Academic Conduct: Your conduct in this course, as with all BU courses, is governed by the BU Academic Conduct Code. A copy of the code is available here.
Some rules are obviout ("Don't copy from your neighbor's exam") while some are, perhaps, unexpected ("Submitting the same work in more than one course"), so it is worthwhile to review the code.
If there is a "Golden Rule" of academic conduct then it is to "Give Credit Where Credit is Due". That is, if you use or consult a source, including a book, journal, web page or person, then cite that source (i.e., give sufficient information so that someone reading your work could determined what information you used and be able to find the source). The details of the form necessary in citation varies greatly from subject to subject and even from assignment to assignment.
If you have any doubt about any aspect of academic conduct, ASK.
Text: Calculus: Contexts and Concepts, By James Stewart, 4th Edition. (This text is also used for MA 225.)
Note that this is NOT the MA 123 text. We are transitioning to a new text book, but Stewart will be used for MA 225 next semester.
There may also be materials distributed via the course home page in pdf format. Make sure you can download and decode this format.
Grading Criteria: Your grade will be based on the following:
Note: THE FINAL EXAM WILL BE Saturday Dec. 17, 3-5 PM. DO NOT PLAN TO LEAVE CAMPUS BEFORE THIS TIME. The final exam schedule is determined by the University. THE FINAL WILL NOT BE GIVEN EARLY. If you have issues with a Saturday exam, please let me know as soon as possible.
Who should take this class: This class assumes a very solid background in Calculus 1 (Integration and Differentiation) equivalent to at least a score of 5 on the AB Calculus AP exam or a 4 on the AB Calculus along with some of the Calculus 2 (BC) material.
This course is considerably more difficult than MA 124, Calculus 2. We will emphasize sequences and series (the hardest topic from Calculus 2) first, then continue to the "enhancing" topics from Calculus 1 and 2 (e.g., more challenging problems, use of advanced technology, etc). This course is preparation for MA 225 (Multivariable Calculus) and MA 230 (Honors Multivariable Calculus).
Technology: You will need web access for course materials and you will been to be on the registrar's email list to receive course information.
You can obtain a student version of the software "Mathematica" from BU--see for more information. If you have never used sophisticated software such as Mathematica then you shoul definitely try it. At the least it will convince you why it is so important to learn the ideas instead of the just the calculation techniques (machines can do the calculations, so nobody will pay you to do them).
Help outside class: There are mony sources for help on course work (in addition to my office hours).
Common Questions and Philosophy: This course is Enhanced Calculus. It is assumed that you have a very solid foundation in Calculus 1 material and/or have seen a good portion of the Calculus 2 material. The goal of the course is to fill in any gaps in your background and to enhance (and hence refresh) your understanding of both Calculus 1 and 2. After a brief introduction, we will start at the end of the Calculus 2 topics, sequences and series. This material is generally considered the hardest material of Calculus 2, so we get that out of the way first, while we have lots of time. After that, we will study topics in differential and integral Calculus.
Study groups: I encourage you to form study groups and to spend some (not all) of you study time with your group. You may discuss homework problems with anyone you like, however you must keep a list of those you discuss a problem with and include that list as a reference. For example, at the end of a problem you can write--"I dicussed this problem with Jane Smith and Joan Jones" or " The key idea in this solution was told to me by Mary Kelp." Provide these acknowledgements even when you do the talking. Helping another person do a problem helps you organize your thoughts on the problem.
Be sure to "write up" your work on your own. While I encourage you to discuss problems with fellow students, you should work alone when you write up your homework. This means that while the key ideas may be the same on two papers, the overall organization, and the details of computations will always differ. Working together on the ideas helps everyone--copying doesn't help anyone. Repeated violation of this rule will be an Academic Conduct matter.
Evaluation: I must assign grades. While these grades will have little global importance (in 20 years you probably won't remember what you got in MA 127), I understand that they do have great local importance for reasons of financial aid, etc.
One way to assign grades is to decide that the top 10 percent will get A's, next 10 percent A-'s etc. This is standard, but to my mind, flawed. It assumes that knowledge is a limited resource. Since this is false (understanding can be indefinitely reproduced), I will not use this scheme. Hence, this class is not a competition.
Instead, I will set grade lines on exams apriori. (That is, I make up the exam, then look at it and decide "an 85 is an excellent score--any one getting an 85 or above should get an A," etc.) This means that everyone could get an A (or no one could get an A).
There will not be many A's. There is considerable pressure on faculty to fight grade inflation, however, I realize that this course is more challenging than other alternatives you could have taken.
Teaching: I can't reach inside your head and insert new neurons (and thats a good thing). Teaching means organizing and presenting the material, providing exercises which challenge you and evaluating your work. What you learn depends on what work you do--if you get a good grade, don't thank me, thank yourself.
When I evaluate your work, I can not look inside your head--I must judge what you can say and particualarly write. When I hear someone say "I understand the material, but I can't do the problems." I know that it means "I have a superficial understanding of the material, but I have not yet mastered it to the level which will allow me to do the problems." Be professional about your written work (there is no excuse for sloppy work).
Final comment: Too many students consider their courses hoops that they must jump through in order to reach a degree. This philosophy implies that you only need to keep the material in your head until the final. This is just wrong.
The point of taking a course is to change the way you think. Part of this is to aquire certain facts and skills used to solve problems and answer questions. It is also aquiring the ability to decide when to use these new skills. As such, when you look at a problem you should see it in a new way. This implies a change in your view of the world--a change in how the cells in your brain are wired and this change should be permanent. University rules do not allow me to hunt you down several years form now to give you the "final" (too bad), but I will do everything I can to make sure that these permanent changes occur.