Math131H is the honors section of the first in a three course Calculus sequence Math 131–132–233 which covers basic concepts, methods, and applications suitable for majors in engineering, natural sciences, computer science, mathematics, etc. Math 131 mainly studies derivatives of single-variable functions, covering these topics: limits, continuity, derivatives, implicit differentiation, related rates, maxima and minima, and an introduction to definite integrals with applications to area.
This is a four-credit course, with three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion section weekly. The pace of the course is rapid. The honors section will cover the same material as in Math 131, although the course will be more demanding, and more emphasis will be placed on theoretical concepts.
The required textbook is James Stewart, Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 9th Edition, Cengage Learning, 2021. The book is available for purchase as an ebook via WebAssign. After registering with WebAssign you may purchase multi-term access (recommended), or single-term access. It is also possible to purchase a printed copy of the textbook separately (although it’s very expensive). You can do this via this link. Note: there is no need to purchase/rent a textbook, you do not need to buy any other materials for the course once you register through WebAssign.
A graphing calculator may be useful for homework. Note that there is no calculator allowed in any exams. If you do not already own one, then we recommend the TI-89. You may see the online tutoring about TI-89 here. If you already have a TI series calculator, like the TI-83 or TI-84, it should be adequate for the course.
Lectures will be held in-person. Notes will not be made available (it is the responsibility of the student to take their own notes), and the lectures will not be recorded. Attendance is not required for your grade, so it is not necessary to notify me of any absence, but of course I strongly encourage you to attend.
The teaching assistant Sophia Marx (semarx at umass dot edu) will run the discussion sessions. Attendance at recitation is required and will form part of your final grade. In addition there will be other work carried out in recitation that will be part of your recitation grade.
This course will have two evening midterm exams and a final exam.
Exam I: Wednesday, 11 Oct, 7–9 pm. Location: LGRT 0121.
Exam II: Wednesday, 8 Nov, 7–9 pm. Location LGRT 0121.
The final exam will be scheduled by the university. The finals week schedule will be announced during the term.
The dates/times of the midterm exams are the same as those for the main Math 131 course. You can find some Math 131 practice exams on the Main Math 131 course page, although our exam format will be different.
Sections covered on individual exams will be announced beforehand. The final exam will be cumulative, with some emphasis placed on topics covered since those on the second exam.
See below for the academic honesty statement about exams.
Re-taking of exams is not allowed in this course: once an exam has been taken it cannot be retaken or made up.
You are expected to take all exams, including the final exam, during their scheduled times. All students should check your travel plans and exam schedules of your courses carefully. If you have any schedule conflicts, you may log on the Spire page, go to “Student Home” and then to “Evening Exam Conflict”. This will allow you to fill out a conflict form and submit it. Then the registrar will email your instructor who needs to provide a makeup exam. Please do so at least two weeks before the exam.
Which case and where is the official support document for the make-up request?
(1) if you have an exam (or a class) schedule conflicts with the regular exam, you should log on the Spire page, go to “Student Home” and then to “Evening Exam Conflict”. This will allow you to fill out a conflict form and submit it. Then the registrar will email your instructor who needs to provide a makeup exam.
(2) if you have a university trip for university business during the regular exam date, like an athletic competition or academic conference etc., you should ask your supervisor or your coach to write an explanation letter including his/her phone number to your instructor as the official written document. Your instructor may verify the event by phone call.
(3) if you have a religious observance on a regular exam date and can NOT take the exam, you should write an explanation letter yourself and attach the invitation letter or relevant information as the official document.
(4) if you have a medical reason and can not take the regular exam, you should ask a medical professional’s statement including his/her phone number which indicates that you were unable for medical reason to take the scheduled exam. If the medical professional’s statement is not given before the exam, your instructor may refuse your make-up request.
There will be online homework and written homework assignments.
The online homework is given through Webassign, as described above. The online homework begins right away after the lectures begin and comes steadily thoughout the term. It is very important to stay on top of these assignments. No announcements of due dates or assignments are made in class; they can all be found in Webassign.
The written homework will be assigned separately though the recitation section. The TA will give instructions about how the assignments are to be completed and submitted.
Total scores in our section of Math 131H will be computed as follows:
The online homework will be worth 15%.
The written homework will be 10%.
The recitation grade will be 10%.
If your final exam score is less than or equal to the average of your Exam 1 and Exam 2 scores, then each of Exam 1 and 2 counts 20%, and the final exam counts 25%.
If your final exam score is greater than the average of your Exam 1 and Exam 2 scores, then your final exam will count 30% (instead of 25%) and each of Exams 1 and 2 will count 17.5% (instead of 20%).
Remarks about grading:
Note that attendance in lecture is not required as part of your grade (however attendance will be required in recitation, and will be part of the discussion section’s contribution to your final grade).
At the end of the term, some of your webassign scores will be dropped (at least 3), and some written assignment scores will be dropped (at least 1). This way, if you don’t do as well on an assignment because of extra work in another course or for any reason, it shouldn’t affect your final homework grade. Extensions for HW are not granted except for documented reasons, as described in the Make-Up Exam section above.
After being determined by the above algorithm, the total score will be truncated down to the nearest integer less than or equal to the total score. (Truncation is not the same as rounding. For example, a score of 89.75 will be truncated to 89, not rounded to 90. Truncation instead of rounding is used to determine grades according to a policy adopted by the department.) The letter grade will then be determined by the following scale:
| A | A– | B+ | B | B– | C+ | C | C– | D+ | D | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 87 | 83 | 79 | 75 | 71 | 67 | 63 | 59 | 55 | <55 |
You will self-enroll with a class key to join our section on WebAssign. The class key for our section is
umass 1596 1829
You can also join by following this link.
