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Math 132 Syllabus - Spring 2005
Prerequisites
In order to take MAT 132, you must have either
- passed MAT 131 or 141 or AMS 151 with a C or better; or,
- received a score of 7 or better on the
mathematics
assessment.
See the document
first year mathematics at
Stony Brook for more information
about the math assessment and
other calculus courses.
The textbook
The textbook for the course is Calculus: Concepts and Contexts,
Single Variable, Second Edition by James Stewart (Brooks/Cole
2001, ISBN 0-534-37862-5).
Basically, this course covers chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.
Assigned
sections should be read before the lectures. See the schedule for a week by week list of the
sections covered.
Recitation
New material will be presented during the lectures. The recitations provide an opportunity, in a smaller class environment,
to review the material and get questions answered.
The recitation grade will be determined by homework, quizzes and one integration worksheet.
- Homework will be collected and graded each week. You will be asked
to submit some of the homework online; this will be explained during the
first week of classes.
See the schedule for the list of assigned exercises.
Homework is a means to an end, the ``end'' being for you to
learn the material. We encourage you to work on homework together
with friends. In this course, we will never prosecute anyone for
academic dishonesty on any issue relating to homework.
If you hand in complete, correct solutions, you will get full
credit for them, no matter how you obtained them. If someone
regularly ``does''
the homework by copying from friends or from solution manuals, they are
only cheating themselves, since this is not a way to learn the material.
Never be shy to ask us how to do a homework problem, even if you
handed in a copied solution that you do not understand. You will not be
prosecuted or condemned for this, and we will be only too glad to help
you.
- There will be three short in-class quizzes. These will be discussed
during the second week of classes.
- The integration worksheet will be discussed during the second week of
classes.
Exams
There are three exams in math 132: two
evening
midterms, and a final exam. The dates for these exams
are:
- First midterm: Tuesday, February 22, 8:30 - 10:00
pm
- Second midterm: Monday, March 28, 8:30 - 10:00 pm
- Final
Exam: Monday, May 16, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm
The rooms for the
examinations will be announced later.
The final exam will be
comprehensive.
Final Exam: Monday, May 16, 11:00 am - 1:30
p.m.
Sections 1-4: Old Chemistry 116
Sections 5-7: Old
Engineering 143
Sections 8-10: Old Engineering 145
Exam is cumulative, about 60% will be about topics covered since the
second midterm.
A practice exam (with solutions and my comments) is posted
here.
Professor Geller's office hours before the exam: Tu 5/10 from 12:45-2:15,
Th 5/12 from 2-3:30.
Make sure that you will be available at all exam times,
as there
will be no make-ups for missed mid-term exams.
If you miss an exam for an acceptable
reason and provide an acceptable written excuse, the relevant mid-term
will be dropped in computing your course grade. A letter stating that
you were seen by a doctor or other medical personnel is not an acceptable
document. An acceptable document should state that it was reasonable/proper
for
you to seek medical attention and was medically necessary for you
to miss the exam (the note/letter need not state anything beyond this point).
Incomplete grades will be granted only if documented circumstances beyond
your control
prevent you from taking the final exam. You must have
ID to be admitted to exams.
No calculators, notes, or books, etc., are allowed during the exams.
The problems will require pencil and paper reasoning only.
Warning about Calculators and Solution Manuals: Calculators and
solution manuals can be of great assistance in helping you to learn the
material, if used properly. If used improperly, they can actually
cause great damage. Here is the proper way to use them, when you want
to work on a problem:
First do the problem yourself, without touching the calculator or
solution manual.
Then use the calculator or solution manual to check your work.
If the calculator or solution manual reveal any surprises, find a
logical explanation for them.
Calculator abuse:
When you first see a problem, your first response
should be to think, not to punch buttons on a calculator;
otherwise you are suffering from calculator abuse. Students with
this syndrome lose out in the following ways:
They do not develop self-confidence in their own abilities to work
the problems, which is essential for mathematical growth.
Mathematics is outside them, not part of them. You may have
noticed that, if you write down a phone number, you are less likely to
remember it. Similarly, calculator abusers often find themselves with
poor memories for mathematics.
They do not learn to calculate well. Many courses in physics
and the other sciences require students to be able to follow,
and do, very complicated calculations.
Grading policy
Final course grades will
be determined by the following breakdown:
- Recitation: 20
percent (homework, quizzes, integration worksheet)
- Midterms:
45 percent
- Final exam: 35
percent
Attendance
Attendance will be taken at each lecture,
during the period from February 7 to April 8. Anyone who
misses a lecture, shows up more than 10 minutes late, or leaves
early, more than twice during this period, will have their final
grade reduced by one unit (e.g. from a B- to a C+).
Questions on Midterms and Final
Most of the questions
will be similar to those on the homework. However, a few will be
of a different nature: more conceptual, and designed to test whether
you really understand the material; often you will not have seen
anything similar to these questions on the homework. Some students feel it is
not "fair" to be asked questions unless they have been drilled on
similar kinds of questions. In fact it is not "fair" to you to give you
an education where you are simply drilled on certain kinds of problems
and tested on similar problems, since your ability to get and keep a job
later in life depends heavily on how well you have learned to think things out
on your own -- not on how well you can solve rote problems that computers
can easily solve.
Keep up!
Please remember that mathematics is cumulative, so don't fall
behind! If you are behind, you will find new material presented in
lectures much more difficult to follow, and you will be forced to try to
learn that new material on your own. This will cost you a lot of extra
time.
Complaints
If you have any complaints about the course, please
contact your instructor first. If this does not resolve the
matter, please contact the course coordinator.
If, after the course is over, you wish to request a change in your final
grade, send a letter to your instructor; you will receive a written
reply. Grade change requests will be dealt with in writing only;
that way, we have a written record of what the student says, and what we
reply.
Extra help
Math Learning Center:
The Math
Learning Center
is located in room S240A in the basement of the Math Tower.
It is staffed most days and some evenings by experienced
mathematics tutors, including professors, graduate students, and
advanced undergraduate students. Students may drop in, without an
appointment. Your lecturer and recitation instructor will hold at
least one office hour per week at the Math Learning Center.
See the Math Learning Center website for more information.
Office hours
The lecturers and the recitation instructors will hold three office
hours per week, two of which will be held in their office and one of
which will be in the Math Learning Center (room S240A of the Math Tower).
The specific times of these office hours will be
announced by the
lecturers and the recitation instructors and will be posted on the instructors page when the times and
locations are finalized.
Students with disabilities:
If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning
disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned
course work, you are strongly urged to contact the staff in the
Disabled Student Services (DSS) office in the Educational
Computing Center
Building; 632-6748v/TDD. The DSS office will review your concerns and
determine, with you, what accommodations are necessary and
appropriate. A written DSS recommendation should be brought to your
lecturer who will make a decision on what special arrangements will be
made. All information and documentation of disability is
confidential. Arrangements should be made early in the semester
(before the first exam) so that your needs can be accommodated.