Stony Brook Mathematics Department

MAT 126 -- Calculus B -- Spring 2000

	Index Announcement Teaching Staff, Office Hours Syllabus and Schedule Homework

Prerequisite: The prerequisite for this course is C or higher in MAT 124 or 125 or 131 or 141; or level 6 on the Mathematics Placement Examination. This exam will be given on several dates in September; check the Math Undergraduate Office (P-144 Math Tower, phone 2-8250) for times and places.

Course Coordinator: Anthony Phillips, Math Tower 5-116, (2-8290) Office Hours: Wed, Th 10-12.

Text: Chapters 5 and 6 of Calculus, Concepts and Contexts, by James Stewart, Brooks/Cole 1997.

Lectures and Recitations: New material is presented each week in the lectures. The recitation each week gives students a chance to review, in a smaller class, material from the week before. This includes going over difficult parts of assigned homework, and new exercises, proposed by the recitation leader, to be carried out individually or in groups. Recitation leaders can give valuable feedback to the lecturer. Try to make sure your recitation leader knows who you are!

Calculators: Students are required to have a graphing calculator. We recommend the Texas Instruments TI-82, which is widely available. Other calculators (TI-85, TI-83 Sharp EL9300C) are also acceptable. The programs we will use this term will be available for these calculators and others in the Math Undergraduate Office (Math Tower P-144).

Warning about Solution Manuals: Solution manuals can be of assistance in helping you to learn the material if used properly. If used improperly, they can cause damage. Here is the proper way.

• First do a problem yourself.
• Then use solution manual to check your work.
• If the solution manual disagrees with you, find a logical explanation.

Calculator Abuse: When you first see a problem, your first response should be to think, not to punch buttons on a calculator; otherwise you are suffering from calculator abuse. Students with this syndrome lose out in the following ways:

• They do not develop self-confidence in their own abilities to work problems.
• Mathematics is outside them, not part of them. You may have noticed that if you write down a phone number, you are less likely to remember it. Similarly, calculator abusers often find themselves with poor memories for mathematics.
• They do not learn to calculate well. Many courses in physics and the other sciences require students to be able to follow, and do, very complicated calculations. This is a skill, which takes practice and requires experience.
• They do not benefit from the calculator's ability to extend their capabilities (rather than replace them), and to give them access to a wider and richer world of mathematical phenomena.

Homework: Homework is a means to an end, the ``end'' being for you to learn the material. We encourage you to work on homework together with friends. In this course, we will never prosecute anyone for academic dishonesty on any issue relating to homework. If you hand in complete, correct solutions, you will get full credit for them, no matter how you obtained them. If someone regularly ``does'' the homework by copying from friends or from solution manuals, they are only cheating themselves, since this is not a way to learn the material. Homework is to be handed in at the recitation meeting the week after the material is covered in lecture.

Never be shy to ask us how to do a homework problem, even if you handed in a copied solution that you do not understand. We will be glad to help you!

Grading There will be two midterms and a final examination. Students are expected to ensure when they register for the course that they will be available for all three of these exams. The midterms will be given on Monday, February 21 8:30-10 p.m., and Wednesday, April 5, 8:30-10 p.m.. The final exam will be on Tuesday, May 9, 3:30-6:30 p.m. The final course grades will be determined as follows: recitation work (includes homework, class participation and quizzes) 15%, two midterms 50%, final exam 35%. There will be no make-up quizzes or midterms. If you need to miss a quiz or midterm, see your lecturer with a written excuse. Incompletes will be granted only if documented circumstances beyond your control prevent you from taking the final examination.

General Advice: In order to understand the lectures, it is essential that, before you come to class, you review the material covered in the previous class. This will greatly increase your understanding.
Please remember that mathematics is cumulative, so don't fall behind! If you are behind, you will find new material presented in lectures much more difficult to follow, and you will be forced to try to learn that new material on your own. This will cost you a lot of extra time. If you feel you are slipping behind, consult your recitation instructor or your lecturer immediately: get help right away!

Extra Help with Calculus: Your recitation leader and your instructor will be happy to answer your questions during their office hours. The Math Learning Center (Physics A-125/127) is open often, for extra help.

Complaints: If you have any complaints about the course, please contact your instructor first. If this does not resolve the matter, please contact the course coordinator. After the course is over, if you have any questions about your final grade, or if you would like to request a grade change, send a letter (not an E-mail) to your instructor, c/o Dept. Math, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook N.Y. 11794-3651. You will receive a written reply. These matters will be dealt with in writing only; that way, we have a written record of what the student says, and what we reply.

Special Needs: If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned course work, I would urge that you contact the staff in the Disabled Student Services office (DSS), Room 133 Humanities, 632-6748/TDD. DSS will review your concerns and determine, with you, what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation of disability is confidential.