Calculus - First Quarter

Math 124A Autumn 2016

Professor Don Marshall
E-mail: marshall "at" math.washington.edu
Office: C555 Padelford
Hours: Mon., Wed. 2:00-3:00
Phone: 206-543-9352

Useful links:
Math 124 materials (lecture material schedule, worksheets, exam archives, text, information on purchasing and accessing webassign)
Webassign login site (homework, homework due dates)
The webassign help phone number for students and instructors is 800-955-8275. Please read advice/tricks from John Sylvester.

Important: Read the information about the web assign access code on the Math 124 materials website *before* you purchase access or a book.

The TAs are:

Section	Name	Time and Location	Office Hours	Location	Email
AA	Varodom Theplertboon	Tues 8:30-9:50 MEB 235 Thurs 8:30-9:20 SMI 404	Thurs 10:30-12:3	Math Study Center	vthep "at" uw.edu
AB	Varodom Theplertboon	Tues 10:00-11:20 MEB 235 Thurs 9:30-10:20 SMI404	Thurs 10:30-12:30	Math Study Center	vthep "at" uw.edu
AC	Molly Baird	Tues 8:30-9:50 EEB 026 Thurs 10:30-11:20 SIG 230	Tues 12-1; Thurs 1-2	Math Study Center	bairdm2 "at" uw.edu
AD	Molly Baird	Tues 10:00-11:20 EEB 026 Thurs 9:30-10:20 SIG 228	Tues 12-1; Thurs 1-2	Math Study Center	bairdm2 "at" uw.edu

Announcements/Supplements

Midterm 2 solutions

Here

Decimal-Letter conversion

Sample Midterm #2

Here

Decimal-Letter conversion

Midterm 1 solution key

Sample Midterm #1

The Exponential function

9-28-16
9-30-16
10-03-16
10-05-16
10-07-16
10-10-16
10-12-16
10-17-16
10-19-16
10-21-16
10-24-16
10-26-16
10-28-16
10-31-16
11-02-16
11-04-16
11-07-16
11-09-16
11-14-16
11-16-16
11-18-16
11-21-16
11-23-16
11-28-16
11-30-16
12-02-16
12-05-16
12-07-16
9/28: There will be no makeup quizzes, worksheets, or homeworks, but I will remove your worst score in each of these categories before computing your grade. Some students have one reason or another to miss something in class, or end up taking a quiz when they were really too sick to do so. This policy is designed to cover those times. If you have documented evidence for valid reasons for missing more than one of these items, then bring it to me. If I decide they are valid reasons then we will base your course grade on the other items you have completed. There are also no makeup midterm exams. See me if you have a valid excuse for missing a midterm (see the final exam ground rules for some things that are considered valid excuses and some that are not).
There will be a quiz on the prerequisite material on Thursday 9/29. You should make sure you know everything in the Diagnostic Tests on pages xxiv-xxviii. If you have trouble with any of these tests, see the review materials referenced after each test.
Lecture notes: I will post pdf files of what I write on the screen here once the quarter begins. Suggestion: put your viewer in "single page" mode then the pages will be aligned when you use "Next Page" or "Page Down" to advance the pages. This is what gives the illusion of adding to a displayed page. (using adobe reader, choose View then page display then single page) Disclaimer: these notes are just what remains on the screen during my lectures. It does not include what I say verbally of course. It is provided only to be of assistance to students who miss something during the lecture and should not be used as a replacement for attending class and taking notes.
Here are some changes to the schedule found on the math 124 materials website, which was designed for quarters with a full first week. Since we begin this quarter on Wednesday, rather than cramming the first week material into three days, we will postpone the material on parametric equations (Section 10.1 and supplements 1 and 2) to week 5. The material in 10.1 is not needed until then anyways. This pushes the subsequent material, beginning with section 10.2, down one lecture session. We will catch up during the days labelled Catchup on the materials website.
Midterm 1 Tuesday October 25 in Quiz section class.
Midterm 2 Tuesday November 22 in Quiz section class.
The Final Exam will be on Saturday Dec. 10 1:30-4:20 in GWN301. Read Ground Rules for the exam.
All homework, including due dates are found on the webassign website. You have a two week grace period when you can access the homework without an access code. See the Math 124 materials for information about how to get a code. Plan to finish at least a day early, which gives you time to deal with unforseen difficulties. If you lose your internet connection at 11pm on the day a homework is due, you won't get much sympathy. I reserve the right to change the homework. I will announce any changes in class, so if you miss a class meeting, it is up to you to find out what was said during class. Class attendence is required.
The basic rule for determining academic credit (see UW online catalog) means at least ten hours of work per week outside of class for this 5 credit class. I suggest 2 hours per day 5 days a week. This presumes that you know the required background material. If you are rusty on the prerequisite material, you will need to spend more than 10 hours per week, particularly in the beginning of the quarter.

