Math 130 - Calculus 1A
Fall 2011

Tuesday and Thursday, 12:15-1:30, Levermore 305.

Catalog Description

A course designed primarily for students who wish to study calculus but have not taken precalculus, or those who would benefit from a review of precalculus. Topics covered include functions in general, polynomials, rational functions, tangent lines, limits, the derivative and applications to physical problems.

Text

Calculus I with Precalculus: a One-Year Course, 3rd ed., Larson and Edwards, 2012, Brooks/Cole.

You are also need to purchase a WebAssign license to give you access to the on-line homework facility that accompanies this textbook. If you purchase your textbook at the campus bookstore, then a WebAssign license will be included with the textbook. Please don't throw it away! There is another section of this class that is not using WebAssign, so make sure you buy the textbook for Section 001 (Bradley).

If you wish to get your textbook elsewhere, then you will have to purchase a WebAssign license separately. You can do so at a reduced price by following this link: http://www.cengagebrain.com/isbn/0538738103. Please note that this license includes full access to the textbook as an ebook.

Intended Audience

This class, when combined with the companion course Calculus 1B (Math 131), covers the usual freshman material in differential calculus. The two classes combined therefore fulfill the Calculus I requirement for the following majors: mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry and biochemistry. This class is also strongly recommended for undecided freshmen who think they might be interested in majoring in one of these subjects. It's also an appropriate choice for those wishing to distinguish themselves for advanced study in medicine, economics and business.

Although this course will fulfill a math/science distribution requirement for students not majoring in the sciences, there are other courses designed by the math department specifically for non-science majors, which would likely be more appropriate, especially Mathematical Modeling in The Sciences (Math 101 - Fall semester) and Mathematical Modeling in Human Affairs (Math 102 - Spring Semester).

Rationale

Calculus is the most powerful tool in the mathematician's basic toolbox. Its invention and development was also one of the great achievements of the human intellect and imagination.

The spectacular advances in physics since the 18th century could not have been achieved without the use of calculus. Consequently, many of the great achievements of modern engineering also rest on a foundation of calculus and differential equations. Additionally, the concept of a function, which is central to the study of calculus, underlies the very idea of the algorithm, and so plays a crucial role in the conceptual framework of computer science. For these and other reasons, calculus is key to the study of mathematics, science and engineering.

This course is only the first part of a sequence, whose logical structure is cumulative. Please bear this in mind: if you work diligently at this course, and make every effort to retain the information and techniques you learn as this semester progresses, there will be a tremendous payoff later in the calculus sequence, as well as in those subsequent courses in your discipline which make use of calculus.

Homework Assignments

Homework from the textbook will be assigned regularly, ussing the on-line WebAssign utility. Additional homework problems from the textbook will also be assigned, but will not collected for grading. All homework - whether in the on-line assignements or otherwise - will form the basis of quizzes, midterms and the final exam.

Quizzes

Most Thursday classes will begin with a short quiz, to test the concepts and techniques covered in the previous week. Unless you are told otherwise, you should expect a quiz every Thursday except on the days of midterm tests. These quizzes are an essential part of this course, and will account for 15% of your final grade. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Calculators

You should have a good quality graphing calculator for this class. No particular model is reuqired. The use of calculators is usually permitted on quizes and exams. Most smartphones have calculator apps, but the use of smartphones and other network-enabled devices during quizzes and exams is prohibited.

Attendance and Tardiness

There is no component in the grading scheme of this course for attendance. However, because many classes will begin with a quiz, you will need to come to class on time in order to get the best possible grade in this class. If you miss a class for a medical reason or other valid excuse, you will be given an opportunity to make up the missing quiz, but if you cut class - or arrive after the quiz has been completed - without a valid reason, your grade will suffer.

Extra Credit

Sometimes students ask me for an opportunity to improve their grade. Fairness dictates that each student in the class should have the same opportunities as everyone other student. Please don't ask me for special favors that will only benefit you.

Important Dates

Course Objectives

Students shall:

Lecture Schedule (tentative)

Date Textbook Section
September 1 Introduction, P.1
September 6 P.2, P.5
September 8 1.1-1.3
September 13 2.1
September 15 2.2, 2.3
September 20 1.4
September 22 1.5
September 27 2.6
September 29 3.1
October 4 3.2
October 6 3.3
October 11 3.4
October 13 Test #1
October 18 4.1
October 20 4.2
October 25 4.3
October 27 4.4
November 1 4.5
November 3 4.6
November 8 5.1
November 10 5.2
November 15 5.3
November 17 Test #2
November 22 5.3, cont.
November 24 No Class
November 29 5.4
December 1 5.5
December 6 5.7
December 8 5.7
December 20 Final Exam: 1:00-3:00

Evaluation

The final grade will be determined by your performance on homework, quizzes, tests, and the final examination. It is weighted as follows:

Last modified: September 1, 2011.