) f(x)=0 on [0,1]. (b) f'(x)=0. (c) Yes (as there is just one critical value of the function).

Extra Problem 3: Describe a procedure to find a polynomial function with given local maximum and local minimum values at given critical points. The number of given extrema can be arbitrary. Discuss under what conditions your procedure works or when it might fail.

Academic Integrity

I will respect OSU's commitment to academic integrity and uphold the values of honesty and responsibility that preserve our academic community. For more information, see http://academicintegrity.okstate.edu.

Disclaimer

This syllabus may be subject to future changes and it is your responsibility to be informed. Any change of the syllabus will be announced in class and appear online.