Syllabus for MA 123-022
Elementary Calculus and its Applications
Fall 1998
Course: MA 123-022, TR 11:00-12:15, CP 183
Instructor: Carl Lee
Office: 967 Patterson Office Tower
Phone: 257-1405 (or 257-3336 to leave a message)
Email: lee@ms.uky.edu
Web Page: http://www.ms.uky.edu/~lee
Office Hours: To be announced. In the meantime, just give me a call or see me in class to make an appointment.
Prerequisites: Math ACTE score of 21 or above, or MA109, or passing the math placement exam.
Text: Calculus for Business, Economics, and the Social and Life Sciences, Hoffman and Bradley, McGraw Hill, Sixth Edition.
Calculator: You will need a graphic calculator, such as the TI-83.
Exams: There will be three exams during the semester and a comprehensive final at the end of the semester. There are scheduled in the evening. Locations for these exams will be different from our daytime classroom, and announced later.
Exam #1: Wednesday, September 23, 5-7 pm.
Exam #2: Wednesday, October 21, 5-7 pm.
Exam #3: Wednesday, November 18, 5-7 pm.
Final: Thursday, December 17, 8:30-10:30 pm.
Your personal commitments (e.g., work) must accommodate these examination times. If Exams 1-3 above are in conflict with another class, you are entitled to a rescheduling of these exams, but you must give me written notice at least two weeks prior to the conflicted exam date. Note especially that the Final is on a Thursday evening at 8:30 pm, which is different from the times given in the Final Exam Schedule for classes meeting first on Thursdays at 11:00 am. If you are enrolled in DIS 300, whose final conflicts with ours, you are entitled to reschedule your DIS 300 final because its course number is higher than ours. Make appropriate arrangements with your DIS 300 instructor.
Homework: Assigned according to the accompanying schedule. Homework papers will usually be collected on Tuesdays, graded, and returned the following Tuesday. It is possible that the grader will score a representative selection of around 5 problems from the assignment rather than grade the entire assignment.
Quizzes: There will be approximately 12 short closed book quizzes worth 5 points each, usually on Thursdays. These will sometimes require a graphic calculator. Your quiz grade will be the sum of your best 10 quiz scores.
Grading: Your grade will be based on the number of points you earn in this course, out of a possible total of 550:
Exam #1: 100 pointsExam #2: 100 points
Exam #3: 100 points
Final Exam: 150 points
Homework: 50 points
Quizzes: 50 points
Total: 550 points
495-550: A440-494: B
385-439: C
330-384: D
0-329: E
Absences: A University excuse from a scheduled class activity such as an exam must be presented in writing no later than two weeks prior to the date of the absence. An absence due to illness or family emergency may be excused, provided that you can supply acceptable written evidence if required, and that you notify me as soon as possible. Notification is almost always possible immediately upon occurrence of an emergency. If you're too sick to telephone, you can get a friend to do it. Failure to make such timely notification may result in denial of your request. For an explanation of valid excused absences, refer to U.K.'s Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Cheating: The University's minimum penalty for cheating or plagiarism is a failure in the course. Cheating or plagiarism can lead to expulsion from the university. See Student Rights and Responsibilities for information on cheating, plagiarism, and penalities. It's not worth it, so don't do it.
Expectations: I expect that everyone will maintain a classroom conducive to learning. I like an informal atmosphere, but it must be orderly. Thus, everyone is expected to behave with basic politeness, civility, and respect for others. In particular, talking in class is OK if it's part of a class discussion or directed to me. Private communications are not, especially during quizzes and tests. Neither are reading extraneous materials, using electronic equipment, or sleeping.
Suggestions: Suggestions for improvement are welcome at any time. Any concern about the course should be brought first to my attention. Further recourse is available through the offices of the Department Ombud and the Department Chair, both accessible from the Main Office in 715 Patterson Office Tower.
Course Content:
John von Neumann wrote, ``The calculus was the first achievement of modern mathematics, and it is difficult to overestimate its importance. I think it defines more unequivocally than anything else the inception of modern mathematics, and the system of mathematical analysis, which is its logical development, still constitutes the greatest technical advance in exact thinking.'' It is the purpose of this course to give an introduction to the concepts and applications of calculus, which the authors of one calculus textbook (Applied Calculus for Business, Social Sciences, and Life Sciences, by Hughes-Hallett, et al.) rightfully designate ``one of the most important accomplishments of the millennium.'' They state, ``Calculus is one of the greatest achievements of the human intellect. Inspired by problems in astronomy, Newton and Leibniz developed the ideas of calculus 300 years ago. Since then, each century has demonstrated the power of calculus to illuminate questions in mathematics, the physical sciences, engineering, and the social and biological sciences. Calculus has been so successful because of its extraordinary power to reduce complicated problems to simple rules and procedures. Therein lies the danger in teaching calculus: it is possible to teach the subject as nothing but the rules and procedures--thereby losing sight of both the mathematics and of its practical value.''
We will work hard in this course to avoid this pitfall. It would be a tragedy to finish this course with the impression that calculus is a largely incomprehensible collection of rote calculations and algebraic manipulations. Plan now to read the book, come to class, and schedule time outside of class to study the material and discuss it with others. Many homework problems are not simply simple variations on the examples in the book, but rather require a real understanding of the concepts. A good rule of thumb for any course you take is to schedule three hours of study time outside of class for every hour inside class.
Proposed Course Schedule and Homework Problems: