The textbook for this course is: Stewart, Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals for UC Berkeley, 8th edition (ISBN: 9781305765276, Cengage).
This is a custom edition consisting of selected chapters from
Single Variable Calculus, Early Transcendentals, 8th edition, by J. Stewart. It sells at a reduced price at Cal Student Store.
Using a different edition of the book is fine, but you would need to watch out for the differences in the numbering of assigned homework problems.
All course announcements, as well as lecture recordings, lecture notes, homework solutions or exam solutions, will be posted on the class bCourses page: link.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday there will be a one-hour discussion session led by a GSI (graduate student instructor), with around 25 students in each section. For the time and the location of the discussion sessions, go to this link. Also, the contact information for all GSI's can be found at this link (access requires CalNet ID).
General plan: On Wednesday and Friday, you will work together to solve key problems from the materials presented in lecture the day before. On Monday, there will either be a quiz, or on the day before one of the mid-term exams, a mid-term review (see Schedule below for the complete schedule).
Until 1/30, we will have online discussion sessions. For the Zoom link, go to this link (access requires CalNet ID).
The complete office hour schedule can be found at this link (access requires CalNet ID).
The office hours are your chance to talk to me or a GSI. You are free to visit office hours by any one of us, regardless of the discussion section you are in. In office hours, you can talk about any aspect of the course (questions about homework, course materials and so on), and beyond (for instance, what's after calculus?).
Until 1/30, we will have online office hours. For the Zoom links, go to this link (access requires CalNet ID).
Math 1B is a continuation of Math 1A, which means it assumes a good knowledge of that course.
A fantastic resource for reviewing Math 1A is the complete collection of video lessons by Alexander Paulin, which you can find by following this link and clicking on Syllabus, Videos and Lecture Notes. The most important topics to review for the start of this class are limits and integrals (especially integration by substitution).
In particular, the following are Alexander Paulin's review lectures from Fall 2020 covering the most important parts of Math 1A for the start of Math 1B (click on each topic to see the video):
For the complete day-by-day course schedule, go to this link (access requires CalNet ID).
For the complete homework schedule, go to this link (access requires CalNet ID).
Homework assignments are due each Sunday at 11:59 pm (PST) on Gradescope. For instructions on how to upload your work, go to this link (access requires CalNet ID).
Policies regarding homework:
Assignments will be graded on completeness (therefore, I recommend you at least attempt all the problems and submit your work on time).
In general, no late submission is allowed. On the other hand, your two lowest scores will be dropped, no questions asked!
You are allowed (in fact, encouraged!) to discuss the homework problems with your classmates, but you must write your solutions on your own. Make use of the discussion sections, office hours, Piazza, etc., but again, you must write your solutions in your own words.
There will be a weekly quiz every Monday in your discussion session, except for the following dates: 1/24 (due to remote instruction), 2/14 (a day before mid-term 1), 2/21 (President’s day), and 3/28 (a day before mid-term 2). For the complete quiz schedule, go to this link (access requires CalNet ID).
Policies regarding quizzes:
In general, no make-up quizzes will be given. On the other hand, your two lowest scores will be dropped, no questions asked!
If, however, you have to miss a significant number of quizzes due to an unanticipated circumstance beyond your control (e.g., COVID or other medical reasons), contact the GSI of your discussion section to discuss.
There will be two mid-terms and a final at the following dates:
Mid-term 1: 2/15 (in class), covering Sections 7.1-7.8, 8.1, 11.1
Mid-term 2: 3/29 (in class), covering Sections 11.2-11.10
For each mid-term, you are allowed to bring a 3"x5" card with notes written on one side. For the final, you can bring a 3"x5" card with notes written on both sides. No other notes, books, or electronic devices are permitted.
[Edited 2/15 for clarification] Only the exam booklet will be accepted for grading. Scratchwork can be done in either on the blank pages in the booklet, or on sheets of paper provided by the proctors (these additional sheets of paper will not be accepted for grading).
There will be no make-up exams, except under truly exceptional circumstances.
You can replace your lowest midterm score by the final score, if the final score is higher (see Grade and course policy). As a consequence, you can miss one midterm without penalty, no questions asked.
As per campus policy, you must take the final exam in order to pass this course. Please check the dates now to make sure that you have no unavoidable conflicts.
After each midterm, there will be a brief window when you can request a regrade. If you are unsure about making a regrade request consult me or your GSI beforehand. Regrade requests may result in a lowering of your grade. As per campus policy, final exams cannot be regraded.
[Added 2/24] To request for a regrade, take a piece of paper, write the problem number along with the reason for a regrading request, and give it to the GSI/me during office hours.
Cheating is unacceptable. Any student caught cheating will be reported to higher authorities for disciplinary action.
Grades are calculated as follows:
Homework: 10%
Quizzes: 10%
Mid-term 1: 20%
Mid-term 2: 20%
Final: 40%
Important grade policies:
Your quiz score, your homework score, your first mid-term score, your second mid-term score and your final score will be individually normalized so that the averages are the same. This is to ensure fairness when comparing scores from different discusson sections, as well as those from different components of the course. After that, your lowest midterm score will be replaced by your final score, if the final score is higher. This means that you can miss a mid-term exam for whatever reason, and it will not adversely affect your grade.
Your final letter grade will ultimately be decided by your ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of the material and the ability to apply it to a diverse set of problems. Broadly speaking I will be looking for the following criteria for each letter grade:
A-/A/A+: A clear demonstration that the central concepts have been fully understood; Computational techniques (and their many subtleties) have been mastered and can be applied accurately to a diverse problem set; A strong understanding of how the abstract concepts can be applied to many real world applications.
B-/B/B+: Demonstration that the central concepts have been reasonably understood, but perhaps with minor misunderstandings; Core computational techniques have been reaonably understood (but generally not key subtleties) and can be applied fairly accurately to a fairly large problem set; Reasonable understanding of how the abstract concepts can be applied to some real world applications.
C-/C/C+: Demonstration that the central concepts have been vaguely understood, but with major misunderstandings; Core computational techniques have been poorly understood and can be a applied accurately only in the most standard examples; Weak understanding of how the abstract concepts can be applied to even basic real world applications.
To be as fair as possible, the historic average of the class will also be taken into account. For your information, the historic grade distribution was roughly as follows: 35% A, 30% B, 25% C and 10% D/F.
Grades of I (incomplete) are permitted only in exceptional circumstances such as serious illness, and are subject to university regulations, which require that one have kept up with coursework until such circumstances had arisen, and maintained a passing grade on work completed. Incompletes will rarely be given for nonmedical reasons. To make up an incomplete, one ordinarily takes the final exam for another Math 1B class, taught by a different instructor, at the end of a subsequent semester.
DSP students requiring accommodations of special needs (such as examination arrangements or note takers) must submit to me a "letter of accommodation" from the Disabled Students Program. Due to delays in processing, you are encouraged to contact the DSP office before the start of the semester.
Piazza: If you have any questions that might be interesting to other students, a good place to ask would be Piazza. You will be enrolled automatically.
Your participation in Piazza is completely voluntary, and it will only be lightly moderated by the instructor and the GSI's. In particular, no important announcements will be made on Piazza. Discussing homework is fine, but posting answers is NOT allowed. Posting can be anonymous to your classmates, but not to the instructor and GSI's.
Student Learning Center: The Student Learning Center provides support for this class, such as study groups, drop-in tutoring and mid-term reviews. This is a truly fantastic resource. I definitely recommend you take advantage of it.
