Multivariate Calculus - MA225 - Spring 2014

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Course: MA225 C1, Multivariate Calculus
Professor: Jared Weinstein
TA: Elizabeth Fitzgibbon
Lecture C1: MWF 11 - 12, SCI 113
Section C2: F 9-10, MCS B23
Section C3: F 10-11, MCS B23
Section C4: R 1-2, MCS B31
Section C5: R 3:30-4:30, MCS B31
Office hours: R 10-12, MCS 227
TA Office hours: T 4-5, F 1-2, MCS 149E

Vectors, lines, planes. Multiple integration, cylindrical and spherical coordinates. Partial derivatives, directional derivatives, scalar and vector fields, the gradient, potentials, approximation, multivariate minimization, Stokes's and related theorems.

Calculus, Early Transcendentals, by Briggs and Cochran. The physical textbook is all you need -- I won't be requiring any additional software.

You must be enrolled in one of the discussion sections for the course (C2, C3, C4, C5). The sections will be used for going over lecture material and assignments in a way that is less structured than the lectures. You will be able to raise questions and see examples worked out in detail. All homework will be collected during discussion sections.

In this course, there will be new concepts rolled out with every lecture that build directly on the previous ones. Falling behind and then cramming for the exam is seriously discouraged. The homework assignments are in place to make sure you are keeping pace with the lectures.

Homework assignments are due in discussion section every week, with the exception of the first week. The assignments are posted in the table below. You are allowed and encouraged to work together on homework assignments, but you must hand in solutions which are written in your own words. Select problems from each assignment will be graded and returned to you the following week.

Your lowest two homework scores will be dropped, but in return, I am not going to accept any late homeworks, no exceptions. This policy is intended to accommodate emergencies, so you shouldn't use this policy to skip two assignments of your choice.

The dates for the exams are as follows.

You must take the final exam to pass the class.

The course grade will be based on the following formula: Homework 20%, Midterm I 20%, Midterm II 20%, Final exam 40%. I will compute this weighted average of your raw homework and exam scores to come up with a number, your final score in the class. Once everyone's final scores are computed, I will decide the cutoffs that determine letter grades (that is, the curve). Unfortunately, I won't know exactly what the curve is until after the final exam, since it will depend on the performance of your fellow students.

Sections take place on Thursdays and Fridays, so I've listed both as the due dates for the assignments.