Course Description

• Instructor
• Text & Tools
• Instructor Comments
• Attendance
• Evaluation
• Schedule Guesstimate

Instructor:

Stephen L. Davis; click here for my weekly schedule.

Text & Tools:

WileyPLUS course for H. Anton, I. Bivens, & S. Davis, Calculus, Early Transcendentals (Single Variable, 10e), John Wiley & Sons, 2012. (Your WileyPLUS subscription includes an interactive online text, the Student's Solutions Manual, and a Student Study Guide; a printed copy of the textbook is available from our bookstore.)    Click this link to purchase/register WileyPLUS for our course.

Apple's iPad2, including the following apps: GraphCalc HD; SymCalc HD; Wolfram|Alpha for iPad; other apps TBD.
[This course is participating in the Davidson iPad Initiative this semester; if you don't have an iPad, we will loan one to you for the semester.]

Instructor comments:

Mathematics 111 is a "standard" first semester calculus course. A plan for our progress through the topics of this course is shown in the table below. You should enter this course with a solid foundation in precalculus: algebra, general function topics (e.g., composition, graphs), and knowledge of particular function types: trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic. Our goal is to develop your capacity for reading, writing, and speaking mathematics. The venue for this effort is calculus. You should complete this course with the background to be a successful student in the succeeding course, Calculus II.

This semester, our class is participating in a Davidson iPad initiative. All students should have an iPad2. As part of this initiative, the college will provide iPads to students that do not already have one. You are collaborators in this experiment; bring your iPad to class and help me learn how to use this technology effectively.

There will be two evening reviews and and four writs as indicated below. A writ will consist of a brief (12 minute) in-class short-answer section coupled with one or two pledged take-home problems. Reviews are scheduled on Thursday evenings, 8-10 pm, in our classroom (Chambers 3234). If a Thursday evening review presents a particular burden for your schedule, see me and we will negotiate an alternative time (preferably on Thursday afternoon). Writs will be due at the start of the next class.

Homework will include an online component of WileyPLUS exercises, supplemented with written homework that will be collected and read by my course grader. Collaboration on homework is encouraged, though anything you present or turn in should represent your understanding of the material. Although homework is not a formal part of your evaluation, a record is kept of your participation in this necessary ingredient of a successful mathematical experience. Written homework will be collected on Mondays (by 12:30 pm) and on Thursdays (in class). (A fuller statement on homework evaluation is in a web-based memo.)

Attendance:

Come to every class meeting and come on time. Missing class deprives both you of a first-hand class experience, and your classmates of your particular perspectives. I monitor attendance; missing 20% of class meetings can trigger action to encourage more faithful attendance. In any event, you are responsible for all material discussed in class, whether you are present or absent.

Evaluation:

The major components of your grade are 4 writs, 2 reviews, and the final examination. With a "writ" being the unit of measure, extended assignments will accumulate to the equivalent of 1 writ, reviews will be worth about 2 writs each, and the Final Examination will carry the weight of approximately 3 writs. Other considerations (e.g., participation and effort on homework assignments) may provide extra seasoning in this mix. Thus, the recipe for your grade in this course is distributed as roughly

• 4 parts writs,
• 4 parts reviews,
• 3 parts examination, and
• a pinch of "other."

(An explanation of my grading system is available in a web-based memo.)

Schedule Guesstimate: (volatile!)

Class Dates	Section Discussed		Event	Chapter Topic
Aug 28, 30	intro, Ch. 0	1.1, 1.2		1: Limits and Continuity
Sep 4, 6	1.2, 1.3	1.5	End-of-Week Writ #1
Sep 11, 13	0.4, 1.6	2.1		2: The Derivative
Sep 18, 20	2.2, 2.3	2.4	End-of-Week Writ #2
Sep 25, 27	2.5, 2.6	3.1
Oct 2, 4	3.2, 3.3	prepare	Thursday Review #1	3: Diff. Topics; Exp, Log, & Inv Trig Functions
Oct 9, 11	3.4	3.6
Oct 16, 18	no class	4.1, 4.2	Fall Break	4: The Derivative in Graphing & Applications
Oct 23, 25	4.3, 4.4	4.5	End-of-Week Writ #3
Oct 30, Nov 1	4.6	4.7
Nov 6, 8	4.8	5.1, 5.4	End-of-Week Writ #4
Nov 13, 15	5.5	5.6		5: Integration
Nov 20, 22	5.2, 5.3	no class	Thanksgiving Break
Nov 27, 29	5.8	prepare	Thursday Review #2
Dec 4, 6	5.9	6.1		6: Applications of the Definite Integral
Dec 11, 13	debrief	Reading Day
Dec 14--20	Final Examination