Course information for Math 125
Section 10, Fall 2001

Contact Information:

• Instructor: Prof. Douglas Ulmer
• Office: Math 716
• Phone: 621-6861
• E-mail: ulmer@math.arizona.edu
• Course Homepage: http://swc.math.arizona.edu/~ulmer/teaching/CalcF01/index.html

Course Policies:

• Attendance: Students are expected to attend every scheduled class, and to be familiar with the University Class Attendance policy as it appears in the General Catalog. It is the student's responsibility to keep informed of any announcements, syllabus adjustments or policy changes made during scheduled classes. Students who are excessively absent may be "administratively dropped" from the course to make room for other students trying to get in. "Excessively" means 2 days in a row or any 4 days during the semester.
• Text: "Calculus (3rd Edition)" by Hughes Hallet, Gleason, et. al. Wiley: 2002.
• Calculators: Every student must have a calculator which can graph functions, zoom in on graphs, and trace the curve. Any graphing calculator from TI, HP, or Casio should be fine for this course. (If you are not sure, ask me.) If you plan to continue on to Math 129, you probably want a programmable calculator. Obviously you will also need to learn how to use whatever calculator you buy. Calculators will be allowed and needed on exams, but no calculator swapping is permitted.
• Exams: There will be three tests and a final exam. The tests are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 12, Monday, Oct. 22, Wednesday, Oct. 31, and Wednesday, Nov. 28 Monday, Dec. 3. The University has scheduled the final exam for Monday, Dec. 10 from 2:00 - 4:00 in Econ 405. This date will definitely not change. Each exam is worth 100 points and the final exam is worth 200 points.
  Exams cannot be given at any other time. If a test is missed, for a valid reason, the score for that test will be replaced with the score on the corresponding part of the final exam. A second missed test, or a missed final exam, will result in a score of 0. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
• Homework: Homework is an essential component of the course and will be assigned and collected regularly. Selected problems will be graded and a final score equivalent to one test, 100 points, will be assigned.
  For full credit, homework must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day it is due. Late homework will be accepted for grading until the beginning of the next class meeting, but will earn only 80% credit. Homework turned in later may be graded but will earn no points. The lowest 2 homework scores will be thrown out before calculating the final homework score.
  Your book has two types of homework problems, ``exercises'' and ``problems.'' Exercises are routine and are meant to test basic understanding of the material; you should try all of them after reading the section and ask in class about any you can't do. Problems are more conceptual and often harder. Problems are what you will write up and turn in.
• Quizes: There may be occasional, unannounced quizes on basic material. Points for these quizes are "bonus" points, counted above and beyond the points for other course work. Coming to class and taking these quizes is thus always to the student's advantage. Quiz questions tend to bear a remarkable resemblance to ``exercises.''
• Grades: The total number of points possible on tests and homework is 600. Grades will be based on the percentage of points earned, and will be no lower than these: 90-100%: A, 80%-90%: B, 70%-80%: C, 60%-70%: D, below 60%: E.
• W's and I's: Students withdrawing from the course before October 12 will receive the grade W if they are passing at the time. Students will be considered to be passing at the time of withdraw if they have scored at least 50% on the work completed at that time.
  The grade of I will be awarded only if all of these conditions are met:
  1. The student has completed all but a small portion of the required work.
  2. The student has scored at least 50% on the work completed.
  3. The student has a valid reason for not completing the course on time.
  4. The student agrees to make up the material in a short period of time.
  5. The student asks for the incomplete before the final exam.

Hints for success:

• Understanding: Understanding calculus means being able to apply it in new situations. Students sometimes say ``I understood everything, but I just couldn't do this exam problem.'' What's really true is that such a student may have studied calculus in a passive way, but not actively. Active learning means constantly asking questions like ``what happens if I change this part,'' ``can I think of another example like this one, or one that's slightly different,'' or ``what does this say about the physical world, and does it agree with my experience?'' If your personal goal is to understand actively the material, and you put some effort into it, you will do well.
• The final exam is a common final for all sections of the exam. No one teaching the course, including me, will know what the questions are until the exam starts. This means there is no way for me to teach you how to do just the problems that will be on the exam. Your job is to learn principles and techniques that will allow you to do lots of kinds of problems, including the ones on the final. My job is to help you with this, and I will do everything I can. When the dust settles, how actively you understand calculus is going to be the determining factor.
• This section will definitely not be the easiest one. I tend to (try to) make my students work hard and they tend to do well on the common final, with correspondingly good grades. If you want an easy course, (and a dicier chance on the final), another section may be a better bet.
• Obvious stuff that's worth saying anyway:
  • Show up for class.
  • Keep up with the work.
  • Ask questions in class.
  • Go to office hours and ask questions.
  • Work with a few other people in class and ask them questions. Try to answer their questions.
  • Devote your energy to learning calculus, not to worrying about grades.

Douglas Ulmer
Nov 19, 2001