Math 124, Calculus
Fall '98

This course is taught by S.P. Smith. My office is PDL C418; my phone is 543-2929; my email is

smith@math.washington.edu

My office hours will be held at the Math Study Center on Mondays, 3:30-4:30 pm. You can also contact me about an appointment if that time does not suit you.

The Final The average on the final for 124E was 55, and for 124F was 61. The average across all the 124 sections, which was 55. I have posted final grades for the quarter outside my office (and on the web if I can figure out how to do that). You will need to know your student ID number to see your grade. The average grade for 124E was 2.73 and for 124F was 2.86.

Happy holidays Y'all have a nice vacation now. And don't forget all that great math you learned!

Old Finals Click here for Fall 98, here for Spring 98, and here for finals from 1992-95.
Midterm 2 I have posted the solutions. The solutions to midterm 1 are here. The average for the first midterm was about 32 out of 50, and that for the second midterm is about 20 out of 50.
Other sites I have updated this recently. Check it out. There is a lot of calculus stuff out there: sites maintained by publishers, high schools, universities, individuals. I have posted links to several other sites which might be of interest.
Extra Credit The Homework exercises for 10/19 contain an extra credit problem related to question 1(d) on the midterm. The extra credit problem is posted here.
  • The textbook for this course is Calculus I, (1998-9 edition), by Neal Koblitz. Available at Professional Copy and Print, 4200 University Way NE.
  • The prerequisite is Math 120, or equivalent. You should be familiar with manipulating equations, lines, parabolas, story problems,
  • Here is a syllabus which will show you which part of Koblitz's notes we will be covering each week.
    Each week you should spend about 15 hours, in addition to the 5 classroom hours, reviewing material and doing homework. I will assign Homework each day that I lecture, and you should complete it before the next lecture. It will not be graded. Many of the problems in Koblitz have solutions at the back of the Koblitz notes. If you need further help consult your classmates, the TAs, me, and the tutors in the Math Study Center.

    Each week there is a quiz. There will be about 8 of these during the quarter, and we will use the best 7 of these towards your final grade. Quizzes and solutions

    Here's how to print off the Homework and/or Quiz solutions.

    Archives Here are some homework exercises and quizzes that were used when other people taught this course in the past:
  • Quizzes from Winter Math 124E (W98)
  • Quizzes from Math 124E (Aut96) . You will need a postscript viewer.
    Popular Errors I am creating a document that contains a list of some popular mistakes that arise in calculus. I have only begun, so there is not much there yet. But, please email me your latest error, and I will post it (without attribution, or course!) so that others may learn from it.
    Math Study Center One of the real assets available to Math 120/4/5/6 students is the Math Study Center. This is a place where you can work on homework and get help. I can't say enough about how useful this resource can be. It has extensive hours of operation (click on the highlighted link).
    Grading Your final grade will be determined as follows:

    No make-up midterms are given. If you miss a midterm for medical or other reasons, I will require documentation from a doctor, and your final graded will be computed by making the final exam count for 55% of the grade.

    A common final exam is given to all Math 124 students. I do not set this exam.

    The quizzes are always on Thursday, except during the two weeks in which Midterms occur. Notice, the first quiz is Thursday of the FIRST WEEK. Each quiz is typically about 20-25 minutes and worth 20 points. There are no makeup quizzes. However, we will drop the lowest quiz score, so you can miss one quiz without penalty. On all quizzes you are allowed a 5x7 note card of notes and your calculator. I will always make it clear in lecture the sections covered on each quiz.

    I will assign homework from the text together with occasional supplementary problems. These will NOT be collected or graded. It is intended as a learning exercise and is a good guide to the type and quality of quiz and exam questions. The homework is THE heart of the course and more than anything else, study time is the key to success in Math 124. I advise 15 hours of study per week, OUTSIDE class. Also, during the first week, the number of study hours will probably be even higher as you adjust to the viewpoint of the course and brush up on precalculus skills. Notice, this means that for most of you Math 124 will be a 20 hour per week effort; the equivalent of a half-time job!

    Maximizing your grade If you want to get as high a grade as you think you deserve, you should try to win the sympathy of whoever is grading your tests. Here is how to do this. Write legibly. Use equal signs to connect things that are equal. Use mathematical symbols according to the correct rules of mathematical grammar. Use words in English to explain things where the mathematics alone does not do that. Remember that whoever is grading your test probably has some 60 or more tests to grade (sometimes as many as 200); grading is not fun; the grader has little time to try figuring out what is meant; it is not the grader's job to decipher unclear mathematics; the grader wants you to make yourself clear; the grader is not telepathic.

    The Final The final is Saturday December 12 1:30-4:20. The exam for 124E takes place in Johnson 101. That for 124F takes place in Savery 239. You must attend the exam. You must bring a picture ID with you; without a picture ID you will not be allowed to take the exam. You may bring a 5-by-7 notecard to the final exam, and you may also use a graphing calculator.

    Please hold onto all of your graded materials during the term. This can be important when correcting any errors involving the recording of scores.

    Calculators A scientific calculator is required. It must do things like trig functions, exponents and logarithms, and square roots in addition to the basic operations of arithmetic. A graphing calculator is ok too. However, calculators that do symbolic notation are not allowed.

    Quiz sections 

    Section 124EA
M W  F  1430-1520       GWN 301 SMITH, S P
T TH    1430-1520       BLM 416 HORNER

Section 124EB
M W  F  1430-1520       GWN 301  SMITH, S P
T TH    1430-1520       DEN 315  CHAPPA

Section 124EC
M W  F  1430-1520       GWN 301  SMITH, S P
T TH    1330-1420       THO 119  HORNER

Section 124ED
M W  F  1430-1520       GWN 301  SMITH, S P
T TH    1330-1420       DEN 216  CHAPPA


Section 124FA
M W  F  1330-1420       GWN 301 SMITH, S P
T TH    1330-1420       BNS 117 ROSSMANITH

Section 124FB
M W  F  1330-1420       GWN 301  SMITH, S P
T TH    1330-1420       PAR 305  DUGAW

Section 124FC
M W  F  1330-1420       GWN 301  SMITH, S P
T TH    1230-1320       EEB 108  ROSSMANITH

Section 124FD
M W  F  1330-1420       GWN 301  SMITH, S P
T TH    1230-1320       SAV 315  DUGAW
    The email addresses for the TAs are:
    dugaw@amath.washington.edu
    jrossman@amath.washington.edu
    chappa@math.washington.edu
    horner@math.washington.edu

    Their homepages and office hours are:

  • Dugaw 2:30-3:30 Monday and Thursday in the Math Study Center.
  • Rossmanith Tuesday 4-5 and Wednesday 5-6 in the Math Study Center.
  • Chappa Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-10:00 in PDL C17
  • Horner Tuesday 11-12, Wednesday 4-5 in the Math Study Center.
    You can send me comments/feedback/et cetera by clicking my email address
    smith@math.washington.edu