- Meeting Times:
- MTThF
10:20-11:10
- Instructor:
- Michael Drinen
(office: CLN 304,
phone: x5454, email:mdrinen@willamette.edu)
- Office
Hours:
- I am usually in my office from about 8 to 4, except that I
have classes to teach in MTThF from 9:10-11:10, and MWF 1:40-2:40. You
can drop by any time or talk to me after class about arranging to meet
me at another time.
- Text:
- Calculus: A Complete
Course - Finney, Demana, Waits, Kennedy
Make sure that you have the version that covers multi-variable
calculus.
- Course Description:
- In Calculus I and II you
learned about derivatives and integrals. Both of these are concepts
which help us to understand functions. Derivatives tell us how the
functions changes, and integrals tell us how the values of the
function add up. What we have learned so far about these concepts only
applies to functions of one variable, that is: functions whose values
only depend on one number. But it is often the case that the quantity
that we are interested in depends on more that one thing. For example,
consider the temperature at a given point in Oregon. We can not
describe the temperature as a function in one real number, we need two
numbers to represent a point in Oregon. Now suppose we want to say
something about how the temperature changes as we move from point to
point. How can we modify our notion of derivative to understand
changes in this two variable function? This is the starting point of
multi-variable calculus.
- Homework:
- It is hard to learn math
just by watching a professor talk about it for three or four hours a
week. Much of your learning will have to take place outside of class
through doing the homework problems and projects. Also, class time
will often be spent doing group activities.
I will assign homework
approximately once a week. Each assignment will consist of two
parts. Part I will consist of more routine problems that are meant to
help you become comfortable with the concepts. They will not be graded
carefully, but make sure to look at them, they will give you practice
with the basic skills that you need to do more complicated
problems.
Part II of the homework will consist of more involved
problems, giving you chances to look more deeply into the concepts and
to get practice expressing mathematical thoughts clearly. You will be
expected to write up the required problems carefully; presentation
will count.
There will also be two projects. These will be very
involved problems and will have very high standards for
presentation. You will do them in groups.
- Computers and
Calculators:
- Computers are becoming an important part of
Mathematics and science, and so one of the goals of this course will
be to gain some familiarity and comfort with computational
software. In particular, we will spend some time learning Maple: a
powerful mathematical software package.
Class will meet in a
computer lab on some days (maybe once every two weeks). And some of
the part II homework problems will be done on the computer and turned
in electronically.
No particular calculator will be required. In
general you will be free to use any calculator that you want to, but
be aware that you will always have to show your work clearly (writing
"I used my calculator" doesn't count), and give exact answers where
possible. Also, the 2D graphing capabilities that you may be used to
using will be less useful in this class as most of the graphs we will
encounter in this course will be 3 dimensional.
- Tests:
- There
will be three "midterms" on the following dates: Feb 6, March 16, and
April 10. There will be cumulative final exam at the end of the
semester. It will be at the officially scheduled final time.
You
can make up a test ONLY if you have a compelling and well documented
reason for missing it.
- Your Final Grade:
The above
factors will count towards your final grade as follows:
| Final: | 100 points |
| Midterms: |
50 points each |
| Projects: |
50 points each |
| Homework and Participation: |
150 total points |
When ever I return an assignment or test I will announce the cut
offs for A-, B-, and C- for that piece of work. The overall cut offs
for your final grade will be the sum of the cut offs for each
assignment or test. The cut offs will always be at least 90%=A-,
80%=B-, and 70%=C-, but they will often be lower than that.
