Math 141 Spring 2004
Calculus 1

Instructor: M. O'Kennon
Office: Palenske 305 Office hours: (tentatively) MWF 1:10-2:00.
E-mail mokennon@albion.edu

Text: Thomas's Calculus, Tenth Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2001.

Paraphernalia: Scientific Calculator.  Does not have to be a graphing calculator, but if you are going to take another math class, you might want to get one. You must know how to use it.  I am much more interested in your being able to understand what a graph looks like in your brain and on paper than on a grapher.

In math classes, like all other classes in a liberal arts college, the student must learn by doing. This class will consist of both lecture and direct student participation. You will be working in small groups both in and out of class, and your input is crucial to your own and the learning experience of your group.

This learning by doing is also the key to my philosophy of calculators. They have their place, for instance in doing nasty calculations or getting an idea of what a function looks like when you are unfamiliar with the function, but are not to be used as a substitute for your own understanding of concepts.

Suggestions for succeeding in Math 141. Read the assigned section of text carefully before you come to class. Understand the examples. Try to make up your own examples. At least know what each theorem is saying. Memorize all definitions (there aren't very many important ones). Discuss the material with your friends. Come to class EVERY DAY well-rested and well-prepared. There will be time at the beginning of each class for questions and for you to put your work on the board. Make sure that you have tried to answer any question for yourself before you ask it in class or in office hours. Come to office hours. (The posted office hours are just when I promise to be there, but others are available by appointment. Please e-mail me mokennon@albion.edu)

Office Hours. On my part, I promise to be in my office during my posted office hours, and by appointment to help you with any questions you may have, but not to give you a lecture when you have missed a class for a chance to sleep in or study for another class! I'll be glad to answer questions about any problems on which you have put in some work but are stymied. The same goes for questions in class. You will get more out of the answer if you have tried to figure out the answer for yourself first! Really!

Help!

Attendance. Attendance is not optional. Mathematics is a cumulative subject and each day's topic depends on the preceding material. Days missed impact not only your own progress, but also that of your classmates. Thus I am asking you not to miss class for frivolous reasons. (Even if you are on an athletic team which requires you to go to away games, make sure that you go to all your classes right up to the minute the bus leaves!. Of course, your severe illness or death in your family will be considered as an excusable absence.) Attendance at every class session is your responsibility!

Homework. You will have exercises (both to be turned in and for your own benefit) to do from almost every section. This semester I am trying something newish, and ask that you submit your homework via e-mail. (One good reason for submitting your homework electronically is that it will make it easier for you to turn work in if you are too ill to come to class.) Generally written exercises are due two class periods from the day they are assigned, but I will tell you the hour when I will stop accepting e-mailed exercises. This gives you a chance to ask questions in class before the work is due. I cannot accept any late homework without a good reason. This is because I try to mark all homework sets within two class periods, and for fairness I mark all the sets at the same time. If yours is late, it will mean your classmates will be delayed in getting their homework back.  

Etiquette. Sorry to say, I have found it necessary to incorporate a few rules to keep the class running smoothly.
Please do not chat with your neighbor, read the paper, sleep, or let your watch or cell phone ring during a lecture, or in any other way diminish the learning experience of others. You might read the student handbook on the subject of disruptive behavior. I reserve the right to ask you to leave for the day and/or go visit the student affairs office, and that day will count as an unexcused absence. Exceptions include when you are asked to discuss problems in group work. 
I don't mind if you bring a drink to class.  I personally can't survive without a cup of coffee.  Just don't spill it, and wipe it up if you do!

I shouldn't have to say this, but I will.  If you are ill and contagious (sneezing and coughing and/or feverish), it is only polite that you will do yourself and the rest of us a favor and stay away.  I will try to help you by email or phone until you are well enough to come to class.  You can still submit your work by email.  Such absences will not count against your attendance.  

Back by popular acclaim: the board points. In order to quantify participation, I ask that if you want to try for the 4.0 you plan to put up as many problems as possible during the semester. I will ask that you arrive a few minutes early so that the problems are on the board the day they are due ready to be discussed. Your courage in writing your problem on the board and your effort to clearly explain your solution in words to the class will earn you a board point. When you have amassed 5 board points, you will be awarded a handsome certificate suitable for framing somewhere, and which can be redeemed at the end of the semester for 2 percentage points to be added to your final average. Note: two certificates (4 percentage points) is the limit counted for credit, but if everyone has had a chance and you want to put up a problem, you are welcome to as many handsome certificates as your fridge can display.

How your grade will be determined. There will be three tests and a final exam, all cumulative. Each test will count 20 points and the final 30. If you have missed a test for an excused absence, your grade will depend on the two tests you took, so make sure not to miss a test for a frivolous reason. Graded homework will count at least 25 points. My usual grading scale will be used, that is: 94-100 plus extra explorations as specified in the college bulletin = 4.0 ; 87-93 = 3.7; 84-86 = 3.3; 80-83 = 3.0; 77-79 = 2.7; 74-76 = 2.3; 70-73 = 2.0; 67-69 = 1.7; 64-66 = 1.3; 60-63 = 1.0. Attendance or lack thereof is also a factor that may change your final mark (see above). I hope that you will enjoy this semester. I plan to!

Here is a tentative syllabus for the semester. Please note that days we will not have class are marked in aqua (web version). Test days are marked in watermelon (web version). Some tests will be take-home, and in that case they are due on the watermelon days.