Prerequisites: Two years of high school mathematics beyond plane geometry, including trigonometry.
Text: Integrated Calculus, by Laura Taalman.
This book is intended to be read. For each class session, you are
encouraged to read the pertinent portion of the text at least
twice beforehand and at least once afterwards. Study the
book with a pencil in hand. Make notes in it. Mark where you have
questions. Look at the exercises at the end of the chapter and
use them to check/ improve your understanding of your reading.
Calculators: You should have a graphing calculator available for use in class and on exams. If you are buying a new one, the department recommends the TI-83 or TI-86. You may use other calculators (especially other TIs, Casios, HP or Sharp) as long as you are able to enter a simple program into your calculator and you are comfortable with basic graphing features. Calculators with symbolic algebra capability (e.g. TI-89 or TI-92) will not be allowed during exams. A calculator is on reserve in the library (ask at the front desk).
Course Webpage: The best source of information about this course is available at http://www.gac.edu/~kaiser/mcs119/ . There you will find a complete syllabus, course description, current homework and prep problems, and so on.
Classes: Classes will be used for discussions, problem solving, lectures, and other fun activities. You should prepare for classes by doing the reading beforehand, thinking about the problems in the text, doing the prep problems, and formulating questions of your own. You should also participate as much as possible in class. Class meetings are not intended to be a complete encapsulation of the course material. You will be responsible for learning some of the material on your own.
Attendance, both physical and mental, is required.
Absences from class: Should you need
to miss a class for any reason, you are still responsible for the
material covered in that class. This means that you will need to make
sure that you understand the reading for that day, that you should ask
another student for the notes from that day, and make sure that you
understand what was covered. It also means that if we had an
assignment that we did in class that day, you will get a 0 for that
assignment. If there is an assignment due that day, you should be sure
to have someone hand it in. You do not need to explain why you missed a
class unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
Should you miss more than four classes, no matter what the reason, I
will lower you semester grade by at least a third.
Preparing for class: Each day, before coming to
class, you are expected to read a section in the text and to
write
a notecard that you hand in at the beginning of class. (see the
reading assignments for what to write on the notecard).
Additionally, I will assign practice problems (which have answers in
the back of the book) for you to do to help you understand the material
you have read or to help you formulate questions about what you don't
understand. At the beginning of each class you can put one of
these problems on the board or work one that someone else has put up.
Homework : As before, you will have homework problems assigned for each section in the text. They will be collected approximately twice a week. Homework problems should be neatly written on standard sized paper, and with all of the pages for each section stapled together. The sections and problem numbers should be clearly labeled, and different sections should be kept separate. My grader will only grade a few sample problems.
Late homework is any assignment that is not in the purple homework
folder when I give it to my grader. I always put
homework in the folder during class, and I add any homework that I have
received before I give the folder to the grader. However, I can't
guarantee that I check my mailbox (either the PO box or the department
box), straighten my desk, or check any other place that students are
likely to put assignments. In other words, be sure to hand homework in in class.
(You may add homework to the purple folder; it will be in the plastic
box outside of Olin 310.)
Late homework will be accepted as long as I get it before my grader
hands back the graded assignments. (Alternatively, you can put it in
the green folder for late homework.) In that case, the homework
will be graded but you will lose 30% of the points on that assignment.
Quizzes and Exams: We will have six in-class quizzes during
the semester, as well as a midterm and a final exam. These tests
make up the majority of your semester grade. In particular, be
sure not to underestimate the importance of quizzes. If you do
poorly on quizzes, you will do poorly in the course. The midterm
will be given in the evening on Tuesday, March 20. The
final is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 19, at 3:30 pm.
Academic Integrity: In this course, you are expected to to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty, to uphold the Gustavus Honor Code and to abide by the Academic Honesty Policy. Copies of the honor code and academic honesty policy can be found in Academic Bulletin and in the Gustie Guide.
On homework, you should make a real effort to solve each
problem
by yourself, although you can and should discuss problems
and their
solutions with your classmates after
you've made this effort. You should give credit to any people or
texts that
helped you find solutions. On tests, you are expected to
work completely by yourself.
You will be expected to sign the honor pledge on every quiz and
exam.
Course grade:
| Class participation |
5% |
| Homework | 20% |
| Quizzes |
25% |
| Midterm Exam |
25% |
| Final Exam |
25% |