Calculus 2 Home

Home, 5/11 (last message)

And it's a wrap! The course is over and grades have been submitted!

It was an unusual semester, with just under half of it online. But we managed somehow, and hopefully it was good enough. Judging by exams, people learned about as much as during a regular semester.

All exams and solutions are now on the "scores and docs" page, as well as statistics on students' scores. Please note that final exam statistics are always significantly weaker than usual, as students receiving A's and B's typically don't take it.

It was a pleasure teaching this course, even if half of it was in the form of a broadcast, where I could not see the listeners reactions, but I assume they were at least half-smiling. Thanks to all the students participating in class discussion and those who did homework problems on the board and via Canvas.

Have a good summer and stay safe and virus-free! Hope to see you in person in the fall!

Home, 5/2

Exam 5 turned out quite well. Good job, class!

The final exam will take place on Wednesday at 10:30 in the usual way. It will have six pages (as opposed to four for the usual exam), but you have two hours to do it, so everyone should have plenty of time. It will be comprehensive and will consist of problems like you have already seen on the 5 exams. Therefore, start preparing for the final by making sure you can do all the problems on the exams we have had so far. Check out the sample final exam as well. Note that all exams are available blank on the "scores and docs" page.

If you need to talk to me, the schedule for when I will be by the computer next week, and will open up an office hour Zoom meeting, is below. If these hours are not good for you, we can make an appointment, but let me know with some lead time. Chances are highest I am not at the computer after 2:00, so may not be able to react speedily to a request.

Monday, Tuesday, 12:00-2:00; Wednesday, 9:00-10:30

The deadline to submit homework for sections 9.3 and 9.4 (and 9.1 and 9.2, if you haven't already) is at final exam time, Wednesday, 10:30AM.

Good luck on finals!

Home, 4/25

Exam 5 is scheduled for Friday, covering sections 9.1-9.4. See sample exam 7 for some practice problems, but note it does not have any problems from section 9.4, which are likely to appear on the exam.

Exam procedure will be like for the last exam, through a video Zoom meeting, with students who have spotty internet recording themselves.

Homework for sections 9.1 and 9.2 is due on Monday, but turn it in earlier if it is done, so I can start grading it.

On Monday, we will start on section 9.3.

Home, 4/20

Exam 4 turned out meh. You have the opportunity to turn a redo for up to 10 additional points on this exam (see your email).

On Tuesday and Wednesday we will work on homework in sections 9.1 and 9.2. See the updated homework file for the chapter 9 assignment (go to second page).

Home, 4/11

Exam 4, covering sections 8.5-8.8 is scheduled for next week, tentatively for Wednesday. Check out some sample problems by looking at:

exam 6: all problems except 1, 2, 5.

Don't forget that knowledge from sections 8.1-8.4 is also necessary, but our exam will focus on power series rather than series in general. I will email you instructions on how I plan to conduct the exam.

On Monday, we will continue with section 9.1 and do a short trial run of the exam. Homework for 8.7 and 8.8 is due on Monday as well, if you haven't turned it in already.

Home, 4/5

On Monday, we will finish discussion of homework in section 8.7 and start with section 8.8. Sections 8.7 and 8.8 will be due on Thursday. Exam 3 will be returned on Monday. You may redo up to two problems to get 10 additional points on your score. File your corrections under Canvas assignment "Exam 3 corrections," due on Friday.

Now that I have graded some homeworks electronically, here are some suggestions for easier manipulation of homework files, which will save me and you time.

Upload an assignment as a single PDF, rather than several.
Phones often take very high-resolution pictures resulting in oversize PDFs, which gives Canvas the hiccups and me a conniption. Try to make the file smaller, either by taking photos with a smaller resolution or by making the PDFs smaller through your app.
In my experience, whether it is due limitations of Canvas or my internet, files of size greater than 8MB will not upload as a comment on your submission and have to be handled separately. Even if individual submissions are smaller than 8MB but still big, this results in many uploads, because, although I can upload several at a time as zips, the zips have to be smaller than 8MB. Bigger homeworks mean lots of uploads, which takes time. Typically, a homework with 8 pages can be stored in a file of 1MB with adequate resolution.
The homework file does not need to have your name as part of its name. It's enough if you name it after the sections you are submitting, for example 878 for sections 8.7 and 8.8. Canvas attaches your name to the name of the file - at least it does that well.

Exam 4 is planned for week after next - stay tuned.

Home, 3/28

Well, it appears we have survived the first week of online-only without rioting, virtual or otherwise.

On Monday, we will finish discussion of homework in section 8.6 and start with section 8.7. Homework for sections 8.5 and 8.6 is due on Tuesday. Remember to file it on Canvas as a PDF file.

A few notes on homework submission: From now on, all homework submission is through Canvas as PDF files, 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 homework. (Resulting smaller files are easier to upload and download).

