Disability Services is in need of a note taker for this class. If you are interested, please email notes@admin.umass.edu with your name, student ID and the course info (i.e. Math 131, Section 12, Professor Gunnells). Disability Services staff will contact you to confirm and provide you instructions. You may earn 1 undergraduate academic credit (practicum EDUC 398NT) or 45 hours of community service for your efforts.
Math 131 final exam is on Monday 12/13/2021, 1–3pm. The make-up final exam is on 12/11/2021 (reading day), 1–3 pm. The final exam is cumulative and covers the entire course material. Final exam review materials are 2021 Exam1, exam 2 and 2019 final exam (Modified), 2020 final exam (modified). These will be available on the main course website by 11/30.
Our section (Section 12) will take the exam at Boyden Gym on the 3rd floor.
Makeup Exam Request: If you are entitled to a makeup exam for an authorized reason (exam schedule conflicting, official activity off-campus, religious obligation) you must let me know with documentation by Tuesday’s class meeting on 11/30.
If you are entitled to special exam accommodations by an official accommodation from the Office of Disability Services, then your exam will be administered through their office. By no later than Tuesday, 30 October, you should directly contact Trisha Link, dsexams@umass.edu, 413–545–2827 or main office at 413–545–0892, 169A Whitmore. She will notify you when and where you will take the exam.
This webpage records information for our section (section 12). Full details about the course, including the syllabus, exam dates, and instructions for the online homework system, can be found on the main Math 131 course page.
Please send all communications to my math department email address: gunnells at math dot umass dot edu. I will generally respond within two business days. Please do not try to contact me by
leaving a message on my office phone,
sending me a message or request through Webassign or any other platform,
sending email to any other email address (for some reason the University has some incorrect email addresses in various places).
Email communication is primarily used for bureaucratic reasons (notifying me of an illness, a family emergency, etc.). It’s not possible to answer math questions by email; see the Help section below about how to get mathematical help.
To sign up for Webassign, please go to our section’s moodle. Follow the link to Webassign and you should be automatically enrolled. It is not necessary to use a class code.
Please sign up and pay as soon as you can. The homework assignments start right away (the first assignments are due the 2nd week of class).
Tuesdays 5–6pm in the Calculus Tutoring Center.
The teaching assistant, Samuel Niemeier, will have office hours Fridays, 1:25–2:25 in LGRT 1335a, and CTC hours Tuesdays 2–4pm.
I try to answer as many questions as possible during lecture. If you have a question, don’t be afraid to ask. Chances are other students also have the same question. I also usually stick around a few minutes after class to answer quick questions (such as questions about parts of the lecture, a homework problem you’ve tried, etc.). Most students find this to be a good way to clear up confusion.
You should also make full use of your discussion section. In particular the teaching assistant is there to help you with your questions and to support your work in the course. Take advantage of this opportunity!
Outside of class, the best way to get help is through my office hours, the teaching assistant’s office hours, and the CTC (Calculus Tutoring Center, LGRT 140). This term the CTC will be running online; more details will follow once I know them. Sometimes only a little bit of consultation is all that’s needed to deal with difficulties. One thing to remember is that you will get much more out of office hours/CTC if you make a serious effort to do the problem on your own first.
There is also some drop-in tutoring offered during the term at WEB DuBois library through the Learning Resource Center. Please see their website for more details. Many students have found this helpful.
Although I like to get a lot of questions from students, it is not possible to answer mathematical questions by email. Please don’t be offended if you ask me a mathematical question by email and I don’t respond. I’ve found in the past that trying to discuss mathematics by email rarely helps anyone, and usually only causes more confusion. It’s much more effective to ask me such questions during class or office hours.