Home, 1/12 (last message)

Well, it looks like I enjoyed the break so much I forgot to update the page for the final time.

The course is over and the grades are in! You can get solutions to all the exams and see statistics on exam grades on the "scores and docs" page.

In spite of the numerous challenges inflicted on us by the coronavirus epidemic, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching this course. Special thanks go to students who participated in class discussion - you make my job easier!


Home, 11/18

Office hours during this week: Wednesday - Friday, 11-1, also on Zoom (morning office hour).


Home, 11/13

Exam 5 is scheduled for Monday, covering sections 9.1-9.3. On sample exam 5, ignore problem 7, as it is from 9.4.

Homework from sections 9.1 and 9.2 is due on Saturday. I will try to get it back to you before the exam, but can't promise this. Homework from 9.3 is due by the time you take the final exam. If you would like, you can do homework for section 9.4 to get some bonus points, also due by the final exam.

On Monday evening, I will have your overall grade determined, so you can decide whether to take the final exam. Recall that the final exam is optional and takes the place of your weakest two exams, but only if it is better (otherwise, it does not affect your grade). If you are happy with the grade I send you Monday evening, you don't have to take it - the final essentially serves as an opportunity to improve your grade. We will not have class on Tuesday.

The final exam is officially scheduled for Wednesday at 8:00AM, but we will start at 8:30. You will have two hours to complete it. Because the final exam is so close to the end of the semester, if anyone wishes to take it a little later, I will allow it. When I send you the grade, I'll also send a sign-up sheet for preferred final exam time.

The final exam will have six pages and consist of problems like the ones on the exams during the semester. Therefore, to start preparing yourself for the final exam, make sure you can do all the problems on the five exams we will have had by then.

Good luck on exams!


Home, 11/6

Exam 4 has been rescheduled for Monday. Hopefully you can study in spite of the anticipated nice weather!

If you haven't already, try to turn in your homework for 8.5-8.8, so you may get it back before the exam.

Next week, we will cover what we can of sections 9.1-9.4, and I anticipate getting through 9.3. Count on a makeup hour on Wednesday. We probably will not be able to get to 9.4, but, since this knowledge is useful, I will assign 9.4 as a bonus homework for anyone wishing to do it. (Thus, you earn points for doing homework in 9.4, but 9.4 will not be counted in the overall maximum points for homework.)

Exam 5 is planned for Monday, 11/16, after which you will get your overall grade for the semester. (I don't anticipate the class meeting on Tuesday, 11/17.) You may decide to come to the optional final to improve your grade: it is on Wednesday, 11/18 at 8AM, or we can schedule a later time for individual cases (for example, you may come to the time for the final of my other classes.)


Home, 10/31

Exam 4 is scheduled for Friday, covering sections 8.5-8.8. Check out sample exam 4 for some representative problems. (Incidentally, boo!)

We will work on section 8.8 on Monday, with homework discussion for sections 8.7 and 8.8 occuring on Wednesday during regular class and makeup hour.

Exam 3 turned out somewhat poorly, but this is fairly usual for an exam covering series. Let's redouble our efforts to do better on exam 4!


Home, 10/25

On Monday we will discuss homework from sections 8.5 and 8.6. Sign up in the usual place to do a homework problem.

Exam 4 is coming after we finish chapter 8, later during the week after next.


Home, 10/18

Exam 3, covering sections 8.1-8.4, is scheduled for Thursday. Check out sample exam 3 for some representative problems.

On Monday we will finish homework from section 8.4, which will be due on Tuesday, so I can return it to you before the exam. Homework from sections 8.1 and 8.2 has been returned, and it shows a fair number of people is having trouble with some of the concepts. Please go over your returned homework to see what you have missed and how you may improve on it.


Home, 10/9

On Monday we will go over homework in section 8.3, which will be due later in the week, along with section 8.4. Homework for sections 8.1 and 8.2 is due tomorrow.