Registering with a class key does not verify payment; you have to do that yourself. Also note that Webassign gives a 2 week payment grace period to enable you to go ahead and get started on the homework, but that you will have to pay to make sure you have continued access.
Enroll yourself only once. Basic instructions are the following (see also the Quick Start Guide).
If you have a Cengage Account, then
If you have a WebAssign Account
If you Don’t Have an Account
The Cengage customer service representative is Frank Cronin.
If you have registration or purchasing questions/issues, please drop
by his Zoom Office Hours for STUDENTS:
Dates & Times: Aug. 14 – Sept. 22: Monday-Friday 1pm - 3pm Eastern Standard Time. Use this Zoom Link to join. You can also contact Frank by email at frank.cronin@cengage.com anytime.
The best way to get help is to ask your instructor or TA questions during class or in office hours. Unfortunately it is not possible to answer mathematical questions by email. Please bring all such questions to class, recitation, and office hours.
The department runs the Calculus Tutoring Center (CTC) in LGRT140. You should be able to get help there during its normal operating hours (TBA). Our online homework is the same as that for the main Math 131 course, so any TA in the CTC should be able to help you with that.
Another option for help is the Learning Resource Center, which traditionally has offered tutoring for calculus students at Du Bois Library. There are plans to run a remote version of the LRC; more infomation will be provided when it is available. The best source of current information is the LRC website.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please register with Disability Services (161 Whitmore Administration building; phone 413–545–0892), meet with an Access Coordinator and send an accommodation letter to your faculty. Information on services and materials for registering are also available on the website www.umass.edu/disability.
Special accommodation request: new disability students should be certified by Umass disability service center (DSC) at first, then you should ask DSC to send the special accommodation documents to your instructor at least two weeks before exam 1 or exam 2, after that you may contact DSC,
Trisha Link
Exam Proctoring Coordinator
examsaccess@admin.umass.edu
413-545-0892
169A Whitmore
directly to schedule an appointment, DSC will notify you when and where to take the exam in a few days before the exam . For the documented disability students, DSC will notify you when you should schedule the final exam in DSC.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements.
Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent. For more information see the website of Dean of Students Office.
Expectations for our course as as follows:
For homework, you will be allowed to work with other students collaboratively. In fact, I encourage you to form study groups to work together. However, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are learning the material. You also must submit your own work through webassign. You must submit original work. Relying on online or other sources for solutions will be considered a violation of academic honesty.
For exams, you will be allowed to use your textbook, your own course notes, the scanned notes from our lectures, and the recordings of our lectures available online. You will not be allowed to discuss the exam with anyone else, except me (I can help with clarifying questions, just like a traditional exam; I can’t help with actual mathematical contributions, of course). I will closely watch my email during exams to see if you have questions. You may not discuss the exam with any other students and may not use any resources other than those indicated above. Use of any unauthorized resources will be considered a violation of academic honesty and will be handled accordingly.
In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funds, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students, free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and retaliation. This includes interactions in person or online through digital platforms and social media. Title IX also protects against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related conditions, including recovery. There are resources here on campus to support you. A summary of the available Title IX resources (confidential and non-confidential) can be found here. You do not need to make a formal report to access them. If you need immediate support, you are not alone. Free and confidential support is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year at the SASA Hotline 413–545–0800.
MATH 131H is a four-credit General Education course that satisfies the R1 (Basic Math Skills) and R2 (Analytic Reasoning) general education requirements for graduation.
The General Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst offers students a unique opportunity to develop critical thinking, communication, and learning skills that will benefit them for a lifetime. For more information about the General Education Program, please visit the GenEd web page.
Math 131 satisfies the following General Education objectives:
Content: Know fundamental questions, ideas, and methods of inquiry/analysis used in mathematics: Students will learn limits and continuity of functions, use these to compute rates of change, and analyze their real-life and theoretical applications.
Critical Thinking: Students demonstrate creative, analytical, quantitative, & critical thinking through inquiry, problem solving, & synthesis: Students will use critical thinking skills to develop and understand rates of change of functions using limits, and computational skills to find these rates of change efficiently. Students will demonstrate an understanding of various methods of differentiation in order to compute the rate of change for many types of functions.
Communication: Develop informational and technological literacy: Students will develop their writing skills by articulating their reasoning for computations throughout the course.
Demonstrate capacity to apply disciplinary perspectives and methods of analysis to real world problems (the larger society) or other contexts: Students will apply the theoretical concepts of calculus to real-world and theoretical problems. Students will use the derivative to find where a function reaches its maximum and minimum values, and apply this to various contexts such as finding the maximum height of an object travelling through the air.
Because Math 131H presupposes basic math skills, it carries the designation for the Basic Math Skills requirement (R1). In addition, the course satisfies the following objectives of the Analytic Reasoning requirement (R2):
Advance a student’s formal or mathematical reasoning skills beyond level of basic competence: In learning Calculus in Math 131H, students will think critically about the overarching idea of rates of change. Students will advance their mathematical literacy and analyzing skills by learning the limits of mathematical functions and using these limits to construct accurate and efficient ways of computing rates of change, called derivatives.
Increase the student’s sophistication as a consumer of numerical information: Students will connect the ideas of rates of change to various disciplines by analyzing and solving problems in both real life and theoretical applications.
Indicate the limits of formal, numerical, quantitative, or analytical reasoning and discuss the potential for the abuse of numerical arguments: Students will learn methods of both estimating and computing cumulative change. Students will analyze when it is appropriate to use an estimation, as well as the accuracy and efficiency of their estimations.