Math 1271: News and Announcements

o 12/14/05: As one student mentioned to me, it might be a good strategy to start with the hand-graded part on the final, because if you have little time left and only multiple-choice problems to do, then you can choose random answers for them and hope for good luck. But if you are left with a few hand-graded problems at the end, you will have to do real work to get any credit. In any case, good luck for the Final!

o 12/13/05: I have posted answers to the sample final from Michigan. Reload the class web page, if you do not see a link to them listed.

o 12/09/05: Coverage for the final: what is covered by Midterms 1, 2, and 3 plus what we have studied since Midterm 3. This includes Sections 1.3, 2.1-6, skipping the precise definitions of limits involving infinity, 2.7-9, 3.1-2, 3.4-8, 3.10-11, skipping subsections Orthogonal Trajectories, The Number e as a Limit, and Applications to Physics from Sections 3.6, 3.8, and 3.11, respectively, 4.1-5, 4.7, 4.10, skipping subsections Slant Asymptotes from Section 4.5 and The Geometry of Antiderivatives and Rectilinear Motion from Section 4.10, 5.1-5, 6.1-3, and 6.5.

o 12/08/05: Here is what one of our students, Nathan, recommends as an exam study aid. "I am finding the following site useful while studying for our exam.

http://www.exambot.com

"It requires some basic registration to get started, but seems to be able to generate useful sample problems on all of the topics we have studied."

o 12/07/05: I have posted another sample final, which we will discuss later on. It has turned out the old final exam in the Math Library in Vincent Hall is the same as the one I posted earlier.

o 12/04/05: Important information about the final exam: The final will be Thursday, December 15, 1:30-4:30 p.m., in the following rooms, all on the West Bank of the Minneapolis Campus: Blegen Hall 5 (Discussion Sections 11-13), Blegen Hall 10 (Sections 14 and 15), and Willey Hall 125 (Sections 31-35). You must bring I.D. cards and #2 pencils to the exam. Pencils are for the machine graded portion of the examination. You also need to know your discussion TA's name and your course and section numbers.

All students must have their official University I.D. card with them at the time of the final exam and must show it to one of the proctors when handling in their exam. The proctor will NOT accept a final exam from a student without an I.D. card.

o 12/02/05: The total mean on the third midterm was 65.2 out of 100.

o 12/02/05: A sample final is posted. The sample final will be discussed in class as a review, starting from Wednesday, December 7.

o 11/30/05: Hints on getting ready for the Final. Practice finals are available on reserve in the Mathematics Library in 310 Vincent Hall (the same exam which is posted on our class web page, though) and also at the St. Paul Board of Colleges in 197 Coffey Hall on the St. Paul Campus, see The Old Test File link for office hours. I will also post a practice exam by the end of this week.

A structured approach to getting ready for the final may be as follows. Review all the homework problems anew. If you see that you know how to solve a homework problem, move on to the next one. If you do not, sit down and solve it. If it does not crack, look for a similar example worked out in the text or your lecture or discussion section notes. Then do the sample final exam. Do not forget to time yourself. Then use the CD-ROMs that came with your text. Use the MathCue Tutorial to practice problem solving and Interactive Video SkillBuilder to review topics. Then search for sample finals, such as old or sample finals available in the libraries and on the web for Calculus 1 courses at other schools. When you know you may solve any of them earlier than your time is up, you may rest assured you are ready for our final. In my turn, I can reassure you it is not going to be simple:-)

o 11/21/05: I have posted solutions to Problems 5 and 6 on the Sample Midterm 3 along with the answers. You may need to reload the class web page or even clear your browser's cache, if by clicking the link, you get only the old Answers file, without solutions to Problems 5 and 6.

o 11/15/05: A sample midterm 3 (along with the answers) is posted. Reload the class web page, if you do not see the exam listed after Answers to Midterm 2. The midterm will be discussed in class as a review on Monday, November 21.

o 11/11/05: The third midterm exam is coming in about a week on Tuesday, November 22. Coverage: Sections 4.2-5, 4.7, 4.10, and 5.1-5, skipping subsections Slant Asymptotes from Section 4.5 and The Geometry of Antiderivatives and Rectilinear Motion from Section 4.10. As usual, the best way of getting ready is to practice problem solving (instead of merely reading the text): first, solve the sample exam, which will be posted soon on the class web page, then go over the homework problems again, then solve a selection of problems from the text similar to the homework problems. You may also use the MathCue Tutorial CD-ROM, which came with the textbook. You can be sure that you are ready for the test, when you are able to solve quickly any Calculus I midterm or final exam you can find on the web (within what is covered by our coming midterm).

o 11/07/05: The total mean on the first midterm was 59.19 out of 100 and on the second midterm 66.04 out of 100. I am very happy to see your improvement!

o 11/07/05: We are skipping Section 4.9, including the homework to that section, which was originally assigned on the syllabus. I am posting a corrected version of the syllabus.

o 10/24/05: I have added a reference to our TA Hande Tuzel's home page to our class web page. You will find a few sample exams and other useful links there.

