Math 141: Calculus I - Fall 2013

Math 141: Calculus I - Fall 2013

 

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Instructor, TAs and General Information

 

Instructor: Luís Finotti

Office: Ayres Hall 251

Phone: 974-1321 (don't leave messages! -- e-mail me if I don't answer!)

e-mail: lfinotti@utk.edu

Office Hours: MW 9-10 or by appointment.

 

TA/Section: Lindsey Fox (009, 011)

Time and Location (009): Th 2:10pm-3:25pm at TBA.

Time and Location (011): Th 3:40pm-4:55pm at Humanities and Social Sciences 111 (011).

Office: Ayres 109

e-mail: fox@math.utk.edu

Office Hours: M 10am-12:30pm. (Please make an appointment before coming to those hours.)

 

TA/Section: Brian Allen (010)

Time and Location: Th 2:10pm-3:25pm at TBA

Office: Ayres Hall 247

e-mail: allen@math.utk.edu

Office Hours: TuTh 11am-12pm.

 

TA/Section: Anthony Zamberlan (012)

Time and Location (012): Th 3:40pm-4:55pm at Humanities and Social Sciences 111.

Office: Ayres Hall 315

e-mail: zamberlan@math.utk.edu

Office Hours: MW 1pm-3pm, TuTh 9:30am-1pm.

 

Textbook: J. Rogawski, ``Calculus: Early Transcendentals'', 2nd Edition. W.H. Freeman, 2011. (You can also buy an electronic copy from WebAssign.)

Prerequisite: Math 130.

Class: MWF 2:30pm-3:20pm at Walter Life Sciences Building M309. (Sections 009, 010, 011, 012.)

Recitations:

Exams: Midterms: 09/27 (Friday) and 11/08 (Friday); Final: 12/12 (Thursday) from 2:45pm to 4:45pm.

Grade: 25% for HW (lowest score dropped) + 20% for each Midterm + 35% for the Final. Note the weight of the HWs!

 

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Exams:

Midterm I Information

Last updated: 09/24 -- 7:25pm.

I have just written the (preliminary version of the) first exam. Here is some info about it:

 

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Midterm I Results

Here is the Midterm I and the Midterm I with solutions.

The exams were graded and were be returned in recitation on Thursday (10/03). (You can check your grades in Blackboard.) If you are not in recitation that day, you have to contact your TA pick up yours. The results were rather good. Statistics are available at Blackboard.

 

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Midterm II Information

Last updated: 11/06 -- 3:50pm.

I have just written the (preliminary version of the) second exam. Here is some info about it:

 

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Midterm II Results

Here is the Midterm II and the Midterm II with solutions.

The exams were graded and were be returned in recitation on Thursday (11/14). (You can check your grades in Blackboard.) If you are not in recitation that day, you have to contact your TA pick up yours. The results were not as good as the first one, but not bad at all. Statistics are available at Blackboard. If I were to curve these grades, a C would likely be about 65 and above (instead of 70).

 

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Final Exam Information

Last updated: 12/03 -- 8:20pm.

I have just written the (preliminary version of the) final exam. Here is some info about it:

 

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Final Results

Here is the Final and the Final with solutions.

 

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Course Information

Course Content

This is a course in Differential Calculus. Calculus is a very important subject with applications in many areas and fundamental to physics and engineering.

In this semester we will study limits, derivatives, and applications to physics and in optimizations. The second semester deals with Integral Calculus, but it is strongly related to the content of the first semester.

 

Chapters and Topics

We will likely cover the following: Chapters 2 to 4 (except Section 4.9) and Sections 11.1 and 11.3.

Note that this outline is subject to change slightly without prior notice.

 

Homework Policy

Homework on this course will be mostly done through WebAssign. (You should login to WebAssign via Blackboard.) Note that WebAssign recommends that you use Firefox as a browser.

Here are a couple of files to help you with WebAssign (also available on Blackboard):

You can check due dates from WebAssign (or Blackboard, but if they differ for some reason, trust WebAssign), but you will have HWs mostly due on Mondays, so that you can ask for help on recitation on Thursday and work during the weekend. I strongly recommend you start working on it early! It will give you more time and will help you keep up with the lectures!

You have 10 attempts to submit an answer (in WebAssign), but after the third attempt, you are penalized with 20% of the value of the question or part! (The point is that you should not guess!)

You can save an answer instead of submitting it. This will not count as an attempt. But, do not forget to later actually submit your answer! Saved answers are not graded!!

You can turn in late HWs. A request for extension in WebAssign will be automatically granted:

You will also turn in some extra problems directly to your TA every once in a while. (Mostly problems that cannot be graded by the computer.) You will be properly notified when these come up. These cannot be turned in late, unless you get permission from your TA in very special circumstances.

Note that I will drop the lowest HW score, so this should help with any unexpected problem you might have to complete one of your HWs.

Calculators will not be allowed in exams! Thus, you should try to avoid using it in your HW too! You should only use it if numbers get ``messy'', which I will make sure it will not happen in the exam. This is a difficult decision as computer experimentation can be quite useful. But I believe one should understand well the process before delegating it to computers/calculators.

In my opinion, doing the HW is one of the most important parts of the learning process, so the weight for them is greater than the weight of a single midterm, and I will assume that you will work very hard on them.

Also, you should try to come to my office hours (or your TA's) if you are having difficulties with the course. I will do my best to help you. Please try to come during my scheduled office hours, but feel free to make an appointment if that would be impossible.

Finally, it is your responsibility to keep all your graded Exams! It is very important to have them in case there is any problem with your grade. You can check all your scores at Blackboard.

 

Missed Work

There will be no make-up exams. If you miss an exam and have a properly documented reason, your final will be used to make-up your score.

The way this works is as follows: the points from the problems on the final involving the sections of the corresponding midterm will make your midterm grade. For example: let's say that you missed Midterm 1, which, say, involved Sections 2.1-9 and 3.1-4. If questions 1 to 3 of the final (which is comprehensive!) are the questions from those sections and you get 24 out of 30 in those questions, your Midterm 1 grade will 80 out of 100 (as 24 is 80% of 30).

 

E-Mail Policy

I will assume you check your e-mail at least once a day. I will use your e-mail (given to me by the registrar's office) to make announcements. (If that is not your preferred address, please make sure to forward your university e-mail to it!) I will assume that any message that I sent via e-mail will be read in less than twenty four hours, and it will be considered an official communication.

 

Blackboard and Feedback

In Blackboard you will be able to ask questions, answer (many) surveys and send me feedback.

There are forums where you can post questions about math, the course structure or Blackboard/WebAssign. (I've created a different forum for each. Please use the appropriate one!) The first one is moderated by me (your post has to be approved by me before appearing), while the others are not. All other students will also be able to read these and offer help.

I will also have surveys posted frequently to have feedback from you. These will be anonymous, except for the first one (Initial Survey). You are not required to answer them, but I really greatly appreciate it.

Lastly, there is also a link for (general) Feedback. Please, post all comments and suggestions there as often as you want. (I really appreciate your input.) These can be posted anonymously (or not). Just make sure to check the option before posting! Others students and myself will be able to respond and comment. If you prefer to keep the conversation private (between us), you can send me an e-mail, but then, of course, it won't be anonymous.

 

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Legal Issues

Conduct

All students should be familiar and maintain their Academic Integrity: from Hilltopics 2013/2014, pg. 46:

Academic Integrity

The university expects that all academic work will provide an honest reflection of the knowledge and abilities of both students and faculty. Cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of data, providing unauthorized help, and other acts of academic dishonesty are abhorrent to the purposes for which the university exists. In support of its commitment to academic integrity, the university has adopted an Honor Statement.

All students should follow the Honor Statement: from Hilltopics 2012/2013, pg. 16:

Honor Statement

``An essential feature of The University of Tennessee is a commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of intellectual integrity and academic honesty. As a student of the University, I pledge that I will neither knowingly give nor receive any inappropriate assistance in academic work, thus affirming my own personal commitment to honor and integrity.''

You should also be familiar with the Classroom Behavior Expectations.

We are in a honor system in this course!

 

Disabilities

Students with disabilities that need special accommodations should contact the Office of Disability Services and bring me the appropriate letter/forms.

 

Sexual Harassment and Discrimination

For Sexual Harassment and Discrimination information, please visit the Office of Equity and Diversity.

 

Campus Syllabus

Please, see also the Campus Syllabus.

 

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Course Goals and Outcomes

Course Relevance

Calculus is a very important mathematical tool, with important applications in Physics, Engineering and Statistics, among others. Virtually all sciences use calculus, although some more visibly than others. Students in Physics, Mathematics and Engineering should expect to use it through out their studies.

 

Course Value

The students will:  

Student Learning Outcomes

At the end of the semester students should be able to:  

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Links

   

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Videos

Here are the videos for the first two days of class (when I will be out of town). DISCLAIMER: It is hard to make perfect videos. And these are quite far from perfect. But I hope they will be helpful, despite some ackward pauses, English mistakes, mistatements, stutering, etc. If I had had more time, I would probably edit them, redo a few parts or even rerecord from scratch, but alas, I didn't. Again, try to overlook (and forgive) the problems and concentrate on content.

 

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Handouts

   

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