Instructor: David Walnut
Office: ST1, room 261
Phone: 703 993 1478 (voice); 703 993 1491 (fax)
email: dwalnut@gmu.edu
Course web page: http://math.gmu.edu/~dwalnut/teach/Math108/Spring11/108s11.html
Office hours: MW 1:00-2:30pm and by appointment.
Text: Hoffmann and Bradley, Calculus for Business, Economics, and the Social and Life Sciences-Brief Edition (Tenth Edition)
Topics: The course will cover Chapters 1-5 in the text. Precise sections covered are indicated in the list of exercises accompanying this syllabus.
General Comments:
Prerequisites: The prerequisite for this course is either (a) passing the Math Placement Test at the appropriate level, or (b) successful completion of the self-paced Basic Math Program offered by the Math Learning Center. If (according to the registrar) you have not met the prerequisites for the course you will not be permitted to register. I will not allow anyone into the class who has not met the prerequisites for the course. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule. Information on the Math Placement Test is available by going to http://math.gmu.edu/math-placement-test.htm.
Basic Skills: You are expected to be familiar with the material in Sections 1.1-1.3 in the text. I will not cover this material in class. You should do the exercises assigned for this section as soon as possible, preferably before the first day of class. If you find these exercises especially difficult or unfamiliar, then you should consider taking self-paced Basic Math Program offered by Math Learning Center even if you have passed the Placement Test. Information on this program can be found at http://math.gmu.edu/mathlearningcenter.htm .
Drop Date: The last day to drop this course without receiving an F is Friday, February 25. You will receive your grade on the first exam and on several quizzes before that date. This grade should be a strong indicator of how well you will do in the course. Use it to decide whether to stay or drop. The student who is undecided about what to do should talk with me before deciding.
Course Web Page: The course web page contains announcements and useful information for students in this course. Solutions to exams, any handouts, and this syllabus will be made available in downloadable form. You are responsible for checking the web page periodically so that you will not miss important information. The course web page may be accessed through the link http://math.gmu.edu/coursehomepages.htm .
Math Tutoring Center. A considerable amount of help is available to you. I particularly recommend the Mathematics Tutoring Center. Information on this and other sources of help can be found at http://math.gmu.edu/help-with-math.htm .
Grading:
Homework: Included with this syllabus is a list of homework exercises for the course. Homework will not be collected but it is absolutely essential that you do the homework problems in a timely fashion in order to do well on exams and quizzes. The assigned problems are representative of quiz and test questions.
Quizzes: In-class quizzes will be given every Wednesday at the end of class starting on Wednesday January 26. Each quiz will take approximately 10-15 minutes. Quiz problems will be similar to homework problems. Only your best 10 quiz grades will be counted. Because several quizzes will be dropped, there are no makeup quizzes given under any circumstances. Do not even ask. Your quiz average will count for 2/11 of your final grade.
Exams: In-class exams will be given on Monday, February 21, Monday, March 28, and Monday, April 25. Your exam average will count for 6/11 of your final grade. Makeup exams will not be given except in cases of extreme hardship and then only when the student has contacted me in advance. If I am not contacted in advance, no makeup exam will be given.
Final Exam. There will be a cumulative final
exam given on Monday, May 16, 1:30 p.m.- 4:15 p.m. in
the same room where we have class. The final exam will count for 3/11 of your
final grade. There will be no curve.
|
A+: |
99+; |
A: |
92-98; |
A-: |
90-91; |
|
B+: |
88-89; |
B: |
82-87; |
B-: |
80-81; |
|
C+: |
78-79; |
C: |
72-77; |
C-: |
70-71; |
|
D: |
60-69; |
||||
|
F: |
0-59. |