MATH 21B (Calculus II) - Winter 2010, UC Davis

Announcements:

3/22: The final grades have been released for viewing on MyUCDavis and submitted to the registrar. The letter grade ranges for the total numeric score (weighted average of exams+homework) are as follows:
          98-100     A+
          93-97     A
          90-92     A-
          87-89     B+
          83-86     B
          80-82     B-
          75-79     C+
          70-74     C
          66-69     C-
          64-65     D+
          62-63     D
          60-61     D-
          0-59     F
The average final grade was 82, the median was 82, and the standard deviation was 11. Happy vacation everybody!

3/14: Click here for solutions to the sample exam.

3/10: The final exam will take place on Thursday 18 March, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Social Sciences 1100 (the same lecture room where the regular lectures were held). Bring student IDs and exam blue books. The material to be covered: all the material covered in class up to (and including) today's lecture, with an emphasis (> 50% weight) on material that was not covered by the midterm exams. A sample exam to help you prepare is posted in the announcement below. Good luck! Clarification added 3/17: Improper integrals will not be on the exam.

3/10: Click here for a sample exam to help you prepare for the final exam next week. Solutions will be posted in the next few days.

3/1: The grades for the second midterm exam have been posted on MyUCDavis. The average grade was 73, the median grade was 73, and the standard deviation was 17. The letter grade ranges for the first midterm exam are as follows:
          90-100: A range
          78-89: B range
          64-77: C range
          51-63: D range
          0-50: F
Remember, these ranges are given purely for purposes of self-evaluation. The weighting of the midterm exam in the final grade will be based on the numerical score.

3/1: Click here for solutions to the second midterm exam.

2/21: Click here for solutions to the practice questions for the second midterm exam.

2/18: The second midterm exam will be held next Wednesday, 2/24, at the usual time and place of the class lecture. Click here for notes describing the exam material, tips for studying and some practice questions to test your mastery of the material. Solutions to the practice questions will be posted some time in the next few days.

1/30: The letter grade ranges for the first midterm exam are as follows:
          92-100: A range
          80-92: B range
          70-80: C range
          60-70: D range
          0-60: F
Note that the weighting of the midterm exam in the final grade will be according to the numerical score.

1/30: The grades to the first midterm exam are now posted on MyUCDavis. The average grade was 88, the median grade was 88, and the standard deviation was 12.

1/30: Click here for the solutions to the first midterm exam.

1/25: Click here for the solutions to the first practice exam.

1/20: The first midterm exam will be held next Wednesday, 1/27, during the normal lecture time (1:10-2:00 at Soc.Sci. 1100). Calculators, notes and textbooks are not allowed. You do not need to bring exam blue books. The exam will last 45 minutes. The topics to be covered are sections 4.8 and all of chapter 5 in the textbook. A practice exam of roughly similar format to the actual exam is posted in the announcement below.

1/20: Click here for the first practice exam. Solutions will be posted on Monday.

Quick links

General information

Instructor: Dan Romik
Office: Mathematical Sciences Building (MSB) Room 2218
Office Hours: M 3:10-4:00, W 3:10-4:00
Email: (Please send administrative questions to the lead T.A., see below)

Lead T.A.: Gabriel Amos
Office Hours: T 3:10-4:00, MSB 3123
Email:

Please contact the lead T.A. with all administrative questions. Include "21B" in the subject line along with a brief description of the issue.

Lectures, sections and T.A. information:
Section
B01 (CRN 50036) B02 (CRN 50037) B03 (CRN 50038) B04 (CRN 50039) B05 (CRN 50040)
Lectures MWF 1:10-2:00pm in Soc.Sci. 1100 (all sections)
Discussion
T 6:10-7:00pm
Olson 147
T 5:10-6:00pm
Olson 147
T 4:10-5:00pm
Hart 1150
T 8:10-9:00pm
Olson 147
T 7:10-8:00pm
Olson 147
T.A.
Benjamin Johnson
bjohnson@math*
Benjamin Johnson
bjohnson@math*
Ricky Kwok
rkwok@math*
Christopher Bumgardner
quillbone@math*
Gabriel Amos
amos518@math*
Office Hours
T 10:10-11:00, 1:10-2:00
MSB 2129
T 10:10-11:00, 1:10-2:00
MSB 2129
M 2:10-3:00
MSB 2232
T 11:30-12:30
MSB 3206
T 3:10-4:00
MSB 3123

