Calculus II for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (152)

In a nutshell

Syllabus | Workshops | Homework | Quizzes | Grading Information | Other Feedback | Student Support

Syllabus

The following list of topics covered is tentative so please check back frequently. Also, please make sure you regularly check the Sakai portal.

There will be NO calculators required in the classroom, although you may use them for your homework and workshop problems. I am hoping to teach you to use your brain instead. Calculators will NOT be permitted in any of the exams.

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Workshops

Workshops are an integral part of your Rutgers education, and will be run by our teaching assistant Jorge Cantillo. There is an excellent introduction to workshops in the front of your textbooks, which I would urge you to read as soon as possible even if you have attended this recitation format in the past.

While you will be working in small groups during the workshop, you must write up your solutions INDEPENDENTLY. They will be graded by Jorge Cantillo, and grades will be posted on Sakai.

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Homework

Homework problems and grades will be announced on Sakai as we go along. You should expect to spend about 2 1/2 hours per lecture working on homework assignments and consolidating your knowledge of the material by re-reading your notes and following up with the textbook. Homework problems will be collected at the start of each workshop and graded by your peer mentors. A total of 25 points is available for homework (see below).

Each homework problem will be graded out of 5. If you score a 5 on a problem, this means that your answer is perfect, and could be reprinted in the solutions manual. If you score a 4 your answer is essentially correct, but you may have made a very minor conceptual or purely computational mistake. You will receive 3 points if you set up the problem correctly and took some significant steps towards its solution. You will be awarded 2 points if you have made a serious attempt at solving the problem but made some serious conceptual error early on, or if you set up the problem correctly but didn't execute the required computation. If you didn't take any significant steps towards a solution or went very wrong, but showed that you have identified a relevant fact such as a trigonometric identity that is needed, or the type of integration technique required, you will be given 1 point. Zero points will be awarded for questions that are not or not seriously attempted.

Last semester I saw many student underestimate the impact of homework. By not doing the assigned problems, or spending very little time on them, they lost out on an invaluable opportunity to practice. In addition, those students missed out on crucial points that in some cases meant the difference between passing and failing the course. So since I am not your mother I am only going to say this once: do your homework.

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Quizzes

Quizzes will be conducted online via the Sakai website. You should expect the weekly quiz to be online between Wednesday night and Monday night. Many questions will take the form of multiple choice questions, and are designed to help you become familiar with new concepts, definitions etc. rather than measure mastery of a complex computational procedure. The length of the quiz will not exceed 15 minutes, and there will be no make-ups. Points from quizzes will be combined to give a total maximum of 25 points (see below).

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Grades

ALL sections of Math 152 will be taking the same final exam on Wednesday, December 16. It is therefore essential that we keep pace with the remaining sections and stick to the syllabus. Your midterm exams will vary from those of other sections.

The cut-off for As, Bs and other letter grades as well as the pass-fail borderline will only be determined AFTER the final exam has been graded and a combined curve for ALL sections of 152 has been drawn up. The better our sections 40, 41, 42 perform compared with the department average, the more As and Bs (and passing grades) we can give out.

A total of 550 points is available for this class, which will be allocated as follows.

The instructor reserves the right to fail students who have failed the final and/or more than one midterm even if their total number of points exceeds the pass threshold of the course.

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Other feedback

In addition to the points awarded for workshops and homework assignments, we will give out "letter grades" to indicate the area(s) in which we think you need to improve the most. The letter "T" stands for translation, that is, setting up the problem correctly or translating a word problem into mathematical language. "P" stands for presentation, meaning the way you present your work, which we hope will be coherently, logically and neatly. The letter "K" indicates that you have a deficit in actual content or procedural knowledge that is covered in this unit. And finally, if you receive a "C" you should pay more attention to computational accuracy.

It is my AIM for everyone who maintains an average of over 75 per cent on workshops, homework and quizzes throughout the semester to pass this course comfortably! Note that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me TO GUARANTEE that you'll pass since I have no influence over what you do in the exams, which make up vast majority of the credit. However, to make sure we keep on track we'll regularly monitor your grades, and you should make sure you do the same whenever an assignment is returned to you. If you score below 70 per cent on two or more consecutive assignments of the same type (workshops, homeworks or quizzes), you will get an email from Jorge, your peer mentor or myself to find out what's up and encourage you to seek help.

Similarly, if you score above 95 per cent on two or more consecutive assignments of the same type you'll get a "silver flag" from us, which means you should probably come and talk to one of us about how you can challenge yourself more in this course.