Here is one way to organize your work in this class: (note that reading is an essential and critical part of your work)

Sample work schedule:

Day	In class	Homework problems (after class)	Reading HW
Mon	Lecture Bring questions on material	Attempt HW on Mon lecture material
Tues	Worksheet Questions on Fri/Mon lecture material	Complete HW due Weds	Read Weds lecture material
Weds	Lecture Bring questions on material	Attempt HW on Weds lecture material
Thurs	Quiz Questions on Mon/Weds lecture material	Complete HW due Fri	Read Fri lecture material
Fri/Sat/Sun	Lecture Bring questions on material	Attempt HW on Fri lecture material Complete HW due Mon.	Read Mon. lecture material

This program is designed so that for each section of the book you will

1. read the material then
2. attend a lecture on the material where you can ask questions then
3. do the homework on the material (same day as the lecture when the material is fresh) then
4. attend a quiz section where you can get help on the problems you didn't get, then
5. finish the homework on the same day as the quiz section.
6. have one more day before the HW is due to cover emergencies.

The philosophy is that you will retain material better if you have multiple exposures to it. You will read the material before the lecture, making it easier for you to ask questions during class. This will also make it easier for us to go lightly over the very easy material and concentrate on the harder aspects. You will not be able to write down every word in a lecture. Reading the material first will help you make better choices about what you need to write down versus what is already in the book. Please do not wait until the due date to do the Homework. Homework is due three days each week for several reasons. It is my experience that homework due weekly leads to many students attempting to do it during the day or two before it is due, not spending the expected ten hours of concentrated time per week. This can be observed by looking at attendence logs at the Math Study Center for courses with weekly homework. By spreading out the due dates, you are more likely to spread out your work over the week and there will be more opportunities for getting help at the MSC. Each quarter a number of students ask to have homework due on the days that the quiz section meets. You can implement this yourself: just complete the assignment one day early. You will have already had a chance to ask questions about the material in lecture and in quiz section. The extra day is to give you some leeway, in case of a computer problem, a big midterm exam or paper in another class or some other special reason.

Each Tuesday we will spend most of the period working in groups on the worksheets, which will be turned in at the end of class. They are available at the Math 124 materials. Print a copy and bring it to class. Do not start them before class. This is a very important time for learning. The ability to work in groups is sought by many employers. Here's a chance to learn how. If you know how to do a problem, explain your reasoning to others. Sometimes you will find an error in your reasoning this way. Your instructor will have a chance to talk with each of you and give individual suggestions. If your group is done early, start working or discussing the next homework. There should also be some time at the end to ask the instructor questions about previous lecture material and homework.

Thursdays we will have a quiz. There may be some exceptions to this, but they will not be announced: just assume there will be a quiz. No notes will be allowed on the quizzes. If you have learned the material, you should be able to do the quizzes quickly. The quizzes will be fairly short so there will also be time on Thursdays for questions about the lectures and homework. Part of the reason for the quizzes is to force you to keep up with the class. Problems on any material presented in lecture before the quiz can appear on a quiz.