If you don't have a scanner, take pictures with your phone, and try to lay the homework sheet on a flat surface with good lighting. 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

Reminder of where what is:
Handwritten notes: "scores and docs" page
Recordings of class sessions and notes from class sessions: Canvas, under "files"

Home, 3/21

Here are the guidelines on how class will be conducted, now that we are online-only for the rest of the semester.

Lectures: I will hold class during our usual time via Zoom, which is an app on Canvas. You generally will only hear me and see a whiteboard as I write, to help reduce bandwith use. My handwritten notes (the ones you used to see in my hand in class) will be available in "scores and docs," while the result of my writing on the whiteboard (essentially same as the handwritten notes), and a recording of the Zoom session will be available on Canvas. If you are wondering where files are posted, think this way: files that may have been posted in a face-to-face course will go on these pages, files that may have been posted in an online-only course setting are going to Canvas.

Zoom: for easiest set-up, access it through Canvas, see some instructions at https://murraystate.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/2049/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=15240 . To listen in, you will have to download an app and install it. Our first meetings are already scheduled - find them on Canvas under the "Zoom" tab.

Homework discussion: we will discuss homework similarly to our usual method. There will be link in Canvas for a spreadsheet where you can sign up to do a homework problem, and request to have homework problems done. If you volunteer for one, or are "volunteered," you will write the problem on paper and submit it ahead of class. When we do discussion, I will comment on your problem.

Homework submission: will be through Canvas. Look under "Assignments" and submit pictures or scans of your on-paper homework.

Tests: stay tuned until I figure this one out.

Office hours: will be conducted by Zoom. Join in if you need extra help. If you cannot do the scheduled office hour, we can set up an appointment. Note that the office hour schedule has changed somewhat, due to new duties at home.

Office hours are by default public. If you need to speak to me privately, I will set up a session for you.

Naturally, all of this is new to most of us, and there will be issues as we get used to the new method of course delivery. Please have patience and understanding for everyone.

Home, 3/6

Exam 3 is anticipated for Friday It will cover sections 8.1-8.4. Check out the following sample exams for some problems on the "scores and docs" page:

exam 5: all problems; exam 6: problems 1, 2, 5.

We will discuss some homework from section 6.3 on Monday and Tuesday.

Home, 2/28

Exam 2 turned out reasonably well - see "scores and docs" for the statistics and the solutions.

On Monday, we will continue discussion of homework in section 8.1 and start with 8.2, the section on series.

Have you tried the grade computer on these pages yet (see under "choose...")? You can enter hypothetical future exam scores to see how they might affect your overall grade.

Home, 2/22

Exam 2 is scheduled for Tuesday. It will cover sections 7.1-7.6. Check out this sample exam for some problems on the "scores and docs" page.

exam 2, all problems except for 6

Note that the sample exam does not have any problems about length of curve and surface area, which will be on our exam. Knowledge of graphs of basic functions (linear, quadratic, basic power, root, trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions) will be necessary in order to be able to draw pictures of regions in the plane. Expect 6-8 problems on the exam.

On Monday, we will do some review for the exam. See me for office hours on Monday and Tuesday if you need some help.

Home, 2/14

Exam 1 turned out poorly (see statistics on the "scores and docs" page). While a good deal of blame goes to inadequate preparedness, I take some responsibility for making the exam too long and complex, and I did not have time to review the exam and fix those flaws before I handed it to you. Hopefully the additional 15 points for corrections I offered will help your grade.

On Monday, we will discuss homework in sections 7.3 and 7.4. Some of this may go over to Tuesday.

We are planning on having exam 2 early during the week after next.

Home, 2/9

On Monday, we will start section 7.2, which may spill into Tuesday. On Tuesday, we plan to start discussing homework in 7.1, which will be posted soon.

Home, 1/31

On Monday, we will finish discussion of section 6.6 and may go over some of the associated homework.

Exam 1, covering sections 6.1-6.3, 6.5, 6.6 is scheduled for Thursday or Friday, most likely Friday. Check out some sample exams on the "scores and docs" page. In particular, look at

exam 3, all problems; exam 4, problems 1-4 and 6.

The order of exams is out of whack with ours because, at the time, we used a different book that ordered the material in a slightly different way. Also, exam 1 (our exam 0) was then given in class.

Exam 0 was distributed today in class and is due on Tuesday - it will count like a homework. It is a review of integration and differentiation techniques from Calculus 1. If you didn't get your copy, and want it before Monday, find it under "Exams" at the bottom of the "scores and docs" page.

Home, 1/25

On Monday, we will finish homework discussion of section 6.3. That homework will be due with section 6.4 later in the week.

Home, 1/17

On Tuesday, we will finish section 6.2 and discuss homework over it. Sections 6.1 and 6.2 will be due on Thursday.

Have a good long weekend!

Home, 1/13

Welcome to the course! Look around to familiarize yourself with the layout of these webpages. To get to other pages, click on "choose..." and select the page. The most often-used pages are near the top of the menu.

The homework assignment can be found in a PDF file on the "scores and docs" page. There also a link to it at the bottom of the drop-down list.

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.