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Student support

Perhaps you have a great group of friends who get together to study for 152, but more likely you don't know more than a couple of people in your class at this point. How about setting up a study group? You don't have to have good grades to become a study group leader, or know the answer to every question. Your responsibilities as a study group leader will be limited to 1) making up a name for the group; 2) posting an announcement on Sakai 48h beforehand to confirm the meeting time and place of the group; 3) keeping the group open to anyone who wishes to attend. If you'd like to start your own study group, please email me so we can set up a thread on Sakai.

What to do if you miss a class? You can look at the syllabus and work through the textbook sections indicated, talk to a friend and borrow their notes. In addition, we are going to set up a Course Diary section on Sakai. This means we need one volunteer per lecture to write a brief summary of what we did in class. The emphasis is on "brief", with references to relevant resources. When you write a summary, think about what you would like your friend to tell you if you had missed the lecture. Ten extra points will be added to your quiz score at the end of the semester if you volunteer and complete the task within 24h. Note that you can volunteer at most twice during the semester.

The department will most likely also offer a weekly 152 clinic. More information will be available shortly.

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A note on the use of Sakai

While we try our best to accurately transfer your grades to the Sakai gradebook, mistakes do occur. It is your responsibility to check your grades and notify us of any errors no more than a week after they were first announced on Sakai.

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Rules for the Midterm Exams

The exam will take place in Murray 212, where we hold lectures. We will start promptly at 7:40pm. The first midterm exam will cover all the material up to and including that covered on Wednesday, September 30 (integration by partial fractions).

1) There will be NO formula sheet for this exam. Please look carefully at the review materials that are available from the resources section on Sakai under "Midterm Materials".

2) NO notes or learning materials may be used during the exam.

3) NO electronic devices may be used during the exam. This includes calculators, cellphones and music players of any kind. Cellphones MUST be turned off (not just silenced). If you do not have a watch and usually rely on your phone to tell the time, borrow one for the exam.

4) NO scrap paper of any type may be brought into the exam room. Paper for your rough calculations will be provided if necessary.

5) Points available per question as well as the total will be announced on the exam booklet.

6) It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that you have written your name and section number at the top of every sheet that you turn in.

7) You will NOT be allowed access to the exam room more than 5 minutes ahead of time. PLEASE BE ON TIME. Once you have entered the room, do NOT turn over the cover page of your exam booklet until you are told to do so.

8) Only ONE person will be allowed to go to the bathroom at any one time. If you finish early please leave the room quietly. If you finish within the last 15 minutes we ask you to kindly stay until the end of the exam period to avoid total mayhem.

9) Actual and ATTEMPTED cheating is treated very seriously at Rutgers. Our academic integrity policy calls cheating in a midterm of final exam a "Level 3 violation", which could result in an F and a suspension of one or more semesters. Because we don't even want you to be tempted, you will have a different version of the exam from your neighbours.

10) A rescheduling of the exam is only possible in the case of serious illness, a major emergency, or a non-negotiable outside commitment. If the reason for your absence from the exam is known in advance you MUST ask for permission from the lecturer before the exam and provide appropriate evidence of your situation.
In all other cases, you must notify the lecturer by email at jwolf137@math.rutgers.edu or through the Mathematics Department Undergraduate Office at 732 445-2390 as soon as possible. If you notify the lecturer LESS THAN ONE WEEK before the exam, then documentation verifying the reason for your absence (such as a doctor's note) needs to be presented to the appropriate Dean's office. A written note from the Dean requesting a make-up exam will have to be presented to the lecturer.

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Tips for the exam itself

1) Write neatly and in the space provided. This will help you come back to a question that you got stuck on, and ensures that you will receive partial credit for correct work.
2) Show your work! You may get partial credit even if you don't complete a question. This applies in particular to questions involving volumes of revolution and work.
3) State any rules and formulae that you are using clearly before applying them. Again, you may receive partial credit for doing so.
4) Use "=" and other symbols appropriately.
5) Label any diagrams you draw clearly.
6) Actually draw those diagrams! Especially if I explicitly ask for them.
7) Think about your exam strategy in advance and work to your strengths. For example, read all the questions on the exam before starting, and begin with one that you feel comfortable with.
8) Do not panic! Ever! Even if you get stuck or if you get behind in time.
9) Don't waste too much time trying to get the correct numerical expression at the end of a question. The majority of the credit will be given for setting up the question and applying the appropriate technique correctly. Fractions must be simplified but do not need to be expressed as decimals. Do not attempt to multiply out constants such as π and e.