Course Description:  Introduction to differential and integral calculus with an emphasis on applications.  Introduction to matrices and their applications.  Not open to mathematics majors or minors.  Prerequisite:  Math 127 or a minimum ACT Math score of 24 or a minimum MNSCU math placement score of 20.

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes:

The following course objectives come from the Liberal Studies description:

    Upon completion of the course, students will be able to do the following:

• Demonstrate application of inductive and deductive reasoning.

• Evaluate complex relations using symbolic abstraction and generalization.

• Demonstrate problem solving using symbolic representation and manipulation.

Class Activity:  With the exception of exam days, each class day will start with a lecture period.  This lecture will be somewhere between 15 minutes and one hour long, depending on the amount of material to be covered.  I will provide you with guided notes for each lecture.  The guided notes are basically an outline of what I will cover during that day, the details of which you will have to fill in during the lecture.  They save some time in copying the problems from the board, but still serve to keep your attention on the lecture and help with being able to think about why I am solving problems as I am, instead of just routine copying.  I have not used guided notes before, so if you have suggestions about how they may be more efficiently laid out, or feel you need more or less space to write, or similar comments, please feel free to let me know during the semester.  Whenever feasible I will try to apply improvements to the guided notes during the course of the semester.

After the lecture period, I will pass out a lab activity.  This will be basically a worksheet over the material that I had just gone over during the lecture.  Problems will range in difficulty from basic "skill-drills" to more in-depth problems.  The labs may be due at the end of the period or at the beginning of the next period, a decision I will make on a day-by-day basis.  A short lecture followed by a short lab will probably have the lab due at the end of the period.  A long lecture will probably have the lab due at the beginning of the next period.  A classroom full of students who are trying to do anything but work on the lab will probably have the lab due at the end of the period and have every problem graded.  A classroom full of students who are working hard on mathematics throughout the lab period and which gets a reasonable portion of the lab done will probably have the lab due at the end of the period with only about half of each lab graded - the half you got right.  Attitude means a lot here.  I have also not done labs in Math 229 before, so I am not sure how many labs will be due at the end of the period, but my guess is that about 75% of the time the lab will be due at the start of the next period, so be prepared to have homework to do after every class.  The labs are meant to be done in groups during the period or outside of class if they are not due at the end of the period, and you should feel free to ask questions of myself during the period or if it is outside of class you can ask me questions in my office or go to the tutor lab for help.

In addition to the lab assignments, there are homework assignments for each section.  It is in your best interest to do all the homework even though it is not graded.  You will find that the labs do not give you sufficient practice to do well on the exams.

Attendance:  Attendance is mandatory.  If you have more than two unexcused absences during the term, for each absence past the second your final course grade will be lowered by 2%.  In addition to this outright penalty, missing class will likely mean that you won't understand the material as well as you should and your homework, lab, and exam grades will likely suffer as well.  Missing class is strongly discouraged.

For an absence due to military duty, jury duty, or other legal requirement, you must give me notice as soon as feasible and prior to the absence.  Also, documentation will be required for the absence to be excused.  For an absence due to an official university activity, you must give me written notice at least two weeks prior to the absence, as per university policy, for the absence to be excused.  I feel it is necessary to point out that relatively few faculty members or coaches remember to provide this notice in that time frame, but it is up to you to remind them, since insufficient notice will be your problem, not theirs.  For an absence due to personal reasons such as illness or family emergencies, you should notify me as soon as feasible, before the absence in most cases.  In order for a makeup exam to be graded, written documentation of the reason for the absence will be required.  Example are:  a note from the doctor saying you were seen (it does not have to say what you were seen for), a copy of the police report for a minor car accident, funeral program or obituary, etc..

Labs may or may not be made up, depending on the particular lab.  Labs that I collect at the end of the period can not be made up.  For labs that I collect at the start of the next period you may get a copy from me in my office, and submit it with the rest of the class.  Otherwise, labs can not be made up except in the case of extended illnesses or out-of-town military duty (more than 3 class days).

