Math 132-02 Spring 2004 Syllabus

 Instructor  Dr. Orlando Merino
Office 220 Tyler Hall
 Office Hours   TBA
 Contact Information  merino@math.uri.edu , 874-4442
 Text Applied Calculus 2nd Ed., by Hughes-Hallet et al.

Homework Assignments and Exam Dates: Go to MTH 132-02 Calendar

Prerequisites: MTH 131 or equivalent

Graphing Calculators: A graphing calculator (such as TI-83 or TI-86) is required for the course. Bring it to every class and exam.

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 Mth 132 are integration and applications, probability, functions of several variables, differential equations 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. The lowest grade quiz will be dropped.  The exams are in class on the dates specified in the calendar. The comprehensive Final Exam is on Tuesday, May 17, 11:30 - 2:30.  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%.

Gateway Exam: The first two classes will review derivatives and basic integration. The first quiz  will test exclusively these two topics. You must pass this quiz with a grade of 80% or better to pass the course. Those who don't pass the gateway quiz can take make-up quizzes outside of class.

Homework: I will assign homework, but even though it will only be collected occasionally, it is your job to always do the 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.

Quizzes The end-of-week quizzes will be based on the homework of the previous week.

Attendance: You are expected to attend every class. Please bring your calculator and book to every class.

Makeups: No makeup quizzes will be given. Instead, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped.  No makeups for exams will be given unless you have a University sanctioned excuse.

Read the textbook: 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.

Special Accommodations Students who need special accommodations and who have documentation from disability services  should make arrangements with their instructor as soon as possible

On Cheating  Students are expected to be honest in all academic work. Cheating is the claiming of credit for work not done independently without giving credit for aid received, or any unauthorized communication during examinations.  For more details see the Student Handbook sections 1.4 through 1.10.

URI Civility Policy  Teachers at the University of Rhode Island are committed to developing and actively protecting a class environment in which respect must be shown to everyone in order to facilitate the expression, testing, understanding, and creation of a variety of ideas and opinions.  For more, go to the URI Civility Policy in the course's website.

Other  Cell phones and beepers must be turned off during class.