Exam turned out well for many students. But let's not get complacent, as chapter 8 is usually where students have difficulty.

Exam 3, covering sections 8.1-8.4, is coming soon, early week after next.


Home, 10/3

On Monday we will go over homework in section 8.1. It will be due later in the week, along with section 8.2.


Home, 9/25

Exam 2, covering sections 7.1-7.6 is scheduled for Thursday. Check out sample exam 2 for some representative problems on the exam.

As before, everyone will take the exam in person and we will split between our room and another one. Students who ordinarily come on Thursday are in the usual classroom, the rest in the other one.

Homework for sections 7.3 and 7.4 is due today, and the one for 7.5 and 7.6 on Monday. I plan to return the graded homeworks to you before the exam.

If you are having trouble with the material, make sure you seek help during office hours.


Home, 9/21

Last week's update, coming a little late. On Tuesday, we will start discussing homework in 7.3 and 7.4, due later in the week.

Exam 1 was returned today, with poor scores. See "scores and docs" for statistics on how the overall class did. Fortunately, this is one of five exams, and there are still opportunities to improve your grade. Seize them now!

A lot of you will have to put in a much stronger effort to succeed in the course. My first suggestion is to stop using solution manuals for homework and attempt to do the homework yourself. Proficiency is achieved by straining your brain over problems: this helps you remember what works and what does not, as well as standard techniques for dealing with certain types of problems. Copying solutions as a method of acquiring knowledge has the same usefulness as watching your younger sibling on an exercise bike as a method of working out yourself.


Home, 9/12

Exam 1, covering sections 6.1-6.3, 6.5 and 6.6 is scheduled for Tuesday. Check out sample exam 1 on the scores and docs page for an idea of what the exam will be like.

To maintain social distancing for the exam and to have everyone take it at the same time, we will split into two classrooms. Students who would ordinarly come to class on Tuesday (the original "Tuesday group") will be in our usual classroom, room 303. The others will be in room 310 (the original "Monday group"), which is on the same floor, but across the staircase from our usual classroom. Since I have not seen many of you during the semester, I may ask to see a picture ID, so make sure you have one with you.

Homeworks for 6.3 and 6.5 have been returned. If I get your homework for 6.6 by Sunday morning, you will get it back on Monday.

For some of you, reading your homework leaves me unreassured, because it appears you are copying answers from a solutions manual without having a good enough understanding of the material. If you need help, make sure to visit my office hours on Monday, in person or virtually.


Home, 9/7

Hope you had a good long weekend. I was so excited by it that I forgot to update our webpage at the end of last week.

On Tuesday, we will start section 6.6 (blank notes are already on Canvas/files). Homework discussion will occur during our make-up hour on Wednesday, and section 6.6 homework will be due at the end of the week. Recall that homework for 6.3 and 6.5 is due on Tuesday.

I am planning our first exam during the week after this shortened one. Tuesday?


Home, 8/28

Homework for sections 6.1 and 6.2 is due today. Please upload if you haven't already.

On Monday we will finish section 6.3 and start with discussion of homework in section 6.3. Section 6.3 will be due with section 6.5 later next week.

Don't forget to ask for help if things aren't clear. Come to office hours, or join them on Zoom - links are on Canvas/Zoom.

Free tutoring information has been updated - the Ross center is now active.


Home, 8/22

Well, we weathered a whole slew of technological hiccups. Thank you for putting up with them. I am still waiting for a better connector to the in-class projector which will allow me to see the same image on the laptop and the projector, helping me write more neatly.

Exam 0, a review of differentiation and integration from Calculus 1 was handed out last week in class.

Note: problem 2 on the printed copy you received should start with d/dt, not d/du.

If you did not get your copy, find it under "scores and docs," it's with "This semester's complete (blank) exams." Exam 0 is due on Monday, you will file it as a PDF in Canvas under "Assignments," and counts as homework. More tips on filing homework are below, in my post of 8/16.