Absences due to family vacations, reunions, weddings, etc., are not excused absences unless you inform me of them by Tuesday, Aug. 30.  I expect you to schedule such events around your class schedules if they come up during the semester, especially since the exam dates are already set.  In addition, one-day illnesses will not be excused absences if they occur on any day but an exam day.  If it occurs on an exam day, I expect you to go to the health center to get checked out.

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  You may certainly work with others and get help on homework assignments and worksheets, but the work you submit should be your own work.  Note that during exams you will not be allowed to get help from others.  Make sure that you learn the material while you do the homework and worksheets - that is the purpose of the assignments.  Then during the exam you can demonstrate your knowledge - that is the purpose of the exams.  Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in any college course (or any course at any level).  See the MSUM Academic Honesty policy for more information and possible consequences of cheating.

Special Accommodations: Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-5859 (voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 222 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Course Requirements:  You are expected to complete daily homework, complete and submit the worksheets, and take and pass all the exams on the scheduled date.

Evaluations Standards: Your course grade will include worksheet and exam grades.  For more details, see the grade page.

Course Outline:  See the course schedule.

Calculators:  A scientific, non-graphing calculator will be required for this course.  Part of the study of calculus and its applications requires getting approximate, real-world answers.  For these you will need a scientific calculator.  I have found that graphing calculators provide a significant advantage to those students who have them.  However, I also find them too expensive to feel that their use is justified, particularly since in real life you wouldn't use them - you would use a graphing program on a computer that would be much more accurate and visually appealing.  Unless there is a student in the class who is willing to buy every other student a graphing calculator, I will not allow them.  This provides everyone a level playing field and is the fairest solution that I have been able to come up with.

A basic scientific calculator costs $15-$20 at Target, Kmart, Osco, Office Deport, or some similar store.  I have put a suggested calculator on reserve in the bookstore, but you do not need to have that particular model.

General Comments:  For all graded work in this class, you must show work for credit and give exact answers.  In general, if you have to write it down, you have to show it to me.  My rule of thumb when grading is either whether I could do a similar calculation in my head and not make a mistake or if the point of the problem is being met (i.e., if the point of the problem is to show a known result, you have to show it in some detail).  If I feel that you needed to show more work, I will indicate it.  I want to emphasize that showing work is a lesson you would much rather learn on the worksheets than on the exams.  My criteria is the same for both.

I do not curve courses of this level.  I have given a class average of a B+ in a course of this level, and I have also given a class average of a D+.  I grade you as individuals, and by whether or not you personally have mastered the material.  I also very rarely give extra credit, and when I do it is to the entire class.  If you come to my office at the end of the term and ask if you can do extra credit to improve your grade, my answer will be no.  The grading scale and weights for the homework and exams are given here.

I will in general return any work the next class day.  If you are not there, I will not give it to friends, nor will I give out grade information on the phone or via email.  (These restrictions are not arbitrary - they are based on federal law regarding student privacy.)  Normally, I include any old assignments with any current ones, but I do not try to pass them back a second time unless you have turned in the most recent assignment.  I will bring the old assignments with me every day, so if you ask at the end of class you can get them then.

I expect you to be responsible for yourself as far as getting notes from a classmate if you miss class.  (My notes rarely have answers, just problems, so are not very useful to students.)  I also expect you to turn in any homework early if you know that you will miss class.  This includes those instances when the absence is due to an official university activity.

Cell Phones:  Turn off your cell phones when you go to class (this class or any other class).  Cellular phones and other distracting devices generally have no place in a formal or semi-formal setting, such as a classroom.  If your phone rings audibly during class, I will require you to leave the classroom for the remainder of the period.  This includes those days we have exams.  Hence, if your cell phone rings during an exam, you will have to turn in what you have completed up to that point.  No extra time will be given.  I strongly suggest that you always remember to turn off your phone.  (You are free to return to class the next day, and there will be no other consequences.)  Note:  I have found that cell phones on vibrate, when in a backpack next to a textbook, are still quite loud since they reverberate against the book.  If I can hear it at the front of the room or if most of the students next to you react to it, it is still an audible ring.  Keep it on something soft or on your waistband or in your pocket.

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This page maintained by Ellen Hill, elhill@mnstate.edu
Last Revision:  01/04/2008

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