Basic Info

Instructor: Dave Feldman
Email: you can figure it out
Office: Second Floor, Turrets Annex
Office Hours: By appointment.
TAs: Corrie Ingall, Ian Medeiros
Help Sessions: TBD

Course Goals


  1. I want to help you improve your problem solving skills, and mathematical confidence, and overall ability to use mathematics.
  2. I want you to understand and know how to use partial derivatives, directional derivatives, double and triple integrals, and their applications.
  3. I want you to gain experience using a computer to help you do mathematics.
  4. I want you to understand and know how to use the main elements of vector calculus: the divergence, gradient, and curl; line and surface integrals; and Greens Theorem, Stokes Theorem, and the Divergence Theorem.
  5. I want you to have fun while working hard and learning a lot.

Textbook

William McCallum, et al. Calculus: Multivariable, 4th Edition. J. Wiley. 2004. ISBN: 978-0-471-48480-6. Note that this not the most current edition of the book. On amazon you can get used copies of the book for around five dollars.

When ordering the book, but sure that the ISBN is correct. The ISBN is different for every edition of a book. So the ISBN is the best way to make sure that you are getting the edition and version of the book that you want. Note that this can be especially tricky for Calculus, as there are many different versions of the book (multi-variable, single-variable, etc) written by the same authors, and there are also multiple editions of each. Use the ISBN, however, and you can't go wrong.

Evaluation

Your evaluation will be based on weekly homework assignments. There will be to parts to these assignments: problems from the text that you'll put in my mailbox and problems from WebWorK that you'll do online. There may also be a final synthetic problem set or in-class exercise.

I recommend against grades; I believe they are more likely than not to interfere with genuine, reflective learning. However, I will assign grades (for those who so opt) by following the guidelines in the COA Course Catalog. I do not have any quota of A's, B's, etc.

Policies and Details

  1. Homework will be due Fridays at the end of the day. More than one unexcused late homework assignment will result in me mentioning this in your narrative evaluation and may result in a lowering of your grade.
  2. You are strongly encouraged to work together on homework. You can also consult me, other faculty, friends, and family. However, the homework you hand in should represent your own understanding.
  3. Unless students prefer otherwise, I do not plan on giving any exams in this class. If there is time, however, I would like to give a final, synthetic problem set. Let's revisit this at the midterm evaluation for the course.
  4. You'll want a calculator that can handle scientific notation, trigonometry, and logarithms. There's no need to buy an expensive graphing calculator.
  5. We will be making use of WolframAlpha to help us learn and do math.
  6. I will be sending out class info via email. Thus, it's important that you check your email.
  7. Academic misconduct—cheating, plagarizing, etc.—is bad. Any cases of academic misconduct may result in a judicial hearing. Possible consequences range from failure of the assignment to expulsion.
  8. A more informal description and some advice about the course can be found here.