MAT 201 Calculus I - Utica University

MAT 201 Calculus I

Welcome to the home page of Xiao Xiao's Calculus I course at Utica College. You can find all the information and documents for this course on this page. Please check this page frequently for homework assignments.

Important Links:

Instructor Information

Instructor: Prof. Xiao Xiao
Email: xixiao@utica.edu
Office: White Hall 255
Office hour: MWF 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. by appointment or by visit.

General Course Information and Policies

Course name: MAT 201 Calculus I

Course credit hours: 3-credit

Course Prerequisite: MAT 151, or satisfactory performance in the math placement test administered by the math department, or permission of instructor.

Class time and location: MWF 10:30am-11:20am at Hubbard Hall 207.

Textbook: Please see the course material link above.

Online homework system: We will use the WebAssign online homework system designed for Ron Larson's Calculus textbook. You do not need to purchase the hard copy of Ron Larson's Calculus textbook. If you want to have that textbook as a reference, you will have the access to an electronic version of it after you have purchase the WebAssign access. The ISBN for the WebAssign standalone access card is 9781337631853. You can also purchase the access directly from the publisher at www.webassign.net. Note that it is very unlikely that any used Calculus textbook will come with the WebAssign access.

The class key you need to self-enroll in WebAssign is "utica 6138 4965". Please use your Utica College official name and email address to register at WebAssign. Do not use nickname or your private email address. If you have not purchased the access card or have purchased it but have not received it, please still go ahead and register as soon as possible as the WebAssign website will have a grace period and you can start to work on homework problems immediately.

Calculator: We will be using a free graphing calculator app called Desmos. You can use Desmos directly by going to their website at www.desmos.com/calculator. You are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop or a tablet (with a minimum 7" screen) to class in order to use Desmos effectively. You can download Desmos at Apple, Android.

Course description: We will discuss the concepts of limits and derivatives, how to compute them, and how to apply them to solve real world problems.

Class organization: This course will likely be different from any other math course you have taken before. As an instructor, I will not be lecturing most of the time although I love lecturing very much. Scientific research shows that most people do not learn mathematics by listening, instead, they learn by doing it! I am sure you have said to yourself before "It looked so easy when the professor was doing it, but now I am confused when I have to do it by myself." Why? Because the knowledge belongs to your professor and does not belong to you. You do not learn the knowledge simply by hearing it once or twice from somebody else. In order for you to have a more thorough understanding of the knowledge, we will incorporate ideas from an educational philosophy called the Moore method (after R. L. Moore). More precisely, we will use the modified Moore method, also known as inquiry-based learning. Most of the time during the class, students will be working in groups and presenting solutions that they have produced by themselves and not by other people or textbooks.

Attendance is mandatory. Attending class meetings will have a direct impact on your learning as well as your grade. If you miss class for any reason, you are responsible for getting the information from a classmate, and checking the course webpage for any handouts and assignments. You will not be able to make up the quiz for the day if you were not in class unless you have met the makeup policy below.

Makeup policy: You can only make up a quiz or an exam if all three conditions are met:
- You have a legitimate reason (as determined by me) with documented proof. Visit of emergency rooms due to urgent health conditions is an example of legitimate reason. Attending non-academic events, such as someone's wedding is an example of non-legitimate reason.
- You have informed me well in advanced.
- You can only make up the quiz or the exam after the scheduled date.

Course learning objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- formulate and solve mathematical problems using the differential calculus of Newton and Leibniz.
- understand necessary differential calculus content for license for teachers in the State of New York.
- communicate mathematics orally and in written form.

Your Role and My Role

Professor Xiao's role: I want you to succeed and I am here to help you succeed, but I cannot succeed for you! I have designed the structure of the course to help you learn. The class format will challenge you but it will be exhilarating and even fun at times. I will do what I think is the best to help you understand the material in the course. I hold office hours to provide you the opportunity to get additional help, and I check and respond to email frequently.

