University of Massachusetts Amherst
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Math 131—Calculus I—Fall 2008

This covers the essential information for all sections of Math 131.  More complete and timely information appears on the course web site www.math.umass.edu/~murray/Math_131. Your section’s instructor will provide additional information  relevant just for that section.

Description  Math 131 begins the three-semester sequence 131–132–233 covering standard material on  calculus. These courses are more sophisticated and move much faster than many high school calculus courses, but they have less emphasis on theoretical rigor than in advanced courses such as Math 523. Instead, the emphasis is on basic concepts, methods, and applications suitable for majors in engineering, natural sciences, computer science, mathematics, etc. Prospective math majors or others needing an enriched treatment should consider enrolling instead in Math 131H.

Math 131 deals with single-variable differential calculus. The central concept is rate of change, as realized by the mathematical notion of derivative.  The concepts of area and net distance traveled are generalized to the notion of the definite integral. The emphasis is upon problem-solving rather than on proving theorems.

Prerequisites  Be proficient in high school algebra, plane geometry, trigonometry, and analytic geometry.

Required text  Stewart, Calculus: Early Transcendentals Vol 1 - University of Massachusetts Amherst, Sixth Edition, Thompson Brooks/Cole, 2007. Paperback. This relatively inexpensive version is customized for UMass. It is essential that you get the new Sixth Edition;  All lecture sections also require the WebAssign on-line system for homework, to which you must purchase access. There are two ways to buy:

On-line from publisher:  http://umamath.ichapterssites.com/

   Textbook+WebAssign

$92.49 including shipping

ISBN 0-495-47006-6

If you buy on-line, while awaiting delivery of the printed copy you should download Chapters 1–2, from:
http://custom.cengage.com/static_content/temp_websites/0495483125/

At on-campus Follett’s Textbook Annex:

   Textbook+WebAssign

$101.50

ISBN 0-495-47006-6

The Textbook Annex has some used copies of the text alone at $65.25, and a single-semester’s WebAssign access coupon for $7.50. If you buy a used copy, be sure to buy the WebAssign coupon, too.

Calculator  The Texas Instruments TI-89 Titanium is recommended. If you’re buying a new calculator, this is the one to get. It will do symbolic manipulations common in calculus. If you already own a TI-86 and don’t want to buy a new calculator now, you may be able to get by with it in Math 131. You may use your calculator on all exams except the mid-semester Exam 2.

Requirements

  • take mid-semester exams definitely scheduled   Wednesday, October 1, 7:00–8:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 22, 7:00–8:30 p.m., and Wednesday, November 19, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
  • take the two-hour final exam, covering the entire semester’s work, at the officially scheduled time
  • do the WebAssign homework assignments
  • as prescribed by your lecture section’s instructor, take any quizzes, hand in any written work, etc.
  • attend class regularly

For all exams except Exam 2, you may use your calculator and a “cheat sheet”—one piece of paper no larger than 8.5" by 11" with whatever information you desire—along with whatever information you may store in your calculator. Otherwise, exams are “closed-book”.

Students needing special exam accommodation must present documentation from Disability Services to their instructor no later than two weeks before the exam.

Grading  For your total score, each of Exams 1–3 counts 20%, the final exam counts 24%, and  the remaining 16% is assigned by your instructor based upon homework and other work such as quizzes. If your total score wold be higher, then your final exam will count 30% and each of Exams 1–3 will count only 18%. The course letter-grade scale is:

A

A-

B+

B

B-

C+

C

C-

D+

D

F

86

82

78

75

72

68

62

59

55

50

<50

Weekly schedule  For coverage details coverage, see the Syllabus page on the course web site.

Week

MWF lectures

TuTh lectures

Events

Sept. 1

Intro, 2.1–2.2

Intro, 2.1–2.3 (start)

First lecture Tues/Wed

Sept. 8

2.3–2.5 (start)

2.3 (end)–2.5

 

Sept. 15

2.5 (end)–2.7 (start)

2.6–2.7

Last day to drop: Mon Sep 15

Sept. 22

2.7 (end)–2.8, 3.1

2.8, 3.1–3.2 (start)

 

Sept. 29

3.2, review, 3.3

3.2 (end), review, 3.3–3.4 (start)

Exam 1 Wed Oct 1

Oct. 6

3.4–3.5

3.4 (end)–3.6 (start)

 

Oct. 13

3.6–3.8

3.6 (end)–3.7

Holiday Mon; Tues = Mon

Oct. 20

3.9, review, 3.10 (start)

3.8, review, 3.9–3.9 (start)

 

Oct. 27

3.10 (end), 4.1–4.2 (start)

3.9 (end)–3.10, 4.1 (start)

