Syllabus for Math 128A&B (Calculus
with Analytic Geometry I)
Fall 2008 Semester at
Course Content
Limits
and continuity, differentiation of algebraic and trigonometric functions,
applications of derivatives, derivatives of inverse functions, and an
introduction to integration including the natural logarithm and exponential
function.
Who Should be Taking This Course
This
course is designed for students required to take calculus, such as majors in
mathematics, physics, chemistry; students who are only looking for a course to
satisfy the mathematics distribution requirement may also take this course, but
such students should consider the other mathematics courses available, such as
Math 109 (Applied Elementary Calculus).
Placement out of, or a grade of C- or better in, Math 127 (Precalculus Mathematics) is a prerequisite for this course;
students who do not satisfy this prerequisite will have their names removed
from the roster.
|
|
Instructor(s)
|
Name |
Office Location |
Office Hours * |
Office
Phone |
|
Dr. Gene Sprechini |
Academic
Center D311 |
Mon 9:30am to
10:30am Tue 10:00am
to 10:45am Wed 9:30am to
10:30am Fri 9:30am
to 10:30am |
(570)
321-4288 |
*You
may of course make an appointment with your instructor at other times
Tutoring
General Tutoring is available for students who want to check homework
answers for errors, get help doing homework, and ask questions about class
work. While tutors may need to give some
detailed explanations to help students with questions, it is not the tutors’
job to teach material from scratch.
(Students who miss class should get a copy of class notes from the
instructor, from a tutor, or from a classmate.
It is then the student’s responsibility to review the material, update
notes, and direct any questions to a tutor, the instructor, or a classmate.)
Individualized
Tutoring is available for any
student who needs more help than an instructor or tutor can provide. Students desiring individualized tutoring can
visit the Academic Resource Center on the third floor of the Snowden Library, and
speak with Shanna Wheeler.
Grading
|
Item |
Point
Values and Policies |
|
Homework |
Points
from homework assignments leading up to each exam are added, up to a maximum
total of 50. Completing all homework is
strongly encouraged, even though no more than 50 points can be earned leading
up to each exam. No points are ever given for late homework for any reason. Students who miss submitting an assignment
on time can still earn the maximum 50 points leading up to the exam, if no
more than 2 or 3 other homework assignments are missed. Due dates
are available from the course
schedule. A student
who misses submitting more than 15 homework assignments automatically fails
the course. |
|
Semester Exams |
Up
to 150 points can be earned on each semester exam given in class. For each missed exam, a grade of zero is
recorded, unless (1) the instructor is presented with documented evidence of
a medical reason for not completing the exam at the scheduled time, and (2)
arrangements to make up the exam are made within 24 hours of the originally
scheduled exam time. Exam dates are
available from the course
schedule. |
|
Labs |
Labs
involving the computer algebra program Maple are done during the lab period
each week and are worth up to a maximum total of 200 points. Missed
labs cannot be made up, and any student who misses submitting more than 2 lab
assignments may not be able to earn the full 200 lab points. |
|
Final Exam |
The
final exam is worth 400 points, with 50 points coming from the homework
leading up to the final exam and 350 points coming from the final exam
administered during final exam week. |
|
Attendance |
The
final course grade percentage is reduced by 4% for each unexcused absence
after the third unexcused absence; an absence is considered to be excused
when the instructor accepts an email from the student explaining the reason
for the absence. It is the student’s
responsibility to find out what was missed in class and keep up with the
coursework. Students can get a copy of
class notes from the instructor, from a tutor, or from a classmate. A
student with more than 10 unexcused absences automatically fails the course. |
|
There
is a total of 1400 points that can be earned.
The final course grade percentage is the percentage of points earned
out of the total number of points that can be earned. The final course letter grade is determined
from the following: A
= above 93.33% A– =
90% to 93.33% B+
= 86.67% to 90% B =
83.33% to 86.67% B– = 80%
to 83.33% C+
= 76.67% to 80% C = 73.33%
to 76.67% C– = 70% to 73.33% D+
= 66.67% to 70% D =
63.33% to 66.67% D– = 60% to
63.33% F
= below 60% |
|
Required Materials
Each
student must have
·
a copy of the
textbook titled Thomas’ Calculus by
M. Weir, J. Hass, and F. Giordano (published by Pearson/Addison-Wesley, ©2005,
ISBN 0-321-22642-9)
·
a folder or
notebook in which to organize notes and homework assignments - a calculator may
be helpful on occasion but is not required and is not permitted to be used on
exams
·
a computer
account on the college network in order to access the computer algebra program
Maple
Course Links
Tips for Success in This Course
(1)
Keep up with the homework - understanding every homework assignment as
completely as you can is the key to grasping the course material. Even though there will be some homework
assignments that you may not be required to submit, do them anyway, since they
will help you master the material. Check
all your homework answers with a tutor before submitting an assignment.
(2)
As part of your preparation for exams, do any exam review sheets distributed
and all suggested odd-numbered exercises that were not assigned for homework,
and start working on these about a week before the exam date - don't wait for
the night before the exam.
(3)
Get your questions answered quickly by a tutor, a course instructor, or a
classmate. If you feel you need more
personalized assistance, go to the Individualized Tutoring link and
arrange for private tutoring.
(5)
Keep your notebook with notes and homework assignments well-organized and
up-to-date.
General Standards and Policies
All work submitted must be of
professional quality. All paper must be neat,
without ragged edges, rips, tears, smudges, stains, etc. All answers must be clear, complete, and
concise; handwriting must be legible. If
the instructor can't read it, it's wrong.
Assignments may be down-graded if these standards are not met.
It can be very helpful for some
students to work together on daily assignments and to study together; this is
encouraged when it does not result in one student simply copying another's work
with no understanding. Acts of academic
dishonesty will result in a grade of F for the course, and a letter to the Dean
describing the circumstances. If you are
having problems in the course, talk to the instructor; don't involve yourself
in academic dishonesty. With each assignment submitted, students are expected
to write a short note at the end of the assignment indicating from whom help
was received and to whom help was given (but this does not affect the grade for
the assignment). The following is from
the FACULTY HANDBOOK in the section titled Student
Course Load:
"It
is expected that students will spend, in preparation for courses, two hours of
study time outside the classroom for every hour of credit in the
classroom."
This
means that you should be prepared to spend, on average, eight hours per week
outside of class working on a four-credit course; however, this will vary from
student to student and from course to course.
Your time will be spent reading the text, reviewing class notes, and
completing homework exercises.
If you encounter a problem while
working on assignments, do not spend more than 20 or 30 minutes trying to solve
the problem; if you cannot solve a problem in 20 or 30 minutes, even with the
help of a tutor, work on something else and show the problem to one of the
instructors of the course as soon as possible.