Student's Role:
- You are responsible for making sense of the concepts and processes in this course. Success in mathematics is less about "ability" and more about willingness to think and to work hard to make sense of things.
- Attend every class meeting, participate, present whenever you can and work on the assignments outside of class.
- Please respect the ideas and opinions of others.
- Bring your assignments with you, ready to turn in on the day they are due.
- If you are having trouble, please come to office hours or make an appointment to visit me.
- Cell phones should be off or set to vibrate. Do not place a call or send a text during class, and do not answer a phone call without first leaving the room.

Course Learning Goals

1: Be able to calculate average rates of change algebraically.
2: Be able to compute instantaneous rate of change by using average rates of change.
3: Be able to evaluate limits of basic functions algebraically.
4: Be able to evaluate limits of basic functions geometrically.
5: Be able to use the limit definition to find derivatives.
6: Be able to use first derivative to describe the monotonicity of a function.
7: Be able to use second derivative to describe concavity of a function.
8: Be able to determine whether a function has a limit at a point.
9: Be able to determine whether a function is continuous at a point.
10: Be able to determine whether a function is differentiable at a point.
11: Be able to find the algebraic equation of tangent lines to a differentiable function.
12: Be able to use the tangent line of a function to approximate function values.
13: Be able to compute derivatives of polynomials.
14: Be able to compute derivatives of exponential functions.
15: Be able to compute derivatives of logarithmic functions.
16: Be able to compute derivatives of trigonometric functions.
17: Be able to compute derivatives of anti-trigonometric functions.
18: Be able to compute derivatives using product rule.
19: Be able to compute derivatives using quotient rule.
20: Be able to compute derivatives using the chain rule.
21: Be able to find derivatives of inverse functions.
22: Be able to find derivatives using implicit differentiation.
23: Be able to use derivatives to find local extreme values.
24: Be able to use derivatives to find global extreme values.
25: Be able to solve related rates problem.
26: Be able to solve optimization problem.

You are strongly encouraged to download and print a copy of the learning goals to record your grade.

Homework

Homework assignment come in two formats. Most frequently, you will get an online homework assignment at WebAssign (Please purchase the access as soon as you can). But you may also be asked to complete problems from the course notes. Please check this page for homework assignment daily.

Another type of homework assignment is reading assignment. For a reading assignment, you will log in to Perusall and complete the assignment. For the first time user, please sign up using your legal name and Utica College email. Then go to the "Enter an Access Code" on the top right and enter XIAO-27156. Each reading assignment is due at 10:00pm of the day before the next class meeting. You need to make annotations on the course notes to show your understanding of the materials. Your annotations can be questions, comments or responses to other people's questions. Perusall will analyze your annotations and determine the level of your understanding. For example, if you just post "I don't understand this sentence", that is basically no credit. If you post "I don't understand the concept A because concept B says C", that is some partial credit. If you respond to the previous comment as "I think concept A says D because concept B also says D in this manner", then you will be getting significant credit. If you want to know more about the rubrics, you can check out this file. Note that if your comments are clustered, you will not get full credit. If your comments are past deadline, you also will not get credit. Each reading assignment is graded in 0-3 scale.

WebAssign homework assignment are always due on the day of the next class unless explicitly said otherwise. WebAssign homework will be assigned within 5 hours on the same day after the class and are due at 12:00pm on the day of the next class.

Each WebAssign homework assignment is worth 1 point. To earn credit for a homework, you must earn more than 90% on WebAssign homework, you must show progress in solving all the assigned written problems (if there is one) and you must have solutions to all problems discussed in class.

Presentations

You will spend most of the time in class solving problems in groups of three or four and present their solutions.

Each group can choose their own presenter. If there are more than one group member that wants to present, the one with fewest goals achieved at that time has the first dibs. The instructor reserves the right to choose any member from a group that he deemed necessary.

You will earn credit for a presentation if you are able to correctly explain your solution in front of the class. It is not enough to have a correct answer.

Fellow students and the instructor are allowed to ask questions at any point and it is the responsibility of the presenter to answer those questions to the best of his or her ability. The group members of the presenter may also help answering the questions.

In order to make presentations go smoothly, presenters need to write out the solution in detail and go over the major ideas and transitions, so that he or she can make the solution clear to others.

