Math 1b: Section 2: Calculus

UC Berkeley, Spring 2006

Final exam. The final is on 5/19, from 12:30-3:30 PM, in 145 and 155 Dwinelle. Here are some practice finals. These are copied from previous semesters and I haven't checked them for typos. I also recommend doing the review problems from the relevant chapters of the book, and carefully going over any sections (and trying unassigned regular problems in them) that seem particularly difficult. I will continue to hold Wednesday afternoon office hours on 5/10 and 5/17. If there is popular demand I can hold additional office hours before the final (please let me know when you would like to come). Note that the final will cover the entire course; roughly half of the exam will be on differential equations.

Second midterm. Here are some practice midterms copied from past semesters, and some comments on them. I also strongly recommend practicing on the problems in the book, including the review problems at the end of Chapter 11. (Solutions to the review and some of the other problems are now posted.) For the week of the midterm, my office hours will be Monday 1-4 instead of the usual Wednesday 1-4. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions. Update: here are the midterm and solutions. The test (especially question 6) turned out to be harder than the first midterm, and was curved accordingly. Here is the curve and score distribution.

First midterm. Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions about the first midterm. Some practice midterms from previous semesters can be found here. (I can't guarantee that these midterms are at the same level of difficulty as ours will be, and there might also be some typos, but these should at least give you some rough idea of what to expect.) For the week of the midterm, my office hours will be Monday 1-4 instead of the usual Wednesday 1-4. Update: here are the midterm and solutions. Here is the curve and score distribution.

Instructor

Michael Hutchings
[My last name with the last letter deleted]@math.berkeley.edu
Office phone: 510-642-4329.
Office: 923 Evans.
Office hours: Wednesday 1-4.

Head TA

Stephen Canon
1079 Evans

The head TA is responsible for managing all section changes, and enrolling students on the waitlist into the course. His office hours for the first two weeks of class are Monday 10-12, Wednesday 1-3, Thursday 3-5, Friday 10-12. To change sections you must see him in 1079 Evans and fill out a form.

Lectures (TuTh)

Lectures take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 in Room 1 Pimentel. In addition, there are the following discussion sections which meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (I will find out shortly about the question marks below):

TA's and discussion sections (MWF)

Textbooks

The textbook for this course is Stewart, Calculus: early transcendentals, fifth edition. Earlier editions have more or less the same mathematical content (I think), but some homework problems in the fifth edition may be numbered differently, changed, or missing in earlier editions.

The other required text is a book of "worksheets" which can be purchased at Copy Central. (As of 1/19 these were listed for sale at the Bancroft location. I don't know about other locations.) The worksheets contain practice problems which you will work on in groups in the discussion sections.

Homework and quizzes

Homework is assigned for each Tuesday/Thursday lecture, see the syllabus. Homework from a Tuesday lecture is due in the discussion section on Friday, three days later. Homework from a Thursday lecture is due in section on the following Monday. You can check your answers at the back of the book (if you get the wrong answer, try again!) but you need to turn in solutions, not just answers. You may work in groups but you must write your own solutions. Each assignment will be given a pass/fail grade based on completeness. The homework may be heavy at times. The purpose of the homework is to give you lots of practice doing calculus. This should be good preparation for the exams.

Some homework solutions wil be posted here after the assignments are due.

There will be a quiz each Wednesday in discussion section, except for the first week and the weeks of the midterms. There will be no makeup quizzes; however, your two lowest quiz scores will be dropped. The purpose of the quizzes is to help make sure that you keep up with the material. Mathematics tends to build on itself, so it can be hard to catch up if you fall behind.

Exams

There will be two midterms, in class on Tuesday 2/14 and Tuesday 3/21. (Note that Friday 2/17 is the deadline to drop a class.) The final exam is on Friday May 19 from 12:30-3:30. Calculators and notes will NOT be allowed for the exams. Disabled students requiring accomodations for exams must submit to the instructor a "letter of accomodation" from the Disabled Students Program two weeks in advance for midterms, and six weeks in advance for the final, so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Exam grades cannot be changed unless there is an egregious error such as points added up incorrectly.

There will be no makeup exams. However, because of the grading scheme below, if you miss one midterm it will not count.

Grades

The above four grades will be individually converted into numbers (between 0 and 4.5) that represent letter grades. (For example, an A corresponds to a number between 4 - 1/6 and 4 + 1/6.) Section grades will be adjusted slightly to account for the fact that some GSI's grade harder than others. The above four numbers will then be averaged to produce the final course grade. The lowest 20% will be dropped. For example, if Midterm2 is the lowest of the above four grades, then it does not count, and the course grade is

Grade = (.20 * Section + .15 * Midterm1 + .45 * Final) / .80

If Midterm1 is the lowest of the above four grades, and if Final is the second lowest, then the course grade is

Grade = (.20 * Section + .20 * Midterm2 + .40 * Final) / .80

Missing the final will result in automatic failure of the course. Official university policy is that an incomplete grade can be given only if a medical or other emergency prevents you from completing the course, if you have documentation such as a doctor's note on letterhead, and if you are otherwise passing (with a C or above).

Syllabus and homework assignments

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