Math 132 Spring 2007
Syllabus
Help
session for the final on Friday, May 4, from 1-2:30 in Tyler 106.
To
access exams from Spring 06, go to my homepage
(http://www.math.uri.edu/~jmont/)
Students
who require accommodations and who have documentation from Disability Services ((874-2098)
should make arrangements with me as soon as possible.
A
scientific calculator (such as TI-86) is required for the course. Bring it to every class and exam.
Instructor: Professor John
Montgomery Office: 224 Tyler Hall
Phone: 874-4448 Email: jmont@uri.edu
Office Hours: MTR
at 2, and by arrangement.
Text: Applied
Calculus, (Third Edition) by Hughes-Hallet, et al.
Free tutoring is available: Check
the Academic Enhancement Center site and the math department’s home page
(www.math.uri.edu) for tutoring schedules.
About the Course: Math 132 is the second semester of the
calculus sequence intended primarily for students in the life sciences. It is different from the four-credit calculus
sequence, Math 141-142, designed for students in the physical sciences,
engineering, and math. The emphasis in
Mth 131-132 will be on the theory and interpretation of calculus in numerical,
graphical, and algebraic terms. The authors of the textbook have gone to great
lengths to fill the book with many exciting examples that illustrate how
calculus is involved in real-life settings. The main topics of the course are
integration and applications, probability, multidimensional calculus, and
geometric series.
Testing
and Grading: Your grade will be determined by your score out of 600
points. Three semester exams will be
worth 100 points each, the cumulative final exam is worth 200 points, and your
classwork grade will be worth 100 points. The classwork grade will be based on
weekly quizzes. No makeup exams will be
given unless you have a University sanctioned excuse. No makeup quizzes will be
given; instead, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Final Exam: Monday, May 7,
8:00-11:00 am in our usual room. A rough guideline for grading is as follows: A is approximately 93%,A- : 90%,B+ :87%,B: 83%,B- :
80%,C+: 77%,C : 73%,C- : 70%,D+: 65%,D : 60%.
Homework: Homework
plays a central role in the class and in your understanding of the material. It
is fair to say that most of the learning that you achieve during any math
course is from your homework. This is
particularly true in Calculus, since the problems are often applications of the
concepts in lecture, and include far less drill and routine than in a
traditional calculus class. The exams
will reflect the variety of the homework problems, but do not expect that you
will be asked on exams merely to solve homework problems with the numbers
changed. The best way to prepare for the
exams, and to develop confidence in your ability to solve problems, is to work
in the homework problems. You are expected to try to solve all the problems, and to ask questions
about the ones you don’t get. The
homework sets will be collected and evaluated occasionally, but not usually. The end-of-week quizzes will be based on the
homework of the previous week. Schedule and
Homework
Attendance: You are expected to attend every class. Poor attendance can result in a lowering of
your final grade.
Read the textbook: An important part of
your mathematical education is acquiring the knack of learning mathematics on
your own, from books. You may not be
used to reading mathematics texts, but you will be actively encouraged to read this
one. By reading the text before class, even if you don’t understand everything
the first time, you will have a better chance of making good use of your time
in class. Reading the text after class
is a good way of reinforcing the material in the lecture, nailing down what questions
you need to ask in the next class, and learning material that was not gone over
during class time. The text is very
well written, with the beginning calculus student in mind. Calculus is much easier if you keep up with
the classes and homework. You also
retain the material longer and better if you review material frequently rather
than just studying at exam time. One way
I encourage you to keep up is with the end-of-week quizzes, which, in totality,
count as much as 1.5 exams.