For your ease of writing notes while in class, I will attempt to post blank lecture notes in Canvas/Files before I cover them in class. (If I am writing the notes last-minute, you may not get the chance to print them, unless you are sitting right next to a printer.) Written (i.e. "filled in") notes will be updated as we cover the material, also in Canvas/Files. All recordings of class sessions, to the extent Zoom doesn't mess something up, are in Canvas/Files as well.

Our next assignment will be homework from sections 6.1 and 6.2, due later next week, once we cover section 6.2. Recall that you are turning in only problems under "What to write up" on the homework list (which is on the "scores and docs" page).

On Monday, we continue with section 6.2.

Recall that, unless you have made special arrangements with me, you are in class in person every other day. This means if you came to class in person on MWF last week, this week you come on TR. There are students who would like to attend MWF every week, but I need students who wish to come TR every week to complement them: let me know if you are one such.


Home, 8/16

Welcome to the course! Look around to familiarize yourself with the layout of these webpages. To get to other pages, click on the links in the menu (or drop-down, if viewing on a smartphone). The most often-used pages are in the first line of the menu (or the first several choices of the drop-down). "Scores and docs," for example, has all the documents for the course.

Your first exercise is to find the syllabus on these pages and read it. (I will not be printing it.) The items there that are typically of greatest interest to students are from "Homework" to "Make-ups."

These pages will get more content as information becomes available. Check back often: useful information is provided in the "home" section (which you are reading), typically updated weekly.

Here are some specific items related to our COVID-19-tainted-semester.

Masks: To repeat the university's policy, they have to be worn while in class, my office, or in the building. They have to cover your nose and your mouth.

Canvas: If it hasn't been already, the Canvas page will be set up shortly. Canvas will mainly be the repository of class notes, class session recordings, your grades, and a place to upload homework. Information about the course and weekly messages will be posted to this website (also accessible from Canvas). (Why bother with the website outside of Canvas? Two reasons: it's easier to make updates to it, and it stays public, something I value, and you may grow to as well, as a service to future students of this same course.)

Attendance: If you are reading this, you have received an email telling you which days to come to class in person. On the days on which you do not come in person, join the class via a Zoom meeting (see link on Canvas.) Both in-person and Zoom presence counts for the purposes of tracking attendance.

Sites to catch Zoom classes inbetween your in-person ones: When there is not enough time to go home for your Zoom class, try one of these sites:

Office hours: At most one person will be allowed in my office at a time. Of course, you have to wear a mask. I may take your temperature with a touchless thermometer, and you will be able to check mine with the same. If you come and see someone in my office, let me know you are there, so I may be able to help you concurrently while you sit in the foreroom, or we can all go to a larger room, if several students have the same questions. During office hours, I will also start a Zoom session through which you can ask questions. If I do not respond immediately on Zoom, please be patient, as I may have left the office for a short while.

Assignments and exams: To minimize handoff of physical objects between people and thus reduce chance of transmission of the virus, all assignments will be submitted and returned on Canvas. Exams will be taken in person as long as the university is running in-person classes.

Assignment submission: is through Canvas as PDF files only, to facilitate easier grading and return.

If you are scanning, resolution of 100dpi has been good enough for exam solutions, so it should be adequate for your assignments. (Resulting smaller files are quicker to upload and download).

If you don't have a scanner, take pictures with your phone, and try to lay the assignment sheet on a flat surface with good lighting. Use a lower resolution setting for the camera, to reduce final file size. Then use an app to bundle the pictures into a PDF. Some phones have native support for this, for others you can download a free app. Here are some that have been recommended to me: default notes app on the iPhone, Adobe Scan, Tiny Scanner, CamScanner, Notebloc.

Additional instructional hours: will most likely take the form of Zoom sessions in the late afternoon or evening for the purpose of discussing homework. They will not be mandatory, although, from past experience, many people will find them useful. We will have to find a time that will suit the most people.