Syllabus

morpheus_syllabus.jpg

Last updated: Tuesday, 9 January 2024.

Purpose of this Page

This page serves as the syllabus for math100-e24, Calculus I, taught by Chris Eppolito in the Easter semester. I may change any portion of this document at any time. In the event this is necessary, I will contact enrolled students by email.

Read this document carefully. This is a contract between us concerning how our course will run.

Course Information

Instructor Chris Eppolito (he/him) <- christopher-dot-eppolito-a​t-sewanee-dot-edu
Section A MWF 08:00-08:50 in Woods 121
Section B MWF 09:00-09:50 in Woods 121
Office Hours Monday 15:30–18:00 and Wednesday 10:00–13:00 (or by appointment) in Woods Lab 127
Tutor Lab Sunday through Thursday, 7pm–9pm in Woods 123
Webpage Calculus I Homepage

Content

This is a standard first course in single-variable calculus for a general audience.

Topics

The main topics of the course include…

  • limits and continuity,
  • the derivative (definition, meaning, and computation),
  • the integral (definition, meaning, and computation), and
  • applications of the above.

See the schedule of topics for our day-to-day schedule.

Textbook

A good education should always be play-to-win, and never pay-to-win. As such, our only required material is the textbook Calculus: Volume 1 (by Gilbert Strang and other contributors). It is available in the following formats:

It is also possible to order a physical copy, but that is not necessary. If you really want a physical copy, I would instead suggest that you do the following:

  1. Use your free student printing to print the chapters of the text as we use them.
  2. Donate to the publisher directly (only if you can manage it).

This method has the following benefits:

  • It assures that the publisher makes money for the text directly.
  • It supports the continued survival of an academic publisher which supports free learning.
  • It ensures that paper is not wasted (insofar as you only print what you need).
  • It prevents certain unethical online wholesalers from taking a cut.

This is what I do with textbooks like this.

Course Objectives

The official description of this course from the course catalogue is…

An elementary course introducing the student to the basic concepts of calculus: functions, transcendental functions, limits, derivatives, and integrals. Emphasis on problem solving.

At the end of this course, you should…

  1. Know the core content of differential calculus. This means you will be able to…
    1. explain the concepts of derivative, limit, etc. to interested parties,
    2. make computations,
    3. interpret these computations in their context, and
    4. explain the relationship between the computations and the aforementioned concepts.
  2. Have some exposure to the integral calculus in the context of…
    1. our definition of the integral,
    2. simple computational aspects of integration, and
    3. the relationship between the integral's computational aspects and conceptual meaning.
  3. Have some idea of why the calculus is so important to our world at large.
  4. Be able to explain the "why" and the "how" of each of the above.

Code of conduct

Here is what I expect from you at a minimum.

  • Submit your own work, and adhere to the Honor Code (more below).
  • Be mindful and courteous during ALL interactions with me and your peers (including emails).
  • Communicate with me if you have any concerns—I can help you, but I need to know that I should! As communication is a two-way street, you also need to read the emails I send and pay attention to what is said during lectures.
  • Participation in class discussions and assignments.
  • You must check the website for updates daily. I will not remind you of deadlines: you are responsible for knowing when assignments are due and planning accordingly so that they are submitted on time.

  • Your work must clearly demonstrate the logic you used, and may only use methods and notations discussed in my lectures (or OK'd by me in advance). Everything you turn in must be legible AND well-organized, with clear logic describing your solution.

    A few thoughts on how I do this when I work on mathematics:

    1. Write a first draft which addresses the assignment.
    2. REWRITE that draft, remembering that other people have to understand it without me there to explain it.
    3. Take some time to do other things (e.g., get a coffee or have a nap).
    4. Return to the work, and check that it still makes sense.
    5. Repeat 2–4 as necessary until my work makes me and my audience proud.

    Remember: if your work would be too messy or unclear for an English class, it's too messy for my class.

Academic Honesty

You agreed to follow the Honor Code when you matriculated. All forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, are violations of the Honor Code and will be treated as such. If you ever have a question about an assignment or need additional help, please ask for assistance rather than jeopardize your academic career.

Collaboration

I encourage collaboration between students on practice problems and problem sets; if you work with another student on a graded assignment, you MUST CITE THEM as a collaborator on each problem you did together.

Collaboration on Quizzes and Exams is FORBIDDEN.

Collaboration means that all parties contribute ideas to produce a solution. Copying or allowing another student to copy solutions is never collaboration—that is cheating and will be treated as such. If you have any doubts as to whether what you did (or plan to do) is collaboration, just ask me.

To summarise, if you do collaborate, remember:

  1. Cite your collaborators.
  2. You must write the solution in your own words.

Electronic Resources

Answers taken from an electronic source are FORBIDDEN on problem sets. This includes, but is not limited to, the following.

  • Calculators of any kind (unless expressly permitted).
  • Internet search of any kind.

On essay-type assignments, you must cite all sources you used. This includes all websites you used in the course of your preparation.

Academic Accommodation

The University of the South is committed to fostering respect for the diversity of the University community and the individual rights of each member of that community. In this spirit, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the University seeks to provide students with disabilities with the reasonable accommodations needed to ensure equal access to the programs and activities of the University.

Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) as early in the semester as possible. If approved for accommodations, the student has the responsibility to present their instructors with a copy of the official letter of academic accommodations. Please note: Accommodation letters should be dated for the current term; accommodations will not be provided without a current accommodation letter; and accommodations cannot be applied retroactively.

SAS is located in the Office of the Dean of Students (931.598.1229). Additional information about accommodations can be found on the Student Accessibility Services website.

Students who have questions about physical accessibility should inform their instructors so that we can ensure an accessible, safe, and effective environment.

Grades

YOU are responsible for obtaining the final grade you want in this course. If you want an A, make sure your grades are in the A range. When all is said and done, you will get the grade you earn.

Score Distribution

Grades are decided on the following APPROXIMATE distribution (subject to change):

Grade F D C B A
Minimum Score \( -\infty \) 60 65 80 90

NOTE: Students in the past have been confused about the fact that the above distribution doesn't have plusses and minuses listed. Let me assure you that I DO give plusses and minuses. However, I also suggest that you worry less about that and more about understanding the class content.

Extra Credit

This does not exist. Do not ask for it. I will say "no".

Instead, please focus your effort on learning the material as it is assigned. If you need help, I can provide it (as long as I know you want it). In my experience, the students with the highest scores are often the ones who care the least about those scores. I think there is a lesson here: effort directed towards learning is more effective than effort directed towards grades.

Deadlines

The last day to turn in written work is Wednesday, 1 May 2024. All other assignments are due at the date posted on the schedule page. For most homeworks, this is the following lecture (unless otherwise stated).

Assignment Types

The following is a short description of each of the assignment types employed in this course. I might add some more experimental content as well, and ask for your feedback on its effectiveness.

Homeworks and quizzes (30%)

Homeworks are problems assigned during lecture or on the website. Unless otherwise stated, they are to be turned in by the beginning of the following lecture. I typically grade one or two of these problems on correctness, and the rest on completeness.

Late homework is not accepted.

Quizzes are short timed problems assigned during lecture, to be turned in by the end of the allotted time.

I will drop your three lowest quizzes at the end of the semester. There are no make-up quizzes.

Midterms (two by 20%)

A pencil-and-paper exam to occur during one of the usual lecture periods (for the first two exams).

See the schedule page for the exam dates.

Final (30%)

A pencil-and-paper exam to occur during the final examination period.

See the schedule page for the exam dates.