Syllabus for Math 140a

What: Math 140, The Calculus of a single variable
When and Where: MWF 10:30-11:20, 11:30-12:20, RH 312 (lecture)
M 3:10-4:00, T 1-1:50 RH 310 (lab)
Text: Etgen, Salas and Hille's Calculus: One Variable, 7th edition
Who: John McCleary
Office: RH 409
Office hours: M 1-2, T 10:00-11:30 and by appointment
Phone: 437-7180
E-mail: mccleary

Course description

This semester we will cover the first five chapters of the book with the following list of topics:

Grading policy

Your grade will depend upon three in-class tests with the following dates;

Tests will be administered during lab periods.

Homework (assigned daily and graded as 0, + or -), and quizzes (10-minute duration, given during lab periods) are designed to provide feedback. They can affect your grade only in a nonnegative fashion. There is a positive correlation between the amount of homework completed and success in the course.

The final exam will be given in the scheduled period during finals week. As per math department policy, you will be given 3 hours for the final exam.

Homework assignments

HW#	Due	Section	Problems
1	9/8	1.2	#14, 34, 46, 70, 72, 84
2	9/10	1.3	# 6, 10, 16, 20, 24, 52, 58
3	9/12	1.4	# 14, 26, 40, 56, 60, 62, 76, 92
4	9/15	1.5	# 10, 12, 30, 48, 56, 74, 78
5	9/17	1.6	# 16, 34, 60, 70
5	9/17	1.7	# 10, 14, 28, 32, 46, 50
6	9/19	2.1	# 6, 18, 22, 28, 44, 52, 64

Some advice

The pace of the course will be much faster than high school. You will probably need to do a lot of work outside of lecture and lab to keep up.
Read the text before coming to lecture. You will understand the lectures better, absorb the material more completely, perform better on the exams, get a better grade in the course, and enjoy the whole experience a whole lot more. If you haven't read the book before the lecture, read it afterwards as soon as possible.
Do all the homework. Doing the homework will prepare you for the exams better than any single other activity.
If you get confused, come see me as soon as possible. If you wait, you could fall farther behind and have to work much harder to catch up.

last revised 29 August 1997 by John McCleary (mccleary@vassar.edu)