MCS220: Introduction to Analysis: Theory of the Calculus

Instructor: Tom LoFaro
Fall 2009

Office hours and other useful information Following is information about when I am available and how you can contact me:

I am also available by appointment or when my door is open.

Texts: Analysis With an Introduction to Proof, fourth edition by Steven R. Lay (chapter 1).  Elementary Analysis:  The Theory of Calculus by Kenneth A. Ross.

Course Webpage: I will maintain course information at the course webpage with homework etc. at http://www.gac.edu/~tlofaro/mcs220/.  You can also find there a schedule, course description, current homework, readings, 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, 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.

Absences from class: Attendance, both physical and mental, is required. 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 what I consider to be too many classes, I reserve the right to reduce you course grade accordingly.

Reading: I hope to cover Chapter 1 of Lay (handout) and most of chapters 1-6 of Ross.  I will keep the reading assignments on the Schedule of classes, reading, homework, exams, etc link, which is also visible from the course homepage.

Homework and Writing Project: Homework is an essential part of this course - as you can see below, it accounts for 50% of your course grade. I will assign you three kinds of homework, one of which involves an extended writing project:

• Routine exercises: These will be problems (like those on the first homework assignment) that do not require a formal mathematical write-up, and will typically be more computational in nature. Nonetheless, I will expect that you do these problems neatly and use full sentences for the explanations you give. These problems will occur less frequently as the semester progresses.

• Mastery writing problems: Mastery problems are graded on a scale of 0 to 3.

• 0: Did not attempt.

• 1: Major flaw in proof and/or writing.

• 2: Minor proof errors and/or writing errors.

• 3: Proof mastered.

Each mastery problem will be given two due dates: the first one is when your initial attempt is due, and the second is when the final attempt is due. If you submit an attempt by the initial due date, then you may re-submit attempts for that problem up until the final due date for that problem. For those not yet mastered, I may write some brief indication of what area needs work, but you should really take this as an invitation to come talk. Your grade on mastery problems will be based on what percentage of the problems you finish. Mastery problems are to be done individually without the assistance of classmates and/or other outside resources. Mastery writing problems must be completed using LaTeX! The LaTeX mastery problem template can be downloaded here.

• Writing project: A while into the semester, I will give you an electronic document which will be the starting point of your writing project. It will be a LaTeX document which contains some definitions, lemmas, and theorems; you will need to add the proofs. This project will, of course, require a formal mathematical write-up. I will devote a considerable amount of class time to demonstrating what I mean by a mathematical write-up; briefly, it involves a logical argument using complete sentences.

• LaTeX Version

• PDF Version

LaTeX:  LaTeX is a mathematical typesetting language that makes typing mathematics relatively easy. Mastery writing problems must be completed using LaTeX!  Some helpful links about LaTeX are below.

·         My example document (pdf version, tex version).

·         The course survey.

·         A mastery problem template.

·         A quick reference.

Exams: We will have a total of three exams: two during the semester, and one during the scheduled final exam time. In order to allow you enough time to do these exams, I will do them in a "check-in/check-out" manner, giving you two hours to do them.

Working together vs. working independently: I believe that working together is a good way to learn mathematics. However, I will want you to do various parts of this course on your own. Therefore, let me be explicit about the extent to which you may work together.

• Working together:

  • You should certainly discuss the book together. Reading the type mathematics we do in this course is quite different from reading other things, since it requires a much greater precision of understanding than is required in many other types of reading.

  • You may discuss the routine exercises, but you must write them up entirely on your own. However, I strongly encourage that you try to do them on your own as much as you can, since it is important for you to know how to do them on your own.

  • When you are working on your writing project, you may certainly talk with others regarding LaTeX questions.

• Things that must be done independently: The following parts of the course must be done entirely on your own, by which I mean that you should not talk with people other than me or books other than our textbook (you can of course talk with me at any time):

  • Tests

  • Mastery problems

  • The writing project, except for LaTeX questions you may have.

Academic Integrity: In this course, you are expected to to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty, to uphold the Gustavus Adolphus College Honor Code and to abide by the Academic Honesty Policy. Copies of the honor code and academic honesty policy can be found at the Academic Information and Policies web page.

You will be expected to sign the honor pledge on every homework problem or problem set, the writing project, and on the exams. See the heading Working together vs. working independently (above) for my rules on working together.

A first violation of the honor code will result in a grade of 0 on the assignment in question. Any further violations will result in a grade of F for the course. In all cases, I notify the office of the Dean of the Faculty.

Course grade: will provide you with a grade on each assignment and exam, so that you may keep track of your performance. As a guideline, the components will contribute in the following proportion to the final grade:

Accessibility: If you have a physical, psychiatric/emotional, medical, learning, or attentional disability that may have an effect on your ability to complete assigned course work, please contact the Disability Services Coordinator (Laurie Bickett, x6286) in the Advising Center.  She will review your concerns, decide what accommodations are necessary, and let me know.