Instructor:
Dr.
Karen Mortensen
247 Illini Hall, phone 244-4128, email kmortens@math.uiuc.edu
Current office hours: Tuesdays 10:00-11:00, Wed. 1:00-2:00, Fri. 2:00-3:00 , or make an appointment for another time.
Course webpage (requires password): http://www.cm.math.uiuc.edu/classcomm Your login is your university login and your password is initially the same; please change your password.
Textbook: There is no book. You will need to purchase the cd "Calculus & Mathematica". Purchase of the Mathematica software itself is not needed unless you wish to work on a computer that doesn't have it. (If so, you can purchase the student version or possibly lease a copy from CITES).
Classroom Assistant: Amir Mohd Ghazali (mohd@uiuc.edu). Amir has had a lot of experience with Mathematica. He will be available to help you during class hours and will do some of the grading.
Calculus & Mathematica format: You will spend most of your class time working in the computer lab, in a group with other students. Rather than listening to a lecture, most days you will be working through the material found on your cd, using the software Mathematica. THis software facilitates experimenting with mathematics and visualizing mathematics. The instructor and the classroom assistant will be available to help you as you work through the material on the computer.
Class Attendance: Class attendance is very important, since you will gain so much from working with a group and consulting with the instructor and classroom assistant. Students sometimes try to do the work by themselves at home, but this is rarely successful. For your own sake, I urge you to come to class and work with others.
Exam dates: There
will be three exams during the semester and a final exam. These exams
will be done with pencil and paper; calculators and Mathematica will not
be used for the exams. The dates are as follows:
Exam #1 - Monday, Feb. 24 in 241 Altgeld Hall
Exam #2 - Monday, April 7 in 241 Altgeld Hall
Exam #3 - Monday, May 5 in 241 Altgeld Hall
Final Exam - Friday May 16, 8:00-11:00 am in 241 Altgeld
Hall. Note: This is the last day of finals.
Please arrange any travel, etc., so that you can take the final on this
date.
Group problem sets: Problem sets from the Mathematica notebooks will be assigned approximately weekly. These are to be done in groups, using the computer. You can do much of the work during class, but you will need to do some work outside of class, too. Each group will submit only one notehook, using the ClassComm webpage listed above. Each group member will receive the same score on the assignment. Be sure that all members of the group understand all the solutions! At the beginning of the semester, you will be assigned to a group, but later on you may choose your own group.
Literacy sheets: Literacy sheets are paper and pencil assignments. You may certailny discuss these with one another, but each student must submit their own work. No credit will be given for papers that are copied from another student (since I can't tell who did the work and who copied, both papers will get zero credit). To avoid this situation, talk together all you like, but sit down by yourself to write up the solutions!
Math 190: If you have not taken it previously, you may register for Math 190, Section Q, number 05046. This is completely optional and does not entail any extra work. Math 190 is a one hour course which gives you credit for learning to use Mathematica. Your grade in Math 190, if you register for it, will be based on your group problem sets.
Course content: The course will cover Sections 3.01-3.06, 1.09, 2.04-2.07 on the cd.
Course grade: Your course grade will be determined
as follows:
Exam #1
10%
Exam #2
10%
Exam #3
10%
Final Exam 15%
Mathematica notebooks (group homework) 45%
Literacy sheets 10%
Course grades will be assigned approximately as follows: 90-100% A-, A or A+, 80-89% B-, B or B+, 70-79% C-, C, C+, 60-69% D or D+.
Important note: Your course grade will be at most one letter grade higher than your weighted average on the four exams.