Grades:
Homework: 10%
Quizzes: 10%
Worksheets: 10%
2 Midterms: 20% each
Final: 30%
The point scores on each item will be scaled to achieve the stated percentage. In other words, we use a weighted average of the scores, not a weighted average of an estimated grade on each item. Worksheets will be graded 0 (no work) or 1 (poor work or left early or incomplete) or 2 (good work).
UW math department policy: the median grade for the course shall be between 2.7 and 3.1.
Note that 2.5-2.8 is a B- by the Decimal-Letter conversion from UW online catalog
Please read carefully: Note to the student as soon as possible.
The Ti-30x IIS ($14.95) is the only calculator allowed on exams in Math 124, by department policy. This is not negotiable. In fact, calculators are generally useless for the type of exams we give. You are welcome to use a calculator on the homework, since there are some (but not many) problems designed for them. Possession of a different calculator during an exam is grounds for failure of the exam.
Notes are not allowed on quizzes. For the midterms you may have one side of one page (8.5 x 11) of notes, but no worked problems. For the final you are allowed two sides of one page (8.5 x 11).
I will be happy to explain and discuss the reasoning behind any of the policies of the course. As I tell my kids: a well-reasoned argument for doing things differently might get you somewhere, but simply complaining won't.

Lecture Material: The schedule of Lectures is given below. This will tell you what you need to read before each lecture. But I reserve the right to slow down or speed up depending on the progress of the class. The homework on each section is usually due two lecture days later. You should do the homework on the same day as the lecture, and complete it after the next quiz section. There is an extra days grace to get it in, in case of emergencies, etc.

<\tr> <\tr> <\tr> <\tr>

Section	Lecture date	HW due
2.1	W 9/28	M 10/3
2.2	F 9/30	W 10/5
2.3	M 10/3	F 10/7
2.5	W 10/5	M 10/10
2.6-2.7	F 10/7	W 10/12
2.7-2.8	M 10/10	F 10/14
2.8-3.1-3.2	W 10/12	M 10/17
3.2-3.3	F 10/14	W 10/19
3.4	M 10/17	F 10/21
3.4	W 10/19	W 10/26
3.4+Review	F 10/21
Review	M 10/24	F 10/28
10.1+ parm. eq. suppl. week1	W 10/26	M 10/31
10.2 (p. 645-647 only) +parm. eq. suppl. week 2	F 10/28	W 11/2
3.5-3.6	M 10/31	F 11/4
3.9	W 11/2	M 11/7
3.9	F 11/4	W 11/9
3.10	M 11/7	M 11/14
4.1	W 11/9	W 11/16
Holiday	F 11/11
4.3	M 11/14	F 11/18
4.4	W 11/16	M 11/21
Review	F 11/18
Review; 4.5	M 11/21	W 11/23
4.5, 4.7	W 11/23	M 11/28
Holiday	11/25
4.7	M 11/28	F 12/2
Catch up	W 11/30	M 12/5
Catch up	F 12/2
Review	M 12/5
Review	W 12/7
Review	F 12/9

Resources:

Math Study Center A comfortable place to do your homework with expert assistance when you need it. Be sure to check the chart on the wall to see what times and days of the week it is less likely to be full.
Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE) Free late night study center
Instructional Center
Student Counseling Center
Frequently asked questions (math advising)

A musician's point of view:

"I never wanted to admit that music was so associated with mathematics, but those are the only two absolutes there are. It's the only two things that engage the right and left brain simultaneously." --Quincy Jones, Seattle Times, 10-23-2007

A physicist's point of view:

"To those who do not know Mathematics it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty of nature. ... If you want to learn about nature, to appreciate nature, it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in." -- Richard Feynman. (1918-1988), The Character of Physical Law

A philosopher's point of view:

"I assert that, in every particular natural science, one encounters intrinsically scientific substance only to the extent that mathematics is present." --Immanuel Kant

A biologist's point of view:

"Every new body of discovery is mathematical in form, because there is no other guidance we can have." --Charles Darwin

The point of view of a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher:

"The laws of Nature are written in the language of mathematics." --Galileo Galilei