Last day for W: Mon Oct 27
Exam 2 Wed Oct 22

Nov. 3

4.2 (end)–4.4 (start)

4.1 (end)–4.3 (start)

 

Nov. 10

4.4 (end), 4.7 (start)

4.3 (end)–4.4, 4.7 (start)

Holiday Tues; Wed=Tues

Nov. 17

4.7 (end), review, 4.8 (start)

review, 4.7 (end)–4.8 (start)

Exam 3 Wed Nov 19

Nov. 24

4.8 (end)–4.9 (start)

4.8 (end)–4.9 (start)

Vacation Thurs–Fri

Dec. 1

4.9 (end) , 5.1

4.9 (end), 5.1

 

Dec. 8

5.2, review

5.2, review

Last class day Thurs/Fri

Dec. 15

 

 

Final Exam this week

Exam make-up policy  If another officially scheduled exam conflicts with a Math 131 exam, or in certain other circumstances, you may qualify to take a make-up exam. For a mid-semester exam, the make-up will be at the same time but the evening before the scheduled exam.  No make-ups will be given just to accommodate travel plans.

If you have a mid-semester exam in another course at the same time as the Math 131 exam, and if the final digit(s) of the 5-digit class number for your Math 131 section is higher than the final digit(s) of the 5-digit class number for the other course, you are entitled to a make-up exam in Math 131. You are also entitled to one if you are away on an official off-campus trip. In either case, no later than two weeks before the exam give your instructor a written request that includes:

  • your name and ID number;
  • your lecture section (A, B, etc.)
  • your official UMass e-mail addresss (…@student.umass.edu); and
  • the reason for requesting the make-up exam.

In the case of a conflicting exam, attach:

  • a printed copy of your class list from Spire; and
  • written confirmation from the instructor  or a copy of the syllabus or web site from the other course. (In case of a final exam conflict, substitute written confirmation from the Scheduling Office and include the name and contact information for the instructor of the other course.)

In the case of an official off-campus trip, attach written explanation by the relevant campus official for the necessity of your absence. In the case of absence due to religious observance (see below), you should also have already notified your instructor at the beginning of the semester.

If this documentation is in order and submitted in time, your instructor will notify the Course Chair, who in turn will arrange that you be notified directly by e-mail of the scheduled make-up exam’s location.

If you have a class scheduled during the time of a Math 131 exam, you are ordinarily not entitled to a make-up exam in 131. Rather, the instructor of the other course is supposed to excuse you from class and to make provision for make-up work there.

In case of an emergency, medical problem, or other unusual situation that prevents you from taking a scheduled exam, contact your instructor, who will evaluate the reasons and determine whether and how to allow you to compensate for the absence.

In case of a medical emergency, submit a statement from a medical professional.  While it is your right not to disclose any details, the medical professional’s statement must indicate that you were medically incapable of taking the scheduled exam. If advance notice is possible and not given, your instructor may refuse your request.

If an emergency forces you to leave campus, it is best to notify the Dean of Students (545-2684), who will verify the details and notify the instructors of all affected courses.

Final exam conflicts  The last regular day of final exams is Saturday, December 20, and an emergency  snow closing could postpone an exam scheduled toward the end of the period until TBA. Make your travel plans accordingly!

If the Math 131 final exam is the middle one of three finals you have the same day, then you are automatically entitled to a make-up for the Math 131 final. If the Math 131 final is at the same time as another final, use the same method as for mid-semester exam conflicts to determine if you are entitled to a make-up in Math 131. In either case, submit the requisite documentation.

If an emergency or medical problem prevents you from taking the final exam, contact your instructor and request an Incomplete. Otherwise, you may receive a course grade of F.

Contact your instructor about unexpected absence  To give prior notice of an unexpected absence from an exam or other class activity, you may:

  • see your instructor at a class meeting; or
  • go to your instructor’s office hours; or
  • phone or e-mail your instructor (contact information is on the Office Hours page at the Mathematics and Statistics Department web site www.math.umass.edu); or
  • leave a message in your instructor’s mailbox in LGRT 1623D; or
  • phone the Mathematics and Statistics Department at 545-2762 or, when there is no answer outside business hours, leave voice mail at the department number 545-4499; or
  • use one of the methods above to contact your TA.

If you are unable to make contact by one of these methods, ask a friend or family member to do it for you. Your instructor will make the final determination as to validity of the reason for missing work, as well as how you should make up the work.

Religious observance  If you will be absent from an exam or other Math 131 class activity because of religious observance, you must notify your instructor in writing, in advance of the absence, and at the beginning of the semester—within one full week of your enrollment in the course.

