The homework will consist of problems from [LN] and [EMVC], with a few supplementary problems provided by the lecturer. These problems are the heart and soul of this course. You will notice that the problems in [LN] are of two types: some are integrated in the text, to provide examples and practice problems to do during lecture, section, or your reading; others are grouped at the end of each chapter. Your written homework will consist of all the end-of-chapter problems in the lecture notes. Each Tuesday during section, the problems on the material covered during the preceding week will be collected for grading. (See the schedule at the end of this course description for the list of problems due each week.) Late homework will not be accepted.
The homework assignments will be graded as follows: each problem for which you write up a complete solution earns one point (this means drawing a picture if appropriate, and writing out all steps of the answer in full sentences, complete with justifications; just writing the problem and copying the answer from the back of the book is not sufficient). In addition, one problem will be chosen each week for careful grading: depending on whether your work on that problem is correct, you will receive up to 10 additional points. You won't know in advance which problem will be graded.
Since this is a 5-credit course, and the University's expectation is that each credit represents three hours per week of student effort on the average, the workload for this course is designed under the assumption that you will spend an average total of 15 hours per week on this course. This means that most of you will have to spend an average of two hours a day outside of class on this course, every day, five days a week. On some days, some of you will have to spend considerably more than two hours.
The best way to be sure you get the most out of your homework is to work with others. I strongly urge you to form a study group and work collaboratively on the homework problems. This way you'll learn more, and you'll maximize your chances of getting all the problems correct. The only limitation on collaboration is that, after you and your study group have worked out how to do the problems, you must each write up your own solutions in your own words.