* T.A. email addresses are @math.ucdavis.edu

Textbook and Syllabus

The course will cover roughly chapters 5-8 of the book Thomas' Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 11th edition. A detailed syllabus can be found here.

Note that regardless of what the bookstore may say, this is the only required text. Solutions manuals may be helpful, but are optional. Because MyMathLab will not be a required part of the course, you do not need to buy the "media upgrade".

Grading

Grades will be weighted as follows: 10% for homework (submitted via WeBWorK), 20% for each in-class exam, and 50% for the final exam.

Cheating will be taken extremely seriously. The minimum punishment will be an F on the exam or assignment in question, and all cases will be referred to Student Judicial Affairs.

Grading will be on a soft curve, meaning that I do not predetermine either what scores correspond to what grades, or what percentage of students get what grades. Rather, after grading each exam I will assign grade ranges using the following general criterion: those who earn an A should demonstrate a strong mastery of nearly all the material; a B should correspond to a good working knowledge of a strong majority of the material; and C should correspond to an ability to solve routine problems in a majority of the topics covered. Under this system, if you all do well, you will all get good grades.

Your lowest homework score will be dropped when calculating your grade.

Homework

Homework will be assigned once a week using the free online homework system WeBWorK. It will be given out each Monday, covering roughly the material that will be taught that week, and will be due on Wednesday the following week.

To get started with WeBWorK, go to the WeBWorK web page, log in with your UC Davis MailID (note that this is not necessarily the same as your login name), and use your student ID number as your initial password. After you log in, you should change your password using the "Password/Email" link on the left. You can then view homework assignments by going to "Homework Sets", also on the left.

Important: You are responsible for checking the assignments on the WeBWorK page every week. The first assignment is due Wednesday, January 13. In the first week of class there will also be an optional, not-for-credit, assignment covering material from 21A to help familiarize you with the WeBWork system.

Also important: You have limited attempts on problems, and typos will be counted as failed attempts, so be sure to use the "Preview" button before each time you submit an answer. You can "Email instructor" if you run into problems with the interface.

Exams

There will be two in-class exams and a final exam. These will be closed-book exams, with no calculators or notes allowed. Please bring your ID card to the exams.

Makeup exams will not be offered. If you have an unavoidable conflict with an exam date, or an emergency of some sort, you must let us know as early as possible in order to make appropriate arrangements.

Exam dates
First exam: Wed., Jan. 27
Second exam: Wed., Feb. 24
Final exam: Thu., Mar. 18, 6:00-8:00 PM

The grades for the first exam will be posted prior to the drop deadline of Feb. 1. The precise material to be covered in each of the mid-term exams will be announced as the quarter unfolds. For the first exam, the likely scope would include section 4.8 and all of chapter 5 in the textbook. For the final exam, all the material will be covered but there will be an emphasis on material taught after the second exam.

Calculators

Calculators are optional for this class, and are not allowed on any exams.

Students with disabilities

Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Student Disability Center (SDC). Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the SDC. If you have any questions, please contact the SDC at (530)752-3184 or sdc@ucdavis.edu.

Tutoring and other resources

You are strongly encouraged to take full advantage of faculty and T.A. office hours. In addition to these, there are various other resources available.

LSC: The LSC (Learning Skills Center) has math drop-in hours at which you can receive tutoring for Math 21B.

Math Cafe: The Math Cafe is an informal math group which meets every Tuesday evening. Although the focus is on female students, everyone is welcome to attend.

Each other: You are very much encouraged to study together. This is an easy way to make your study habits more effective.

Feedback

Click here to write and send the instructor anonymous feedback (new window will open).