Fall 2012 Syllabus, Tuesday Recitations

Text Book: G.B. Thomas, M.D. Weir, J. Hass, Thomas' Calculus, 12th edition, Addison Wesley, 2009.
ISBN-10: 0321587995, ISBN-13: 970-031587992.

Coverage: Sections 6.1, 6.3, 6.5, 7.1-7.7, 8.1-8.5, 8.7, 10.1-10.10, 11.1-11.5.

Common Final Exam: Monday, December 10, 10:00 am-12:00 pm.

All students are required to take the Common Final Exam. The university has strict requirements for exceptions. (See the third paragraph.)

Exams:

There will be four 50-minute exams; see the Schedule for the dates. No notes, no books, no calculators, no phones, no tablets, no computers will be allowed in the exams. Students are expected to take all exams. Your instructor may decide to take short quizzes during the semester.

WeBWorK Log-in and Fees:

Graded homework will be handled electronically through a WeBWorK server in the Mathematics Department. Students should choose their course and log in using the following information:

  • Userid: Student MSUNet ID. (What comes before @ in your MSU email address.)
  • Password: Student PID. (Of the form A********, include the A.)

Students should change their password the first time they log in. There is a WeBWorK Fee of $30, although WeBWorK can be used for free until the fourth class week. After the second week of class students will be emailed with instructions how to pay the fee. Instructors and TAs will not handle any payments.

WeBWorK Homework:

  • Completing the assigned homework is vital to you understanding of the subject material. You should make every effort to complete the homework assignments and seek help with problems you have not been able to solve.
  • WebWork problems are similar to the problems in the class textbook. It is important that students do the first WebWork assignment, Learning WeBWorK Tutorial, where the students learn how to enter answers, handle mathematical symbols, simplify complicated expressions in WeBWorK. This assignment counts toward your total WeBWorK grade.
  • Check the Schedule for tentative WebWorK assignments due dates; note however that the most up-to-date due date will always be given on the assignment itself on the WeBWorK server. Prior to the due date students can try multiple times to solve each WeBWorK problem, getting immediate feedback as to whether the answer is correct or incorrect. See each homework set for the maximum number of attempts allowed. Note that clicking on the <Submit Answers> button at the bottom of a problem counts as an attempt, so make sure you first click on the <Preview Answers> button to check whether you have entered your answer in the way that you intended. Answers to WeBWorK assignments are available shortly after the due dates.
  • There is a three-day reduced credit period for most WeBWorK assignments. If you get a part of a problem correct before the beginning of the reduced credit period, you will receive 100% of the partial credit allowed for that part of the problem. Otherwise, getting that same part of the problem correct in the reduced credit period will only earn you 75% of the partial credit allowed for that part of the problem. Note that once you have earned partial or full credit for a problem you will never lose that credit, even if you accidentally change an answer which has already been marked correct to an incorrect answer at a later time.
  • Homework sets due before Midterm Exams may not have a reduced credit period.

WeBWorK Grade:

You will receive four WeBWorK assignment grades, each of which is the percentage of points earned on the WeBWorK assignments leading up to each midterm exam (including the assignment Learning WeBWorK Tutorial prior to the first midterm exam). The average of the four WeBWorK assignment grades is your WeBWorK grade.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all class meetings and are responsible for all of the material covered in class and in the homework. Any changes in this syllabus or in the scheduling of exams, WeBWorKs, etc. will be announced during class meetings.

Gateway Exams Information:

There will be two 75-minutes Gateway Exams, taken in C-100 Wells Hall. See the Schedule for the dates. Bring your MSU ID to the exam. Gateways Exams are individualized, computer generated, no partial credit tests, with a near perfect score required for passing. Each student gets multiple opportunities to pass each exam. See the MSU Gateway page for further information.

Grading Gateway Exams:

Gateway exams are computer graded. Only passing exams have a grade. Each Gateway Exam is worth a total of 2 points for passing, 0 for not passing.

Course Grading:

Your course grade will be based on the following formula:

  • 4% Gateway Exams
  • 12% WeBWork
  • 12% Quizzes
  • 48% Best 3 of 4 Exams (16% each)
  • 24% Final Exam


In addition, you must take the final examination in order to pass the course.

Final grades will be assigned based on the following scale.

4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.0
[100, 90] (90, 85] (85, 80] (80, 75] (75, 70] (70, 65] (65, 60] Below 60

This scale may be curved to be more lenient, depending on the final grade distribution. However, such a curve is at the sole discretion of the instructor.

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense atMSU. Students caught cheating may face failure in the course and an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. See the MSU Academic Integrity Policies.

Important Dates:

  • 08/29/2012: Class begins.
  • 09/03/2012: Labor day. No class. University Closed.
  • 09/05/2012: Open adds end at 8:00pm.
  • 09/12/2012: Last day to late add a course, change sections within a course, or drop to a lower level course.
  • 09/24/2012: Drop a course with 100% refund ends at 8:00 pm.
  • 10/17/2012: Drop with no grade reported ends at 8:00pm. Middle of Semester.
  • 11/22/2012, 11/23/2012: Thanksgiving. No classes. University closed.
  • 12/07/2012: Last day of class.
  • 12/10/2012: Final Exam, 10:00am - 12:00 noon.

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