The purpose of presentations is not to prove to me that the presenter or their group has done the problem. It is to make the ideas of the solution clear to the other students.

Since the presentation is directed at the students, the presenter should frequently make eye contact with the students in order to address questions when they arise and also be able to see how well the other students are following the presentation.

Confusions and mistakes are very common when learning new mathematics and they should be handled positively to stimulate your thinking. Feel free to ask questions at any time but please respect the ideas and opinions of others. For example, instead of using the phrase "You should change XYZ.", start your sentence like "Do we want to change ... ?"

Though the atmosphere in this class should be informal and friendly, what we do in the class is serious business. In particular, the presentations made by students are to be taken very seriously since they spearhead the work of the class.

Quizzes and Examinations

There will be a quiz on every Friday.

There will be one cumulative final exam. The final exam will be held from 9:00am to 12:00pm on Monday, December 10, 2018. Make-up final exam will only be given under extreme circumstances, as judged by me. In order to take the final exam, each student must pass the Derivatives Competency Exam. Each exam has 20 derivative questions. One must score 18 or more questions on the exam in order to pass the exam. Each student has 3 chances to take the exam and no more than two attempts can be made within 48 hours.

Evaluation

In this class, we will use a system known as standards-based grading. You will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate that you have met a goal. A goal is met if a student has successfully demonstrated it twice in class either (a) on two separate quizzes, or (b) on one quiz and one other (final exam or a presentation). There is no partial credit. Once you have score a goal from a quiz or a presentation, you should put a note in one of the boxes before the relevant goal on this print out. You should use clear labeling to indicate when you score that goal, for example, Q2 stands for Quiz 2, or 3/2(P) stands for presentation on March 2. If you are unsuccessful on a quiz problem, prepare yourself to do better on the next quiz. Feel free to stop by my office and ask for practice problems. There are a total number of 14 quizzes. Quizzes are scheduled on Fridays. The goals that will be tested on a quiz will be posted at this page at least 24 hours ahead of time. Presenting problems and participating discussion in class, doing homework and exercises are all ways to help you prepare for the next quiz. All of goals appear on multiple quizzes so you have multiple chance to demonstrate that you have met the goals. You will be assigned the highest of the grades below for which you meet all criteria listed.

Letter Grade	Goals	Homework Points	Presentations	Perusall Grade
A	at least 23	at least 28	at least 5	at least 2.6
A-	at least 22	at least 26	at least 5	at least 2.4
B+	at least 21	at least 24	at least 4	at least 2.2
B	at least 20	at least 22	at least 4	at least 2.0
B-	at least 18	at least 20	at least 3	at least 1.8
C+	at least 16	at least 18	at least 3	at least 1.6
C	at least 15	at least 16	at least 2	at least 1.4
C-	at least 13	at least 14	at least 1	at least 1.2
D+	at least 11	at least 12	at least 1	at least 1.0
D	at least 10	at least 10	at least 1	at least 0.5
F	less than 10	less than 10	less than 1	less than 0.3

I have zero tolerance on dishonesty. Any forms of dishonesty such as copying homework or cheating on quizzes and examinations, will result in zero credit for that particular assignment, and will be reported to the Academic Standards Committee. The highest penalty a student can receive is "F for cheating" for the course. There might be additional sanctions by the Academic Standards Committee such as dismissal from the college. See Utica College official page for Academic Honesty for more details.

Tentative Schedule

Chapter 1	Week 1-5
Chapter 2	Week 6-10
Chapter 3	Week 11-14

Disability

Any student who has need of special accommodations in this class due to a documented disability should speak with me as soon as possible, preferably within the first two weeks of class. You should also contact Judy Borner, Director of Learning Services in the Academic Support Services Center (315-792-3032 or jcborner@utica.edu ) in order to determine eligibility for services and to receive an accommodation letter. We will work with you to help you in your efforts to master the course content in an effective and appropriate way. See Utica College official page for Student With Disabilities for more details.

Disclaimer

It is the students' responsibility to keep informed of all announcements, syllabus adjustments, or policy changes during the semester via this web page or via school emails. The author of this syllabus reserves the right to change it with notice at any time during the semester.