• This web page describes an activity within the Department of Mathematics at Ohio University, but is not an official university web page.
• If you have difficulty accessing these materials due to visual impairment, please email me at mohlenka@ohio.edu; an alternative format may be available.

MATH 2301-102 (8026) and MATH 2301-103 (8027), Fall 2017

Calculus I

Catalog Description:

First course in calculus and analytic geometry with applications in the sciences and engineering. Includes basic techniques of differentiation and integration with applications including rates of change, optimization problems, and curve sketching; includes exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions. No credit for both MATH 2301 and 1350.

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students can use the tools of differential and integral calculus in a variety of applications.

Requisites:

(A or better in MATH 163A) or (B or better in MATH 1350) or (C or better in MATH 1300 or MATH 1322) or (Math placement level 3). See the MATH 2301 Student Handbook for a description of what you should already know.

Instructor:

Martin J. Mohlenkamp, mohlenka@ohio.edu, (740)593-1259, 315-B Morton Hall.

Office hours:

• Monday 10am-12pm.
• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 2:00-2:55pm.
• By appointment. Do not hesitate to ask for an appointment.

Web page:

http://www.ohiouniversityfaculty.com/mohlenka/2181/2301

Class hours/ location:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday in 115 Morton Hall.

Section 102 is 3:05-4:00pm

Students are also enrolled in one of the recitation sections:

• MATH 2301-109 (8033) Tuesdays 12:00-12:55pm in 318 Morton
• MATH 2301-110 (8034) Tuesdays 3:05-4:00pm in 318 Morton

Section 103 is 12:55-1:50pm

Students are also enrolled in one of the recitation sections:

• MATH 2301-111 (8035) Thursdays 12:00-12:55pm in 318 Morton
• MATH 2301-112 (8036) Thursdays 3:05-4:00pm in 318 Morton

All recitations are led by Qing Liu, who also has office hours Wednesday and Friday 9-10am in Morton 532G.

Text:

James Stewart. Essential Calculus: Early Transcendentals. Edition: 2nd. Publisher: Cengage. 2013. Options:

• (Recommended) Purchase the "... with Enhanced WebAssign" version of the (hardcopy) book, which includes an access code to the WebAssign online homework/ practice system, for $138.50 through the discount link that we obtained from the publisher.
• Purchase WebAssign access, which includes an online version of the book and the online homework/ practice system. You can use WebAssign free for the first 14 days of the semester and then purchase access through it. The cost is $100 for a single semester or $125 for multi-term.

Warning: If you buy or rent the book another way, make sure it comes with a valid, unused WebAssign access code; if not then you will have to buy an access code separately.

Text Homework/ Practice:

From each section of the book, several homework problems are listed. The problems in the text are not collected or graded, but doing them is the foundation for your learning. They are also the basis for the common final exam.

Online Homework/ Practice:

We will use WebAssign for online homework. To access it, log in to Blackboard, select this class, then click the "Access WebAssign" link on the left. The system includes a linked online version of the text, video tutorials, and other materials. You can use WebAssign free for the first 14 days of the semester.

• WebAssign Student Support.
• Accessing WebAssign through Blackboard. Note: If you get an "Invalid Login" error then follow these instructions.

The online homework problems are a subset of the text homework problems, with some numbers changed randomly and some problems converted to multiple-choice. Because of this, you still need to do the text problems. I recommend you work the online problems out on paper (and save this work) before entering them.

Recitations:

Once a week you will meet in a group of at most 30 for recitation. In 13 out of 15 weeks there will be a graded activity during recitation. Your best 10 (out of 13) scores count toward your grade. Typically, you will work in a group of 3-4 students on problems in a handout and submit a group solution at the end of the recitation.

Tests:

There will be a test every second Monday. Your best 5 (out of 7) scores count toward your grade. Calculators are not permitted. Bring your student ID to the tests. The tests are cumulative. They can include Pre-Calculus questions; see the "Material to know before starting MATH 2301" section of the MATH 2301 Student Handbook.

Why all these tests?

The purpose of the tests is not to assess your mastery in order to assign you a grade; a final exam would be enough for that. Instead, the purpose is to help you learn through what Psychologists have determined to be effective learning techniques.

Practice Testing:

(Rated "high" utility.) Recalling information and practicing skills in a test environment convinces your brain that they are important and should be saved in your long-term memory.

Distributed Practice:

(Rated "high" utility.) Learning/ studying in smaller amounts distributed over time (rather than cramming every few weeks) also convinces your brain to use your long-term memory.

Interleaved Practice:

(Rated "moderate" utility.) Mixing up the problem types (e.g. by having cumulative tests) makes you learn how to distinguish which technique to use and also convinces your brain to use your long-term memory.

(FYI: Elaborative interrogation and self-explanation were rated "moderate" utility. Summarization, highlighting, keyword mnemonics, imagery use for text learning, and rereading were rated "low" utility.)

Final Exam:

The final exam is on Wednesday December 13 at 2:30pm in a room to be announced. Section 102 (3:05pm lecture) will be in 122 Morton and Section 103 (12:55pm lecture) will be in 126 Morton. This is a combined exam with other sections of MATH 2301. Calculators are not permitted. Bring your student ID to the exam. Note: Please check the final exam schedule for your other classes and notify me as soon as possible if there is a conflict with our exam.

Grade:

Your grade is based on online homework at 5%, your best 10 (out of 13) recitation scores at 2% each, your best 5 (out of 7) tests at 10% each, and the final exam at 25%. An average of 90% guarantees you at least an A-, 80% a B-, 70% a C-, and 60% a D-.

