Instructor: John Perry
Office: Southern Hall, 317C
Office Hours: TTh 9⋅30-10⋅30a, MW 1-3p, F 9a-12p
Office Phone: 601⋅266⋅5505
Email: john.perry@usm.edu
Instructor's web page: http://www.math.usm.edu/perry/
Class web page: http://www.math.usm.edu/perry/mat167fa16/
Class meeting time and locations: MWF 8-8⋅50a, SH 304
Text: Calculus for Scientists and Engineers, by Briggs, Cochran, and Gillett, 2013.
Course Description: Limits, continuity, derivatives and their applications including curve sketching and optimization.
Prerequisite: One of the following:
Satisfies GEC 02 (Mathematics) and prerequisite for MAT 168
Tentative schedule: While it is the instructor’s sincere desire to follow this schedule, a hallmark of good instruction is flexibility, as distinguished from rigidity. It is no secret that many students struggle to learn Calculus. Therefore, the instructor may occasionally modify the schedule and content of the course, not as some sort of “right”, but as a duty to balance the tension between both presenting material sufficient to justify the course title (“Calculus I”) and making the material as accessible as possible to the students in the course.
| Week | Sections |
| 24-26 Aug | Review of trigonometry, 2⋅1 The Idea of Limits, 2⋅2 Definitions of Limits |
| 29 Aug - 2 Sep | 2⋅6 Continuity, 2⋅3 Techniques for Computing Limits |
| 5-9 Sep | Labor Day Holiday, 2⋅3 Techniques for Computing Limits (continued), 2⋅4 Infinite Limits |
| 12-16 Sep | 2⋅4 Infinite Limits (continued), 2⋅5 Limits at Infinity |
| 19-23 Sep | 2⋅5 Limits at Infinity (continued), Catch-Up |
| 26-30 Sep | Test #1, 3⋅1 Introducing the Derivative |
| 3-7 Oct | 3⋅2 Rules of Differentiation, 3⋅3 Product and Quotient Rules |
| 10-14 Oct | 3⋅4 Derivatives of Trigonometric Functions, 3⋅5 Derivatives as Rates of Change |
| 17-21 Oct | 3⋅6 The Chain Rule, Fall Break |
| 24-28 Oct | 3⋅7 Implicit Differentiation, 3⋅8 Derivatives of Logarithmic and Exponential Functions |
| 31 Oct - 4 Nov | 3⋅9 Derivatives of Inverse Trigonometric Functions, Catch-up |
| 7-11 Nov | Test #2, 3⋅10 Related Rates |
| 14-18 Nov | 4⋅1 Maxima and Minima, 4⋅2 What Derivatives Tell Us |
| 21-25 Nov | 4⋅3 Graphing Fucntions, Thanksgiving Holiday |
| 28 Nov - 2 Dec | 4⋅4 Optimization Problems, 4⋅5 Linear Optimization and Differentials |
| 5 Dec - 9 Dec | 4⋅6 Mean Value Theorem, 4⋅7 L’Hôpital’s Rule |
| 12 Dec | Final Exam |
Grading: The semester grade will be determined by a weighted average, with the weights listed below. At any point during the semester, you may determine your standing by computing your grade. This can be done by multiplying the average for each category by the category's weight, then adding the product in each category. See me if you would like this shown to you.
| Tests | 40% of total |
| Homework quizzes | 20% of total |
| Attendance | 10% of total |
| Final Exam | 30% of total |
Grades are awarded according to the following tableaux:
| 100-90 A | 89.99-80 B | 79.99-70 C | 69.99-60 D | 59.99-0 F |
I do not round up. There is no curve.
Homework: If you do not do the homework, you will probably fail this course. I will “grade” homework indirectly via homework quizzes, in which you will have time sufficient to copy problems from your notes. There will not be time to solve them.
Late Assignments: Any assignment turned in past the specified due date and time will receive a grade lowered by one letter grade for each school day late.
Attendance: I give a grade for your attendance (see the grading policy). Missing class, or reporting to class late, directly affects your grade. Carefully read the college policy on attendance. Students are responsible for all material missed when absent from class.
Makeup work: I do not give makeup tests/quizzes/etc. without an excused absence. If you must miss class, then you must also produce documentation of the reason for your absence. If you were sick, you can show me the receipt from the hospital or doctor; if you had a sports event, you can show me the schedule; if someone died, you can show me an obituary notice; if the tire on your car blew out, you can show me the receipt from the mechanic. Absences must be consistent with university policy; you may not submit a receipt from a night out at the Peg and Carousel (say) and expect to be excused from the test because, gosh darnit, 8am is just uncivilized!
A word about
tests: Tests are not multiple-choice.
Every test will consist of two parts: (1) a review of
the homework assignments, and (2) a problem that you have not seen in
class or in the homework. You will be able to solve the problem in part
2 based on what you learned in class. A good study guide for your tests
will therefore consist of (1) reviewing the homework I assigned, and
making sure you understand it, and (2) working problems in the chapter review that you haven't seen before.
Be advised that many students claim that my class is the first time any
instructor of mathematics has asked for definitions, proofs, and
intuitive explanations of why Calculus techniques are correct. I think
these are the easiest questions on the tests, so that won't change.
Tutoring and study groups: I encourage you to work together on homework assignments, to look at each other's solutions, and to explain answers to each other. This is not the same thing as copying each other's homework. You take the tests alone and without help, so if you cannot explain to your tutor, classmate, or teacher how to solve the problem, then you have not learned how to solve it, and you need to study it more (perhaps by visiting me, the professor).
Relevant wisdom from Calvin and Hobbes:
Image copyright Bill Watterson.
Usage is for educational purposes, and falls
under the principle of “fair use.”
Clicking on the image will take the reader to the source.
Use a pencil. Work that is written in pen will receive a 10% deduction.
Mobile phones: Turn your phone off or set it to vibrate when class begins, and leave it there. If you absolutely must use the phone, please step out of class, take care of business, then return. If you use the phone in the class, I will ask you to leave. If you do not comply with this request, you will forfeit the next test. If you use the phone during a test, even as a calculator, you will forfeit the test.
Important dates:
Engaging in any of these behaviors or supporting others who do so will result in academic penalties and/or other sanctions. If a faculty member determines that a student has violated our academic integrity policy, sanctions ranging from resubmission of work to course failure may occur, including the possibility of receiving a grade of “XF” for the course, which will be on the student’s transcript with the notation “Failure due to academic misconduct.” For more details, please see the university’s Academic Integrity Policy: https://www.usm.edu/institutional-policies/policy-acaf-pro-12. Note that repeated acts of academic misconduct will lead to expulsion from the university.
|
ADA Syllabus Statement If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies.
The University of Southern Mississippi |