Mathematics

Required Course Work
   Your basic work in this course is to learn the material and develop your problem-solving kills so that you can apply the concepts and methods of the calculus to problems you will encounter along the way. It is important that you attend class regularly and especially that you do the homework. The homework may seem “hidden” to you since it will not be graded, but it precisely in that outside-of-class practice that you learn the material. There is a rule of thumb that says college courses require roughly 2 hours outside of class for every hour in class and I think this is not at all an overstatement. It takes discipline to leave class on a Wednesday or Thursday, knowing that you have class again the very next day, and still find a couple hours to practice your calculus, but it is exactly that sort of discipline that is required for success in the course. In short: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
   Your grade will be based on two primary factors: (1) Exams; and (2) Group work. There will be a quiz following the review chapter, an exam following each of chapters 2 , 3, and 4, and then a final cumulative exam at the end of the course, following chapter 5. These exams will be done in class subject to the 50 minute time limit (except for the final, of course), but you can use a set of notes you prepare for the exam and you may use a graphing calculator as well. I see exams as a way to see if you as an individual can actually do what the course asks of you.
   Secondly, there will be two types of group assignments: (a) Labs; and (b) practice exams. Every so often, roughly once a chapter, I will take a day and have you work in small groups of 2 or 3 students on a set of problems. I will refer to these problem sets as “labs”, in the sense that you will be exploring the concepts and trying to apply them to the problems. I like the idea of asking you to occasionally work in groups – I think the opportunity to discuss the mathematical ideas is extremely valuable. After all, mathematics is a language as well as a way of thinking about things.
   I will also have you take a “practice exam” during the class period just prior to each individual exam. These practice exams will be done in groups like the labs, and must be turned in by the end of the period, as do the labs. This is an attempt on my part to give you an idea of what to expect on the exam.
   I am also going to try a sort of “oral exam” this semester – let’s call it an “interview”. After the third exam I will meet individually with each of you and ask a few questions to test your understanding of the material we have been covering.
   It is also worth mentioning here that because one of our goals is to develop some skills with technological tools, I will be asking you to use DERIVE on a few problems along the way. DERIVE is a computer program created by Texas Instrument, the calculator people, to perform a very wide variety of mathematical procedures. It is a CSA (Computer Algebra System), which means it can perform algebraic manipulations like solving equations or factoring polynomials, as well as graphing functions in 2 or 3 dimensions. It can also perform calculus procedures and we will have a chance to see some of this power.

Instructional Methods
   My general “lecture” style is more of a give-and-take discussion than simply a rote presentation of material. I like to try to see that the class is following what I am doing and so I want feedback along the way. I often will ask a leading question to see that you are ready for what is about to come.
   One specific strategy I will use is called Think-Pair-Share. In this case I will ask a question and have each of you think about it for a bit, then pair up with a “neighbor” and finally share the answer with the rest of the class. Not every pair will share with the class each time, but I hope as we do this on a regular basis most of you will have an opportunity to speak.
   I have already mentioned the “Labs” we will do on occasion. I will randomly assign you to a group and give each of you rotating roles within the process; I’ll explain the details when we do that first lab on Wednesday, 7 September. I will try to keep the labs reasonably short so that the group can turn in the work at the end of the period.

Assessment Strategies
   The main outcomes I want to see in each of you can basically be listed briefly as: (1) thinking, or problem solving; (2) communicating your mathematical ideas and solutions; and (3) using technology to do some of the work. I will be assessing your ability to do these things throughout the course by grading the labs, the technology assignments, and the exams. I will also be noting your participation in the class room, both in your group work and in general class discussion.

Grading System
    I expect, in sum, that we will have the following possible points during the semester:

  Quiz                              50 Points (on chapter 1 review material)
  Exams                         300 Points (three exams)
  Final exam                   150 Points (25 pts on practice exam, 125 on individual part)
  Group Labs                 160 Points (eight labs, 20 points each)
   DERIVE problems        50 Points (this is an estimate, 5 assignments 10 points each)
  Interview                      25 Points (week of Nov 13-17)
  Attendance                   55 Points (one point per day)
                      Total:      790 Points

   I will then assign letter grades as follows: 90% of possible points for “A”, 80% for a “B”, 70% for a “C”, and 60% for a “D”. By the way, I am aware that the biology program requires a grade of at least a “C” in its support courses, so you needn’t tell me that if the going gets “close” later on in the course. I wish this wasn’t the case, since it is sometimes stressful on me as well as on you, and I don’t like “losing” the possibility of giving a “D” grade – sometimes people pass a course but “just barely”.
   One final note about grading: I will “guarantee” the grade you earn on your final exam! What I mean by this is, regardless of the grade you have earned based on the percentage of total points, if you score a higher grade on the final I will accept this demonstration that you have learned the material at this higher level and will give that grade. Please don’t depend on this as a means of getting through the course – most people do not show better performance on the final exam, but it does give you one last chance to improve things.

Attendance Policy
   I think that regular attendance is of paramount importance in any course, but perhaps a mathematics course more than most. There may be the occasional exception, a student who is so mathematically talented that she or he can get the material by just reading the text and doing some problems, but for most students it is important to be in class every day. To encourage this I am going to include attendance in the grading scheme in a simple way: 1 point for each day you are there. I’m not going to engage in deciding whether absence is “excused” – too many subtleties and degrees there - just a point a day when you are there.

Disability Statement
   If you are a person with a disability and require any auxiliary aids, services or other accommodations for this class, please see me and/or Wayne Wojciechowski, the campus ADA coordinator (MC 320, 796-3085), within ten days to discuss your needs. I want to include taking exams in the learning center under this category; you will need a written request from Wayne Wojciechowski before I will allow you to take exams there.

Fall 2006 MATH 222 Tentative Course Schedule

28 Aug    <1.1> Slope and Linear Functions                       p 16 # 1-35 odd, 57-67 odd
30 Aug    <1.2> Polynomial Functions                                p 29 # 1-37 odd
31 Aug    <1.3> Rational and Radical Functions                  p 38 # 1-51 odd, 55, 57
  1 Sep    <1.4> Trigonometric Functions                            p 46 # 1-63 odd

6 Sep       <1.5> Trigonometric Functions, the Unit Circle   p 58 # 1-53 odd, 59-65 odd
7 Sep       Lab #1                    
8 Sep       Quiz: Chapter 1 [50 points]

11 Sep     <2.1> Limits and Continuity                                p 80 # 1-29 odd
13 Sep     <2.2> Limits, Algebraically                                 p 91 # 1-39 odd
14 Sep     <2.3> Average Rates of Change                         p 98 # 1-21 odd
15 Sep     <2.4> Derivatives as Limits                                 p 112 # 1-35 odd

18 Sep     Lab #2
20 Sep     <2.5> Differentiation Techniques                         p 123 # 1-41 odd
21 Sep     <2.6> Instantaneous Rates of Change                 p 130 # 1-19 odd
22 Sep     <2.7> Product and Quotient Rules                      p 139 # 1-41 odd, 95-101 odd

25 Sep     <2.8> The Chain Rule                                        p 147 # 3-53 odd, 71, 73
27 Sep     Lab #3
28 Sep     <2.9> Higher Order Derivatives                         p 153 # 1-41 odd
29 Sep     Review …

2 Oct       Group/Practice Exam #1 (20 Points)
4 Oct       EXAM #1 (80 Points)
5 Oct       <3.1> Max and Min Values of Functions            p 176 # 1-23 odd, 37-45 odd
6 Oct       <3.2> The Second Derivative Test                     p 193 # 1-47 odd, 105-109 odd

9 Oct       <3.3> Graph Sketching, Asymptotes                 p 210 # 1-49 odd
11 Oct     <3.4> Absolute Max/Min                                  p 224 # 1-53 odd, 71, 73
12 Oct     <3.5> Applications: Max/Min Problems             p 234 # 1-23 odd, 29, 37, 39                 
13 Oct     Lab #4

16 Oct     <3.6> Approximation Techniques                      p 246 # 1-31 odd, 37-41 odd
18 Oct     <3.7> Implicit Differentiation, Related Rates       p 253 # 1-39 odd
19 Oct     Review…

23 Oct     Group/Practice Exam #2 (20 Points)
25 Oct     EXAM #2 (80 Points)
26 Oct     <4.1> Exponential Functions                              p 275 # 1-51 odd, 77, 95, 99
27 Oct     <4.2> Logarithmic Functions                              p 292 # 1-61 odd, 91-95 odd

30 Oct     <4.3> Applications: Exponential Growth             p 308 # 1-11 odd, 25-29 odd
1 Nov      Lab #5
2 Nov      <4.4> Applications: Exponential Decay               p 320 # 1-23 odd, 29, 31, 35
3 Nov      <4.5> Derivatives of a^x and log_a(x)                    p 328 # 1-39 odd

6 Nov      Review …
8 Nov      Group/Practice Exam #3 (20 Points)
9 Nov      EXAM #3 (80 Points, covering chapters 2-4)
10 Nov    <5.1> Integration                                                p 345 # 1-59 odd

13 Nov      <5.2> Areas and Accumulations                       p 359 # 1-23 odd
15 Nov     <5.3> Fundamental Theorem of Calculus           p 369 # 1-83 odd
16 Nov     <5.4> Definite Integrals                                     p 378 # 1-35 odd                   
17 Nov     <5.5> Integration Techniques                            p 385 # 1-73 odd

20 Nov     Lab #6

27 Nov     <5.6> Integration by Parts                                 p 393 # 1-41 odd
29 Nov     Lab #7
30 Nov    <5.7> Integration Techniques: Tables,Technology   p 404 # 1-55 odd
1 Dec       <5.8> Volumes                                                  p 411 # 1-33 odd

4 Dec       Lab #8
6 Dec       Integration Quiz  (50 Points)
7 Dec       Review …
8 Dec       Group/Practice Final Exam (25 Points)

15 Dec (Fri)       Final Exam: Comprehensive, 125 Points (12:50-2:50 pm)