Home, 12/10 (last message)

The semester is over and the final grades are in!

Altogether, this class did rather well, with lots of good grades. You can find the statistics as well as solutions to all our exams on the "scores and docs" page. Keep in mind that the scores for the final exam are significantly weaker than other exams because the best students do not take it. Also, homework for sections 5.3 and 5.5 has a greater than 100% average because 5.5 was optional, so everyone who did it got some bonus points.

It was a great pleasure teaching this class! You have been dedicated students - coming to class regularly, turning in homeworks and working on homework on the board - and I appreciate that! Sorry we were a little rushed in the end.

Have a great winter break, and all the best in the coming semester!


Home, 12/2

Good job, class: exam 5 turned out well, best so far! I guess it wasn't too much trouble to soak up the new material, as long as there are not too many computational twists in it. Should I have made it harder? :)

The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:15 in our usual classroom (yes, let's sleep a little longer). It will have six pages and consist of problems like the ones on the exams during the semester. Therefore, to start preparing for it, make sure you can do all the problems on the four exams we have had. The word problems have a habit of repeating themselves on the final exam! (Solutions to exams 1-4 are available, and exam 5 will be available on Monday afternoon.) Also, check out the sample final exam on the "scores and docs" page. No one should have any problem finishing the exam, since it is 50% longer than a usual exam, but you get twice the time.

If you opt to take the final exam, turn in any homework in chapter 5 you haven't already.

Office hours schedule Monday-Thursday:
Monday 9:30-10:30 and 12:30-1:30, after 3:00 only with appointment
Tuesday 10:30-2:30
Wednesday by Zoom only
Thursday 10:00-12:00
To attend office hour by Zoom, send me an email first, so I can start the meeting.


Home, 11/25

Exam 4 didn't turn out well, although I think it was not a difficult exam, which I suppose professors always say. I saw a lot of poor algebra and forgetting of basic differentiation rules, something everyone should be proficient with by now. I'll cut you a little slack, however, by allowing everyone to turn in corrections of up to two problems to get up to 10% added to your exam 4 grade (due on Wednesday). Details will be explained in class on Monday.

On Monday, we start with discussion of homework in sections 4.7 and appendix B, and go on to lectures over section 5.1. Homework for sections 4.7 and appendix B will be due on Tuesday.

Exam 5, covering sections 4.7, appendix B and 5.1-5.3 is on Friday. By evening on Saturday, I will inform you of your overall grade so you can decide whether to take the final on Tuesday of finals week.

Homework for sections 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 will be due by the final exam. Unfortunately, we will not get to cover section 5.5, an important one if you are going on to calculus 2. To encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with this section, I am making this homework a bonus, with which you can improve your overall homework score.


Home, 11/17

Exam 4, covering sections 4.1-4.5, is scheduled for Tuesday. Check out sample exam 4 for some representative problems.

Homeworks for sections 4.3-4.5 were due yesterday and today if you wanted to get them back before the exam, but you can still turn them in on Monday.

On Monday, we will lecture on section 5.0 (appendix B, really) for the first 15 minutes or so, and then take any questions you may have ahead of the exam.


Home, 11/10

On Monday, we will continue discussing homework for sections 4.3 and 4.4, likely due on Wednesday.

In class today, we discussed when exam 4 would be: either on Friday, or on the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving break. If it is on Friday, we will have enough time to cover everything, but you would not get homework for 4.5 returned before the exam (this would be the case if it is on Monday, too). If it is on Tuesday, then homework for 4.5 will be returned before the exam. Also, you would have an additional weekend to study for the exam if it is on Monday or Tuesday. Give the pros and cons some thought over the weekend, and we'll decide on Monday when to have the exam.

Exam 3 turned out average, as there is still a number of students who are too easily stumped when it comes to taking simple derivatives. My advice is same: keep practicing!


Home, 11/3

Take a little breather after exam 3, but don't forget the homework: we will be discussing homework in section 4.1 on Monday.

Homework for sections 4.1 and 4.2 will be due later in the week.


Home, 10/27

Exam 3, covering sections 3.1-3.3, 3.5 and 3.7 is scheduled for Friday. Check out sample exam 3 for some representative problems.

Homework for sections 3.3 and 3.5 is due Monday. On Monday we will finish lectures on 3.7 and continue with considering its homework. Homework for 3.7 will be due on Wendesday, so I can return it to you before the exam.


Home, 10/20

Exam 2 turned out decently - you can see scores and solutions on the "scores and docs" page.

It seems a fair number of students do not yet have derivatives flowing smoothly and efficiently. As most of what we do in calculus requires taking a derivative, it is very important that you can find the derivative of a function easily and with confidence. This requires working many problems: doing only the problems for write-up is not enough! Therefore, to gain proficiency, you should do all the problems recommended for homework, in particular, the ones about taking derivatives. They are overwhelmingly chosen from odd-numbered problems, for which there are answers in the book.

