Course Description:  Calculus of several variables - partial differentiation, multiple integration, vector calculus, line and surface integrals, Green's Theorem, and Stoke's Theorem.  Students must have taken or be currently enrolled in Math 260, Computer Calculus.  Prerequisite:  Math 262.

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate an ability to solve a variety of problems using multivariable or vector calculus, including applied problems.

Class Activity:  Most class days will consist of standard lectures.  I will try to frequently use Mathcad demonstrations as necessary on my laptop using the classroom projector.  Homework assignments will occasionally use Mathcad to either graph a complicated function, illustrate a result, or do a long or numerical calculation.  Short homework assignments will be due almost daily.  In addition to the collected homework, there is a suggested homework assignment 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 collected problems do not give you sufficient practice to do well on the exams.  I take questions on the suggested problems in class.  In fact, I expect to answer questions as part of the lecture.  I will, however, not answer questions in class on collected homework that is due that day (although you are free to ask me questions about those problems in my office or on prior days).

Attendance:  Attendance is mandatory in the sense that you will not be given an opportunity to make up work from class that you miss, and it is up to you to learn the material on your own.  I will not give you the lecture on a one-on-one basis in my office.  Regardless of why you miss, missing class will likely mean that you won't understand the material as well as you should and your worksheet and exam grades will likely suffer as well.  Unfortunately this statement is true whether you miss class because you just didn't want to get up that morning or if you miss class because you had a major emergency (in fact, the better the reason for missing class is, the more students tend to not understand the material no matter how much they try to make it up, since they are distracted by other concerns in their lives).  Missing class is strongly discouraged.  It will not be directly penalized, however, except for exam days, and I do not take a formal attendance each day.

If you don't miss an exam, I don't need to know why you were gone unless you wish to tell me.  Also, documentation will be required for a makeup exam to be graded.  For a known 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 if it will require missing an exam.  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 a makeup exam.  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 and planned reasons such weddings or family reunions, you should notify me by Monday, August 28.  I make the assumption that if such an event is already scheduled, then all you have to do is check your schedule, and you can get back to me by Monday.  If such an event is not yet scheduled, I expect you to schedule it around the exams, since the exam dates are already decided and provided on the exam page.  For absences that are unplanned, such as illnesses or family emergencies, I expect to be notified as soon as feasible and in advance.  I also expect that if you are sick enough to miss an exam, you are also sick enough to go to the health center.  In order for a makeup exam to be graded, written documentation of the reason for the absence will be required.  Examples 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..  In addition, any makeup exams will be given on Wednesday, December 13 (study day) only.

Collected homework assignments may not be made up.  If you know you will miss class on a day that an assignment is due, you must turn it in early.  If you are ill, you may either send it with a friend, roommate, etc. to my office, or it will be one of the dropped assignments.  I will keep only the 32 best homework grades, out of approximately 42 assignments.

Homework and Exams:  The collected homework assignments will be collected on a nearly daily basis.  I expect there to be 42 homework assignments total, but that number may increase.  I will keep the best 32 homework grades.  Each homework will be given a grade on a ten-point scale.  If the assignment does not have 10 points possible, to switch the grade to a ten-point scale, I take the points you got on the assignment, divide by the total points possible, and multiply by ten.  If the decimal part starts will a two or higher, I round the grade up.  Otherwise, I round it down.

There will be five regular exams and a cumulative final exam.  If you do better on the final exam than on your lowest regular exam, I will replace your lowest exam with your final exam score.

The final exam is scheduled for Friday, December 15, at 12:00 noon.

A full grading scale is given here.

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  You may certainly work with others and get help on homework assignments whether or not they are collected, 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 114 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 collected homework assignments, and take and pass all the exams on the scheduled date.

MSUM's standard is that one semester credit hour for undergraduates is meant to represent three hours of academic work per week for the average student who has the expected preparation for the courses that he or she is enrolled in.  Since this is a 4-credit course, that means that you will be expected to work 12 hours per week, on average, for this course.  Only 200 minutes of that (or three and a third hours) will be in class.  Spending time reading the book, doing homework, and studying for exams is meant to be a significant part of this course.

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

Course Outline:  See the course schedule.

Calculators:  You will need a scientific calculator.  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.  If you want to shop around, you will need a calculator with the keys ln, log, sin, cos, tan.  In addition you will likely want one with a fraction key, an ANS key, and a two-line display.  Note that statistical calculators often do not have the ln key, so will not suffice.

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 homework than on the exams.  My criteria is the same for both.

I 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, roommates, or spouses, 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.  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.  (You are free to return to class the next day, and there will be no other consequences.)  This includes those days we have exams.  In fact, it applies especially on those days when we have an exam.  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.  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.  Or better yet, turn it off entirely.

In addition, during exams, your cell phone (or any other electronic device other than a calculator) may not be visible at all - you must put it in your closed bookbag or something similar.  If you use it for your watch, you will have to bring a different clock to exams or use the classroom clock.

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Last Revision:  01/04/2008

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