A grade of C- or better in MATH 160 (Precalculus) or MATH 161 Placement.
Dr. Buchanan
Office: Chester 103, Phone: 872-3659, FAX: 871-2320
Office Hours: 10:00AM-10:50AM (MTu_ThF)
or by appointment
Email: Robert.Buchanan@millersville.edu
Course URL: http://banach.millersville.edu/~bob/math161
Calculus, 3rd edition, Robert T. Smith and Roland B. Minton, McGraw-Hill Company, New York (2007), ISBN 0-07-286953-4.
MATH 161 introduces the concepts and techniques of calculus, beginning with limits. Major emphasis is on the theory and applications of continuity, derivatives, antiderivatives, and the definite integral. The calculus of the trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions is also included. Upon successful completion of this course a student will have learned to
- find the limits of elementary, rational, and some transcendental functions,
- differentiate elementary, rational, composed, and some transcendental functions,
- apply derivatives to situations involving rates of change, velocity, and acceleration,
- apply derivatives in situations requiring the optimization of a quantity,
- integrate elementary, rational, composed, and some transcendental functions.
- Limits and continuity (Chap. 1)
- Differentiation (Chap. 2)
- Applications of differentiation (Chap. 3)
- Integration (Chap. 4)
If time permits other topics may be covered as well.
Students are expected to attend all class meetings. If you know beforehand that you will be absent from class on the day an assignment is due, you must complete and hand in the assignment prior to the absence. If you are unexpectedly absent the day that an assignment is due you must hand in the assignment at the beginning of the class hour on the first day that you return to class. If you know you will be absent on the day of a test, you must notify me before the time the test is scheduled in order to schedule a make-up test. Students who miss a test should provide a valid excuse, otherwise you will not be allowed to make up the test. No final exam exemptions.
Students are expected to do their homework and participate in class. Students should expect to spend a minimum of three hours outside of class on homework and review for every hour spent in class. Occasionally specific homework problems will be assigned for collection and grading. Students should submit all homework by the date due. Late homework will not be accepted without valid excuse. Discussion between students on homework assignments is encouraged, but homework submitted for grading should be written up separately.
There will be four tests and a comprehensive final examination.
- Tuesday, September 19, 2006
- Friday, October 13, 2006
- Friday, November 10, 2006
- Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Course grade will be calculated as follows.
| Tests | 15% each |
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Exam | 30% |
Tests and the final examination will be graded individually on a
100-point scale.
Quizzes will generally consist of two questions drawn from or based on
homework problems from the previous days' material.
These exercises will be simply graded correct or incorrect.
Thus a grade on an individual quiz will be either 0, 1, or 2 depending
on whether no answers were correct, only one answer was correct, or
both answers were correct.
I keep a record of students' test, homework, and exam scores.
Students should also keep a record of graded
assignments, tests, and other materials.
As an example of the calculation of the numerical course grade,
suppose a student's four test grades were 87, 78, 65, and 70 (out of a
maximum of 100 points on each test), the student's final examination
grade was 71 (again, out of a maximum of 100), and the student's ten
quiz grades were 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 0, 1, 1, and 0.
This student's test and quiz average are 75 and 
respectively.
The student's numerical course grade is then
The course letter grades will be calculated as follows. I will not ``curve'' course grades.
| 90-92 | A |
93-100 | A | ||
| 80-82 | B |
83-86 | B | 87-89 | B |
| 70-72 | C |
73-76 | C | 77-79 | C |
| 60-62 | D |
63-66 | D | 67-69 | D |
| 0-59 | F |
An undergraduate student may not take an undergraduate course of
record more than three times.
A course of record is defined as a
course in which a student receives a grade of A, B, C, D, (including
and ) F, U, Z or W.
The academic department offering a course may
drop a student from a course if the student attempts to take a course
more than three times.1
If we should miss a class day due to a school closing because of weather, any activities planned for that missed day will take place the next time the class meets. For example, if a test is scheduled for a day that class is canceled on account of snow, the test will be given the next time the class meets.
Math is not a spectator sport. What you learn from this course and your final grade depend mainly on the amount of work you put forth. Daily contact with the material through homework assignments and review of notes taken during lectures is extremely important. Organizing and conducting regular study sessions with other students in this class will help you to understand the material better.
No one can guarantee you success in this course. Your responsibilities and the instructor's expectation are outlined above. There will be no second chances, ``do-overs'', or extra credit assignments.