The problems given to take attendance, along with the answers, are linked below. They will be updated as we add more.
This webpage records information for our section. All announcements for our section will be done here. Full details about the course, including the syllabus, exam dates, grading breakdown and other policies, as well instructions for the online homework system, can be found on the main Math 233 course page.
Paul Gunnells, LGRT 1115L, gunnells at umass dot edu. The best way to contact me is by email. Please do not send me messages/requests through any other platform (Canvas, Webassign, etc.). I won’t see them.
Mondays, 10–11am in the CTC.
Wednesdays, 7–8pm by Zoom. A zoom link was sent to your email listed on SPIRE.
The teaching assistant Kwame Osei Tutu (koseitutu at umass dot edu) has office hours Mondays 12:15–2:15 in LGRT 1423L.
Canvas course for our section. Contains links to the Echo360 video recordings of lecture. It will not be used for much else.
Notes from old lectures. These are the lecture notes from when I last taught Math 233H. It was during the pandemic so all lectures were online. I used a document camera and wrote on paper; these notes are the scans of the lecture “blackboards”. Although this was Math 233H and not Math 233, the material covered is the same, so you might find these helpful. However, you should use them at your own risk. Some caveats:
These lectures were Tuesday/Thursday, not MWF. So the material is distributed differently.
The dates in the filename will only approximately correspond to the dates of our lectures.
Different examples might be done in the current lectures. Different words might be said.
Statistics. Statistics from course exams for our section.
Webassign. The online homework system used in Math 233.
According to the syllabus, 5% of your grade will come from class participation. For our section, this will be done using quick in-class problems:
A short problem will be written on the board. Such problems will be simple exercises from the class material, not longer more involved problems that typically appear in HW and on exams.
You will quickly work it out on paper and then submit it.
The problem will then be graded, with an emphasis on participation, not correctness.
The whole process should take just a few minutes. A few further points:
When I say simple, I mean it. If this were Math 131, it would be things on the order of Graph y=x2 + 1, Compute the derivative of x3 + x2 + 3, etc. Of course Math 233 is more difficult, but this is really about participation.
Despite the emphasis on participation, you should really try to get these right. They should be pedagogically helpful.
This won’t happen every lecture, but randomly during the term (when the urge strikes me). Note that otherwise attendance is not taken.
These problems will only appear in lecture. No record of them will be kept otherwise.
It is not possible to make up or redo these assignments. At the end of the term I will drop a few scores (number to be determined). If you happened to miss some lectures your grade will not suffer.
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). 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 and supplemental instruction offered during the term at WEB DuBois library through the Learning Resource Center. Please see their website for more details. This is an excellent resource that is often under-utilized. 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.