o 10/21/05: Here is an excerpt from a message to one of the students, which may be helpful for all of you. "Yes, you have to know the derivatives of the trig functions and the inverse trig functions. I personally find it the easiest to memorize the derivatives of sin, cos, tan, cot, arcsin, arccos, arctan, arccot, arcsec, and arccsc, and deduce the derivatives of sec x = 1/cos x and csc x = 1/sin x using the chain rule. Most students prefer to memorize all the derivatives. There is a hint: it is easier to memorize these derivatives by memorizing the ones for sin, tan, sec, arcsin, arctan, arcsec and memorizing the changes you have to make when you go from these functions to the rest, such as cos, cot, etc. "There will be equations for the volumes and surface areas of solids more complicated than prisms and cylinders, if needed for the test."

o 10/19/05: Answers to sample midterm II are posted. Reload the class web page, if you do not see them listed.

o 10/18/05: A sample midterm II is posted. Reload the class web page, if you do not see it after Answers to Midterm I. The midterm will be discussed in class as a review on Monday, October 24.

o 10/18/05: I have to move the 2:15-2:30 portion of my Wednesday, October 19, office hours to 11:15-11:30, so that my combined office hours on that Wednesday will be 11:15-noon.

o 10/18/05: Formulas for volumes and surface areas of solids, such as the ball, the cone, the pyramid, etc., will be given on the tests, if they are needed. Similar formulas for simple solids, such as the cylinder or the prism, will not be provided, as they are obvious and based on common sense.

o 10/17/05: The second midterm exam is coming in about a week on Tuesday, October 25. Coverage: Sections 2.9 and 3.1-2, 3.4-8, 3.10-11, and 4.1, skipping subsections Orthogonal Trajectories, The Number e as a Limit, and Applications to Physics from Sections 3.6, 3.8, and 3.11, respectively. You will not be asked to do any proofs, such as the proof of the chain rule, on the test. However, knowing the proofs will help you understand the material better and put you in a better position in solving problems, which will be emphasized, as always. As usual, the best way of getting ready is to practice problem solving (instead of merely reading the text): first, solve the sample exam, which will be posted soon on the class web page, then go over the homework problems again, then solve a selection of problems from the text similar to the homework problems. You may also use the MathCue Tutorial CD-ROM, which came with the textbook. Another valuable resource is Calculus I midterm and final exams you can find on the web. I am not the only calculus instructor on the world who posts sample midterms!

o 10/07/05: For math lovers: there will be a Math Club meeting this Monday, October 10, at 12:10 in Vincent Hall 120. Victor Reiner, a math professor specializing in combinatorics, will be speaking on "Counting faces of polyhedra." It should be interesting and fun, Vic is one of the better lecturers in the math department. They will also have pizza and pop, as always. Everybody is welcome. See more info at the Math Club web page.

o 09/28/05: If you enjoy mathematics, you may wish to join some Math Club activities. For example, there will be a Math Club pizza lunch, on Monday, October 3 at 12:15 pm in Vincent Hall 120 (the enclosed part). There will be an information session on math competitions. The Math Club is also seeking input on organization and activities of the club. For more information, check out the Math Club web page.

o 09/26/05: Answers and solutions of selected problems to the sample first midterm exam are posted on our class web page. We will be discussing solutions during the review session on Monday, September 26.

o 09/22/05: Our TA Jon Peterson pointed out to me that the problem on the rate of change of the area of a heated plate on the sample midterm might be too hard for you to do at this stage. I agree. So, I have changed the sample test: designated the problem as a bonus problem, which means you should not spend too much time on it, although it is worth to give it a try. I have added another problem, Problem 5, on velocity. See the new version of the sample test posted.

o 09/21/05: There was a misprint in Problem 5 on the sample midterm. The question is supposed to be about the rate of change of the area of the plate, rather than the radius. I have posted a corrected version on the web. On some computers, you will need to clear cache to be able to see the new version of the test.

o 09/20/05: A sample first midterm exam is posted on our class web page. We will be discussing solutions during the review session on Monday, September 26.

o 09/19/05: The first midterm exam is coming in about a week on Tuesday, September 27. Coverage: Sections 1.3, 2.1-8, skipping the precise definitions of limits involving infinity. The best way of getting ready is to practice problem solving (instead of merely reading the text): first, solve the sample exam, which will be posted soon on the class web page, then go over the homework problems again, then solve a selection of problems from the text similar to the homework problems. You may also use the MathCue Tutorial CD-ROM, which came with the textbook. It is like taking a sample exam: the software gives you problems and grades them.

o 09/06/05: I will be on a meeting in England September 12-15. I have arranged (first-class) substitutions for the lectures on Monday and Wednesday, September 12 and 14. Unfortunately, I will not be able to hold my regular office hours that week, but will be happy to see you at any time Friday, September 16, when I will be back.

o 09/02/05: Welcome to lecture sections 10 and 30 of Math 1271 Calculus I! All the information related to these sections will be posted on the class web page. The only handout you will receive will be a copy of the syllabus, handed out during your first discussion class on Tuesday, September 6.


Last modified: Wed Dec 14 14:58:59 CST 2005