CALCULUS I DaveÕs
Syllabus
Spring 2013
Over the next three months, you will see some of the most influential ideas
humans have ever imagined - ideas that are essential for most of the
technological wonders that have graced our world over the last hundred years,
ideas that allow us to explain the physical world around us and make
predictions about it. Calculus is the study of how things change. And
everything changes.
Random Facts:
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Professor: |
Dave Kung |
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Office: |
175 Schaefer Hall, x4433 (or
240-895-4433) |
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dtkung@smcm.edu |
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Random Fact: |
My kids & dogs are
bilingual. |
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TA: |
Demara Austin |
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Office Hours: |
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Class Philosophy: One learns math by doing it, not by watching other people do it.
Consequently, you will be required to participate actively during class, and
work very hard outside of it. The payoff is big: Calculus is one of the truly
monumental achievements of the human species, and, by the end of this class,
you will have begun to understand and appreciate it.
Throughout
the semester, I will be giving each of you ideas about what you need to do to
improve your understanding of Calculus. Some of these apply to everyone: read
the section we will cover before coming to class, try some of the homework
problems ahead of time, do lots and lots of homework problems (more than I
assign to hand in), don't fall asleep in class, etc. Others will be more
directed, and probably suggested to you when you come to my office hours (see above).
The flip side of this is that you need to give me ideas about the course, and
how to make sure you get the most out of it. I will give a few surveys, but if
at any time you have something to share with me, just let me know.
Workshops: On Tuesday evenings when we don't have exams (see
below), we will finish working on the worksheets we start in class on Monday.
Attendance is required.
Where to go for help: You have three main resources to draw on when you
need help in this class. The first and most important is your fellow
classmates. Calculus will go much smoother for all of us if you start getting
to know them and start studying with them outside of class early in the
semester – hence the first-day activity where you met all of them. The
second is me – my contact info and office hours
appear above. I will also be around
at other times - feel free to drop by and say hi. If you can't find me, email or call, and
we'll schedule an appointment that works for both of us. In an emergency, you should drop me an
email (I check it very frequently). Your third resource will be your TA, Demara Austin. SheÕs fantastic.
Grading: Calculus can be learned at two levels. At the basic, mechanical level, you will
learn how to do calculus (e.g. taking
derivatives, using chain rule, etc.)
Learning Calculus at this level is required to pass the class. You will
demonstrate such proficiency in two Gateway Exams, one on differentiation and
the second on anti-differentiation. On each, correctly answering 8 of the 10
questions is required to pass the class. If you score below 8, you may repeat a
Gateway Exam without penalty.
Beyond the
Gateway Exams, grades will be earned by understanding Calculus at a deeper,
theoretical level. This includes
understanding why we do the
calculations, why they work, and why they apply to so many of the physical
situations around us. Your ability
to explain the concepts of calculus will continually be tested, both in class
and on exams (called ``OpportunitiesÕÕ because you should see them as your
chance to show us what you have learned.)
There will be a variety of ways to show
that you are learning Calculus.
They will contribute to your final grade as follows:
Assessment Date Percent
Opportunity I Feb.
5th 11
Opportunity II Mar.
5th
11
Gateway I Mar.
26th 4
Opportunity III
Apr.
9th
11
Gateway II Apr.
22nd 4
Group Project (more
later) Apr.
24th 11
Homework all
semester 10
Class
Participation all
semester 10
Textbook
Questions all
semester 8
Final Exam May
4 (Sat) 9am
20
Total 100
The exams are in the evening starting at
6pm; they are not timed. Be sure to
mark these on your calendar now.
Information about the Group Project will be distributed later in the
semester.
Textbook
Questions:
At least 24 hours before most classes, I
will email you all a question or two regarding the textbook reading. After doing the reading, you should
reply to the message, answering as best you can. Grading for these questions will be
entirely on effort. If you use
something other than your SMCM email, please see to me.
Extra
Credit: You can earn a 1% increase in
your grade by attending and writing a summary of one of the NSM Colloquium
talks. This can be repeated up to three times for a total of 3% extra before
calculating your final grade. Talks are for a general audience of science
majors in the areas of Mathematics, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry and
Physics. The lectures are in Room 106SH most Wednesdays at 4:40. Watch for announcements of these talks
on email.
Conclusion:
Learning in this class is considered to be everyone's
shared responsibility. Part of that
responsibility is attendance; when you are not here, not only do you miss
important work, but the entire class misses out on
your contribution. The Class
Participation portion of your grade will reflect that. Congrats for reading this far. To show you read carefully, stop by my
office, check off your name, and grab a homework sheet by Wednesday at noon. We
will be working in groups roughly once a week; how well you work with others
will also factor into the Class Participation portion of your grade. I would like nothing more than to give
everyone an A; let's all work to toward that goal.