MA 168: Calculus with Analytical Geometry II

Fall 2015

Instructor: John Perry
Office: Southern Hall, 317C
Office Hours: MW 8-9⋅30a; TTh 9⋅30a-12p; F 9-11a
Office Phone: 601⋅266⋅5505
Email: john.perry@usm.edu
Instructor’s web page: www.math.usm.edu/perry/
Class web page: www.math.usm.edu/perry/mat168fa15/
Class meeting time and location: MWF 11-11⋅50, SH 303

Text: Calculus for Scientists and Engineers, written by Briggs et al., published by Pearson, 1st edition, 2013.

Course Description: Bulletin description: Definite and indefinite integrals, integration techniques, application of integrals, improper integrals and L’Hôpital’s Rule. I throw in some “value-added” material, such as Newton’s Method and the Sage computer algebra system.
(We aim to cover chapters 5-8, with bits of 4 that you may not have seen already.)

Prerequisite: MAT 167 (Calculus I).

Grading: The semester grade will be determined by a weighted average, according to 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.

Grades are awarded according to the following tableaux:

There is no curve.

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.

Homework:  I expect you to do the homework. If you do not do the homework, you will probably fail this course. Collecting and checking every homework problem seems to frustrate students: you naturally get a lot of answers wrong the first time through, which can overwhelm you. However, it is very important for students to master the homework, since I use that to write the tests. Thus, I will give homework quizzes once or twice a week. Questions on the tests come from the quizzes; questions on the quizzes come from the homework. This allows you to start with looking at all homework problems (all of which are important!), then refine your study to questions that are more important.

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, then you need to study it more (perhaps by visiting me, the professor).

Instructor’s philosophy of the instruction: I want you to pass this course. You can learn this material, and I am happy to assist any student who genuinely needs help.

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.

Final Exam: Monday 7 December 2015, 10⋅45a-1⋅15p

Mobile phones: I expect you to turn your phone off once class begins, and to leave it off. If you absolutely must use the phone, please step out of class, take care of business, then return. If you use the phone during class, I will ask you to shut if off. If you persist in using it, I will ask you to leave class. If you do not comply with these requests, you will forfeit the next test. If you use the phone during a test, even as a calculator, you will forfeit the test.

Note: Last day to make an add/drop course request or withdraw from the University and receive a grade of W is 30 October, 2015.

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 II”) and making the material as accessible as possible to the students in the course.