Instructor: | Jonathan Rogness | |
Office: | Vincent Hall 4 | |
Phone: | 612-625-2861 | |
Email: | rogness@math.umn.edu (By far the best way to reach me!) | |
Web Page: | http://www.math.umn.edu/~rogness/ | |
Course Page: | http://www.math.umn.edu/~rogness/math3283w/ |
The fastest, most reliable way to reach me is via email. Occasionally I get a deluge of email, but anything with "3283" in the subject line will get tagged as a high priority message.
Please note: I have two different offices on campus. My "department office" is Vincent 431, and I am rarely there. My regular office is in the Vincent 4 suite of MathCEP offices. Unless announced otherwise, office hours will be held in Vincent 4. There is generally a student worker at the desk just inside the door who can point you in my direction.
Course Description: |
Math 3283W is a "bridge" course between lower division mathematics course and upper division proof-oriented ones. The specific material chosen by our department for its bridge course is a
careful study of sequences and series, but the real goal of the course is to make you comfortable with the techniques and language of mathematical proof. Sequences and series are important
foundations for the branch of mathematics known as "Analysis" -- hence our use of an Analysis textbook. But the heart of any analysis course out of this text would be the chapters on differentiation
and integration, and we won't cover those chapters at all.
We will begin with Chapters 1 through 3, which contain important background material for any upper division course in this department, from Analysis or Abstract Algebra. Sequences and Series are covered in Chapters 4 and 8. We will also discuss parts of Chapter 5 before the semester ends. |
Prerequisites: | You should have either earned a C- or better, or be currently enrolled, in Math 2243, 2263, 2373 or 2374. |
Textbook: | Analysis: With an Introduction to Proof, Fourth Edition, by Steven R. Lay. (Required) |
Homework: |
Homework will be due Thursday every week at the beginning of your discussion section. Assignments will generally have three types of problems:
You will not know beforehand which problems will be graded and which will count towards completion. Assignments will generally be worth 35 points, although minor variations may occur during the semester. Also see the important remark about writing problems in the grading scheme section below. A note on academic honesty: In past semesters, large numbers of 3283W students in have handed in solutions taken more-or-less directly from the solutions manual, which can be found easily (if illegally) online. This behavior is academically dishonest and not appropriate for students in a University level course. Such actions can result in a score of zero on the problem, the entire assignment, and for your entire course grade. We encourage you to work together, but solutions must be written in your own words, and not identical to another student's work, a printed source or an online source. If this behavior continues during this semester, homework assignments will be replaced with weekly, in-class writing intensive tests, which would be much less desirable from the students' point of view. |
Exams: |
Our three midterm exams are tentatively scheduled for the following Mondays, in lecture: 10/3/2011, 11/7/11, 12/5/11. The schedule or location may change depending on proctoring needs; any such
changes will be announced well in advance in class, via email and on the course webpage. The final exam is scheduled for 4:00pm-6:00pm on Saturday, December 17 at a location to be announced by the
department later this semester.
Make-up exams will only be permitted in extraordinary situations. (Think "emergency surgery," not "oversleeping," although I will be impressed if you manage to sleep late enough to miss an 11:15am class.) |
Grading Scheme: |
35% Homework 30% Midterms (10% each) 35% Final Exam Overall course grades will be at least this generous; I reserve the right to lower gradelines if a test or homework assignment turns out to be harder than intended.
Because this is a writing intensive class, you must earn at least a C- or better on the writing intensive problems to pass the course. Hence you should strive to average 70% or higher on these problems. (The C- gradeline may drop below 70%, but you should not count on it.) |
Other Policies: | We will follow all University and College policies regarding academic honesty and other matters. The most common situation involves asking for a grade of incomplete. Incompletes are given only in extremely unusual circumstances, and only if you arrange it with me in advance. Incompletes are given only if you have completed most of the course material at a satisfactory level -- at least two midterms and most writing assignments at a C level -- but some terrible, unexpected event prevents you from finishing the course. In particular, we cannot give you an incomplete if you simply fall behind in your work. |