Math 130: Calculus I
Spring, 2001. Instructor: David J. Eck. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:05--10:00 AM, Napier 101. Lab: Thursday, 10:20--11:45 AM, Library Multimedia Computer Lab.
About Math 130
Math 130 is a course in differential calculus, which is the mathematical study of change. (The second half of calculus, integral calculus, is introduced in Math 131). Calculus is perhaps the most universal branch of advanced mathematics, with fundamental applications in science and economics.
The textbook for this course is Calculus: A New Horizon, Sixth Edition, Volume 1, by Howard Anton. We will cover most of the first six chapters of this text.
The approach to calculus that is used both in the text and in the course is very conceptual. That is, it emphasizes understanding, reasoning with, and applying the fundamental concepts of calculus. Compared with a typical calculus course (for example, one that you might have taken in high school), there is less emphasis on algebraic manipulation and memorization of formulas. That doesn't mean that algebra and formulas are unimportant -- you will still need to know them! However, you will be asked to do more writing and more thinking than you might do in a traditional calculus course.
Labs and Homework
A weekly lab is a required part of this course. The labs will be held in the Multimedia Computer Lab in the Library, and you will do at least some work with computers in each lab. However, the labs will not be entirely computer-oriented. Parts of the labs will be devoted to doing standard practice problems by hand. Other parts of the lab will be spent working on problems that require more discussion and thought. I encourage people to work on the labs in groups of two to four people.
After each lab, you will turn in a "lab report" with your answers to some of the problems that you worked on during the lab. If you work in a group, you have the option of turning in a single report for all the people in the group. Alternatively, each individual in the group can turn in a separate report. You might not finish all the problems during the lab itself, and you will certainly need to take time after the lab to write up your results. This is part of your homework for the course. Lab reports are due in class on the Wednesday following the lab. In general, I will not accept lab reports late, although I might give a one- or two-day extension in special circumstances.
In addition to the lab reports, I will assign homework problems each week. Some of these problems will be based on "WebWork", a system for doing math problems on the Web. I will introduce WebWork at our first lab. Other problems will be taken from the textbook. WebWork problems are automatically graded on-line. I will collect homework problems that are assigned from the textbook on Wednesday of the following week, along with your lab reports.
Note that you should probably do lots more exercises besides the ones that I assign for homework. You will find answers to all the odd-numbered exercises in the text at the back of the book. I encourage you to do some of these problems for practice. If you have questions about these exercises, you are welcome to ask me about them in class or in my office.
Tests and Grading
There will be three in-class tests plus a final exam. The tests will be given on February 16, March 23, and April 20. The final exam will be given during the regularly scheduled final exam period for this course, at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, May 9. (Note that you are allowed to use a calculator during the tests and exam.)
You will have six grades for the course: three tests, a final exam, a grade for homework/WebWork, and a grade for lab work. I will drop the lowest of these six grades and count the remaining five grades equally. My grading scale is as follows: A, 90-100; B, 80-89; C, 65-79; D, 50-59; and F, 0-49.
Attendance Policy
I do not take attendance at regular classes. I assume that you understand the importance of being in class. I do take attendance at the labs. If you miss a lab without a reasonable excuse, you can still do the lab work on your own, but you will lose 30% off the grade for that lab. I also expect you to be here for the tests and exam, except in truly extraordinary circumstances.
Office Hours, Email, WWW
My office is room 301 in Lansing Hall. My office phone extension is 3398. I am on campus most days, and you are welcome to come in anytime you can find me there. I will announce regular office hours (times when I promise to try my best to definitely be in my office) as soon as I schedule them.
My email address is eck@hws.edu. Email is good way to communicate with me, since I usually answer messages the day I receive them.
There is a Web page for this course, which can be found at http://math.hws.edu/eck/math130_s01/. This page will list weekly homework assignments, and it will contain information about each week's lab.
Tentative Schedule
The following schedule of readings from the text is tentative. It includes everything in the first six chapters of the text, except for sections 1.7 and 3.6. Depending on how things go, we might need to omit a few other sections along the way, and we might leave out some parts of other sections. However, we will definitely cover the major topics in all six chapters.
Week Of Reading January 22 Introduction; Chapter 1, Sections 1, 2, and 3 January 29 Chapter 1, Sections 4, 5, and 6 February 5 Chapter 2, Sections 1 and 2 February 12 Chapter 2, Sections 3 and 4
(Test on Feb. 16)February 19 Chapter 2, Section 5; Chapter 3, Sections 1 and 2 February 26 Chapter 3, Sections 3 and 4 March 5 Chapter 3, Section 5 (plus antiderivatives) March 12 Spring Break March 19 Chapter 4, Sections 1 and 2
(Test on March 23)March 26 Chapter 4, Sections 3, 4, and 5 April 2 Chapter 4, Sections 6 and 7 April 9 Chapter 5, Sections 1 and 2 April 16 Chapter 5, Section 3
(Test on April 18)April 23 Chapter 6, Sections 1 and 2 April 30 Chapter 6, Sections 3, 4, and 5 May 7 Final Exam: Wednesday, May 9, 8:30 AM