Homework problems  WebAssign homework assignments consist of problems equivalent to the ones from the text; see the list below. Most WebAssign problems are “parameterized”, so that different students get different versions of the problem. Exams will be constructed under the assumption that you have done these assignments. Your instructor may assign additional homework.

Due dates for homework assignments will be announced by your instructor and listed in WebAssign.

Logging in to WebAssign at http://webassign.net/  On the log-in page, give your…

  • Username: your UMass Student ID number
  • Institution: umass
  • Password: initially, your UMass Student ID number (change it as soon as possible, and make it something you'll remember but others won't be able to figure out!)

Two weeks after the semester’s start, you will need to enter your WebAssign access code when you log in. You get this access code when you buy the textbook + WebAssign package. Yyou may also buy an access code from the WebAssign site, but that’s more expensive.

Here is a list of the textbooks’ problems corresponding to the WebAssign problems. Problems marked * below are ones for which equivalent problems have been substituted in WebAssign.

Section

Problems

2.1

# 3, 4, 7 [& *using just the data, find best estimate you can for the instantaneous velocity when t = 3], # 8

2.2

# 4, 7, 8, 19, 22, 27, 28, 34, 40

2.3

# 1, 6, 15, 18, 23, 36, 40*, 46, 47, 61

2.4

# 2, 7, 9, 13, 15*, 16*

2.5

# 3, 9, 11*, 14*, 30, 33, 37, 40, 41, 48*, 61

2.6

# 3, 17, 20, 22, 25, 32, 33, 40, 42, 51*

In 2.7–2.8:

use methods from text and not “derivative rules” you may have learned elsewhere!

2.7

# 4, 9, 10, 14, 15, 23, 26, 27, 30, 34, 41, 52

2.8

# 4, 23, 28, 32, 35, 42, 46, 51*

3.1

# 7, 8, 11, 24, 25, 31, 36*, 40, 45, 46, 51, 66, 75; also:
use the definition of derivative (as a limit) to prove that the derivative of the difference of two functions is the difference of their derivatives

3.2

# 4 , 5, 10, 15, 17, 20, 26, 27, 32, 41, 46, 50

3.3

# 3, 10, 12, 17, 20, 25 (a), 28, 35*, 40, 45

3.4

# 4, 10, 14, 15, 20, 25, 34, 35, 44, 47, 55, 63, 79

3.5

# 7, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 24, 28, 35, 46, 54, 55*, 57

3.6

# 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 16, 24, 31, 32, 34, 41, 42, 49

3.7

# 1*, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 16, 20, 23

3.8

# 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 17

3.9

# 5, 6*, 8, 11, 13, 15*, 16, 31, 38

3.10

# 3, 6, 12, 15, 20, 28, 33, 35*

4.1

# 5*, 21, 23, 24, 33, 36, 50, 53, 54, 55, 59, 60

4.2

# 1, 6, 12, 18, 19, 23, 24, 30, 34*

4.3

# 2, 7, 11, 12, 15, 16, 32, 43, 46, 48, 50, 67

4.4

# 6, 10, 11, 12, 24, 28, 31, 34, 39, 41, 49, 52, 59, 65, 76

4.7

# 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19, 24, 32, 35, 47

4.8

# 1 (a), 3, 6, 12, 13, 16, 29, 31

4.9

# 3, 11, 14, 15, 25, 31, 36, 42, 44, 50, 60, 67, 72, 74

5.1

# 2, 5, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22

5.2

# 1, 6, 8, 17, 26, 29, 35, 36, 40, 48, 49, 53

Drops, Withdrawals, and Incompletes  The last day to drop with no record, or to submit a Pass/Fail option, is Monday, September 15. If you intend to drop, please do so as soon as possible; others may be waiting to enroll in your section.  The last day to drop with a W is Monday, October 27.

An Incomplete is possible only if (1) you had a compelling personal reason (e.g., serious illness), (2) your work has clearly been passing, and (3) there's a good chance you'll complete the course with a passing grade within the allotted time. Thus, failing work is no reason in itself for an Incomplete.

Copyright notice  Many of the materials created for this course are the intellectual property of the instructors. These include, but are not limited to, the syllabus, lectures, printed handouts, and materials on the course web site and section web sites whose intellectual ownership is not otherwise indicated. Except to the extent not protected by copyright law, any use, distribution, or sale of such materials  in any format—printed or electronic—requires the permission of the instructor. Please be aware that it is a violation of University policy to reproduce, for distribution or sale, class lectures or class notes, unless copyright has been explicitly waived by the faculty member.

Course chair  Prof. Murray Eisenberg, e-mail murray@math.umass.edu, office LGRT 1335G, phone 5-2859.