Missed work:

• Missed tests cannot ordinarily be made up since enough are dropped to account for an ordinary amount of absences, including university excused absences for illness, death in the immediate family, religious observance, jury duty, or involvement in University-sponsored activities. (If you will miss more than the number dropped due to an extraordinary reason such as an extended illness, please consult with me.)
• Missed recitations also cannot ordinarily be made up since enough are dropped to account for an ordinary amount of absences. It is permitted to occasionally attend one of the other three recitations instead of your own; if this privilege is abused then it will be revoked.
• You can get an automatic 2-day extension on any WebAssign homework with a 30% penalty on any points you earn due to the extension; this extension cannot go more than 7 days past the original due date.

Attendance:

I do not count attendance in your grade, since absences will automatically penalize you through your loss of learning.

Electronic Devices:

Computers, tablets, smartphones, and calculators are permitted in class for learning purposes (consulting the online text, producing graphs, etc.). Other uses, especially any that distract your classmates, are prohibited.

Academic Misconduct:

Online Homework:

The online homework must be done by you, but you may use any help that you can find. Keep in mind that the purpose of the homework is to develop your ability to do such problems on your own.

Recitation Groupwork:

• You may use your book, Wikipedia, other Calculus books, general websites about Calculus, etc. without special acknowledgment.
• If your group receives any help specifically on the problem you are trying to solve (such as assistance from another group or software that solves the problem), you must acknowledge in writing what help you received and from whom or what source (including internet links). (You do not need to acknowledge your recitation leader.)

A minor, first-time violation will receive a warning and discussion and clarification of the rules.

Tests, final exam:

You may not give or receive any assistance during a test or the exam, including but not limited to using notes, phones, calculators, computers, or another student's solutions. (You may ask me questions.) A minor, first-time violation will result in a zero grade on that test.

Serious or second violations will result in failure in the class and be reported to the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility, which may impose additional sanctions. You may appeal any sanctions through the grade appeal process.

Special Needs:

If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You should also register with Student Accessibility Services to obtain written documentation and to learn about the resources they have available.

Responsible Employee Reporting Obligation:

If I learn of any instances of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and/or other forms of prohibited discrimination, I am required to report them. If you wish to share such information in confidence, then use one of the confidential resources listed by the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance.

Learning Resources:

People:

• Your classmates.
• Your recitation leader.
• Your instructor.

Ohio University Resources:

• OHIO Calculus webpage.
• OHIO Pre-Calculus webpage, which includes a free Pre-Calculus Book.
• The Mathematics Department tutoring/help center.
• The University College offers
  • tutoring through the Math and Science Center and
  • Supplemental Instruction, which for MATH 2301 will occur Mondays and Wednesdays 6:15-7:10 pm in Morton 227 and be let by Haley Kuhn.

Written Material:

• Active Calculus free html book
• OpenStax Calculus Volume 1 book, which has free pdf and html versions.
• APEX Calculus 1 book: free pdf or cheap paperback.
• Wikipedia's Calculus

Videos:

(Use sparingly. Over-reliance on videos will retard the development of your reading comprehension ability.)

• Just Math Tutorials Calculus videos
• Khan Academy

Software:

• Matlab is available on campus and there are MATH 2301 exercises.
• The sage cell lets you do math on the web.
  There are some preloaded Calculus cells. There is a "sagemath" app for mobile devices.

Historical:

My MATH 2301 classes Fall 2015 and Fall 2016.

How to be unsuccessful at Calculus:

Historically, about 40% of Calculus I students are unsuccessful, meaning they earn a grade below C or withdraw from the class. The behaviors listed below contribute to being unsuccessful, and so are discouraged.

• Don't read the book. Make excuses like "It is too confusing.", "I learn better from videos.", or "The instructor should tell me everything I need to know in class."
• Ignore the text homework. Convince yourself that since it is not collected it must not be important.
• Do the online homework by pattern-matching with a similar problem or using another website to figure out the answer.
• Do the recitation groupwork by splitting up the problems and working on them separately. That way you only have to learn a fourth of it.
• Distract yourself in class using your phone.
• Skip stuff. Start with an occasional class, then a recitation, then some online homework, ...
• Invent and use false rules like
  • \(\frac{A+B}{A+C}=\frac{B}{C}\)
  • \(\frac{A+B}{A}=B\)
  • \(\frac{A}{AB}=B\)
  • \(\frac{A+B}{C+D}=\frac{A}{C}+\frac{B}{D}\)
  • \(x+x^{-1}=0\)
  • \(\frac{\sin(x^3)}{\sin(x^2)}=\frac{x^3}{x^2}=x\)
  • \(\frac{\sin(7x)}{\sin(3x)}=\sin(4x)\)
  • \(\sin(x+y)=\sin(x)+\sin(y)\)
  • \(\sqrt{x^2+y^2}=\sqrt{x^2}+\sqrt{y^2}=x+y\)
  • \(f(x)=x^{-1}\;\Rightarrow\;f(x+h)=x^{-1}+h\)
  • \(\tan(7\theta)=7\tan(\theta)\)
  • \(\sin\left(\frac{1}{x}\right)=\frac{\sin(1)}{x}\)
• Settle for familiarity rather than mastery. Familiarity is when you recognize a problem and can follow along when someone else, a video, or the book solves it. Mastery is when you can solve the problem confidently by yourself.
• Don't seek help when you need it.

Schedule

Subject to change. Some links, such as test solutions, will become active after we pass that date. The Text Homework problems are listed on the day we cover a topic, so you will generally do them after that date. The WebAssign column shows the day that section of problems is due and lists the corresponding text homework numbers. The Alt-Text column has links to alternative textbooks with additional examples etc.; they will not exactly match what we cover. The sage column links to an online resource we will sometimes use.

Last modified: Mon Dec 4 19:42:42 UTC 2017