Instructor: Douglas Pickrell
Office: Mathematics 703
Office Phone: 621-4767
Email: pickrell@math.arizona.edu
Office Hours: M 12-1 in MTL121, W 11-12, Th 1-2 and by appointment
Course Materials: The course materials include the textbook (Calculus Single Variable, Sixth Edition by Hughes-Hallett et al) and access to an online homework system, WebAssign. Please access the material through D2L the first day of classes to make sure there are no issues in the delivery. You automatically have access to the course materials FREE through September 3, 2018. You must take action (even if you have not accessed the materials) to opt-out if you do not wish to pay for the materials, and choose to source the content independently. The deadline to opt-out is 9:00pm MST, September 3, 2018. If you do not opt-out and choose to retain your access, the cost of the digital course materials will appear on your October Bursars account. Please refer to the Inclusive Access FAQs at https://shop.arizona.edu/textbooks/Inclusive.asp for additional information. A graphing calculator (e.g. any model in the TI-83 or TI-84 series) is recommended, but not required. Models that can perform symbolic calculations (also known as CAS) are NOT allowed on exams. CAS models include (but are not limited to) the TI-89, TI NSpire CAS and HP 50g. Calculators will NOT be allowed on the first two midterms. Students are never allowed to share calculators during exams.
Course Webpage: http://math.arizona.edu/~calc. This page has information about tutoring resources, calculator programs, the final exam,...
Communication: I will be emailing important information to you about our course, e.g. the schedule for our section, homework to be handed in, official dates of midterms. It is important that I have your preferred email address
Homework: Doing the homework well and on a regular basis is critical in this course (e.g. many of the exam questions will be taken directly from the homework). The standard rule of thumb is that you should spend two hours studying outside of class for each hour of classwork. WebAssign will be regularly used for problems assigned from the text. There is a huge temptation, which you must resist, to simply record the final answers on WebAssign. It is important to develop a habit of documenting how you arrived at your answer. On an irregular basis (by email) I will ask you to hand in some handwritten solutions (to be counted as part of the homework).
Midterms: There will be four midterms. The tentative dates of the exams are W 9/12, M 10/8, F 11/2, and F 11/30. The exact date of each midterm, and the material to be covered on each midterm, will be announced at least one week in advance in class and by email. Calculators will NOT be allowed on the first two midterms. You must notify me in advance if you are not able to attend on the day of a midterm exam.
Final Exam: The final exam is a common exam (i.e. involving all sections of Math 129). This exam is scheduled for Monday December 10, 8:00-10:00 am. Information about the common final exam will (later in the semester) be posted at the Math 129 webpage.
Grades: I will calculate grades in the following way. I will first compute a total homework/test score. Homework will count for 100 points, each midterm will count for 100 points, and the final exam will count for 200 points, toward the total score. I will use these scores to linearly order the class. Tentative cutoffs for A's, B's, etc will be (approximately) determined by the performance of our section on the common final exam (for example if five students from our section receive A's on the common final, I will position the tentative A cut off so that (at least) five students fall in the A category, etc). Final grades will be at least as high as the tenative grades based on the total score and cutoffs. For students who fall into gray areas (e.g. a student with a tentative high B based on the total score), I will secondarily consider improvement over the course of the semester, e.g. performance on the final exam (but I will not alter the linear ordering of the class).
Attendance: Students are expected to attend every scheduled class. • The UA’s policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is available at: http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-administrative-drop. • The UA’s policy regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or practice will be accommodated where reasonable. See: http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy. • Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean Designee) will be honored. See: https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/absences.
Classroom Behavior: To foster a positive learning environment, students and instructors have a shared responsibility. We want a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where all of us feel comfortable with each other and where we can challenge ourselves to succeed. To that end, our focus is on the tasks at hand and not on extraneous activities (texting, chatting, reading a newspaper, making phone calls, web surfing).
Communication: It is the student’s responsibility to keep informed of any announcements, syllabus adjustments or policy changes made during scheduled classes, by email.
Students with disabilities: Our goal in this classroom is that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. You are also welcome to contact the Disability Resource Center (520-621-3268) to establish reasonable accommodations. For additional information on the Disability Resource Center and reasonable accommodations, please visit http://drc.arizona.edu. If you have reasonable accommodations, please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate. Please be aware that the accessible table and chairs in this room should remain available for students who find that standard classroom seating is not usable.
Students withdrawing from the course: Must be made in accordance with University policy http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-system#Withdrawal.
Incompletes: Must be made in accordance with University policies, which are available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-system#incomplete
University Policies: • The UA Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to oneself. See http://policy.arizona.edu/education-and-student-affairs/threatening-behavior-students. • Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academic-integrity/students/academic-integrity. • The University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination; see http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy
Note: Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.