On Monday, we will start with lectures on 3.3.

Homework for sections 3.1 and 3.2 is due on Monday.


Home, 10/13

On Monday, we will finish discussion of appendix A homework and start lecturing on section 3.1. If you haven't so already, it is time to print notes for chapter 3, available on the "scores and docs" page.

Homework for sections 2.8 and appendix A is due on Tuesday.


Home, 10/4

Exam 2, covering sections 2.1-2.7, is scheduled for Wednesday. Calculators will not be allowed on this and future exams. Check out sample exam 2 on the "scores and docs" page. To give you more practice, I assembled links to all my past exams on one page called the Motherlode (new). Look there for more practice exams.

Homework that I returned to you today indicates that most of you can apply differentiation rules, but some polishing of this skill would be good. I suggest you do more differentiation problems, for example do all the suggested problems that do not get turned in. You should be able to take derivatives with ease - like the multiplication table - rather than having to think about it.

On Monday, homework for section 2.7 is due so you can get it back before the exam on Tuesday. I will lecture on section 2.8 on Monday, but this section will not be on the exam.

Have a nice fall break, but don't forget calculus!


Home, 9/29

On Monday, we will start section 2.7.

Homework for sections 2.5 and 2.6 is welcomed on Monday and due on Tuesday. The more people turn it in on Monday, the more likely it is that I will return it on Wednesday. Homework for section 2.7 will be due on the Monday after fall break.

As having exam 2 before fall break would have been too rushed, we will have it after the break on Wednesday. In the meantime, we will start covering new material that will not be on the exam.


Home, 9/22

On Monday, we will finish homework discussion of section 2.4 and move on to section 2.5. Homework for sections 2.3 and 2.4 is due on Tuesday.

It would be good if we could have exam 2 (covering up to 2.7) before fall break, so during the week after next. Therefore, two homeworks may be due next week.


Home, 9/15

Exam 1 turned out well, better than most of my Calculus 1 first exams. You can check the good average and get solutions to the exam on the "scores and docs" page. Homework and exam grades have been posted on Canvas, along with your current overall grade, which assumes everyone has a 2 (out of 4) for participation. The actual participation grade is determined at the end of the semester.

The average would have been even better had pretty much all of you not stumbled on problem 2, which wanted to see the application of limit laws step by step, rather than just evaluation. Such a problem was not on the sample exam, but we did do examples like it in class.

Homework from sections 2.1 and 2.2. is due on Monday. We will start with new material on Monday.


Home, 9/8

On Tuesday, we will start discussion of homework from sections 1.5 and 1.6.

Exam 1, covering sections 1.3-1.6 is scheduled for Tuesday. Calculators will be allowed and needed for a problem or two on this exam. On future exams, calculators will not be allowed.

To get an idea what the exam will resemble, check out sample exam 1 on the "scores and docs" page. Don't expect it to be the same thing with the numbers changed, rather, consider it as an illustration of what concepts and ideas are usually covered on the exam. Try to work the exam in 50 minutes to check that you are proficient enough with the material.

You will have to disperse in the classroom for the exam, as the three-to-a-desk setup makes it too easy to copy from someone else's exam. Take seats so that a desk is occupied by at most two people, sitting at opposite ends of the desk. If you cannot decide who will move, the default is that the person sitting in the middle chair moves.

We will have some time on Monday to ask questions ahead of the exam.


Home, 9/1

On Tuesday, we will start discussion of homework from sections 1.5 and 1.6.

Exam 1 will cover sections 1.3-1.6, so it is coming soon. Since we would not have enough time to submit and return homework ahead of the exam if it were next week, we will have it during the week after next.


Home, 8/25

On Monday, we will work on homework from section 1.4.

Homework for sections 1.2 and 1.4 is due on Wednesday.

Hours for free tutoring services have been posted.


Home, 8/18

Our first homework, over sections 1.1 and 1.3, is due on Tuesday. Recall that:

On Monday, we will continue with new material by covering section 1.4.

Don't forget to come for help if you are having trouble with some homework! Check "office hours" to see when I am in the office.


Home, 8/14

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. 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. For now, here is some information on Canvas and lecture notes.

Canvas: Canvas will mainly be the repository of class notes and your grades. 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. I value this, and you may grow to as well, as a service to future students of this same course.)

Lecture notes: Have these with you so that you can follow the lectures in class without having to copy a lot. Because there are many students in this class, I will not print them, it is your responsibility to do so. Blank ones are on the "scores and docs" page for printing or writing on a tablet. Notes written in class are on Canvas.