Mathematics 111 – Calculus I
Fall, 2008
The Course:
MTW_F at 12:00 in Manchester 016. This is section 85389.
MTW_F at 3:00 in Manchester 018. This is section 85400.
The Instructor:
Nathan Basik
basiknr@wfu.edu
(336)758 – 6067
Hours – Tuesday 7p-8p, Thursday 9:30a – 12:30p
Webpage: http://www.wfu.edu/~basiknr/
Prerequisites:
Other than high school algebra, there are no formal prerequisites for this course. The
most frequent difficulties students encounter with Calculus I, however, result from weak
algebra skills. Though there is no time to teach algebra in a calculus class, all of you are
strongly encouraged to take full advantage of ALEKS, a computer program for teaching
and reviewing algebra, to which you will be given free access for six weeks. (More on
ALEKS later.)
The Textbook:
The required book for this course is Calculus, 6th edition, by James Stewart. This is an
excellent text, by which I mean there are abundant and clearly written examples
illustrating all of the ideas and variations on which you will be tested. Therefore, reading
the relevant sections of the text will always be an implicit part of your homework
assignments.
The Content:
Calculus I is divided into three topics.
1. Limits – This is comprised of Chapter 2, sections 3.1 and 4.4, and a miniscule
amount of review material from algebra and trigonometry.
2. Differentiation – Sections 3.2 through 4.7.
3. Anti-differentiation (integration) – Sections 4.9 through 5.5.
Your Grade:
The grade for this course will have four components.
1. ALEKS – 10%. (More on ALEKS later.)
2. Homework (quizzes) – 20%. Homework will be collected every Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday, and evaluated on a 5-point scale (0, 1, 2, 3, or 4). The
first criterion will be completeness: 0 = no submission, 1 = partial submission, 2 =
complete submission. Then I will select one problem to grade: 0 = missing or
almost completely wrong, 2 = correctly solved, 1 = everything else. The problem
I select will usually be among the most challenging of the assigned problems, but
seldom the most difficult, and almost never the most formulaic. (If you submit
more than one sheet of paper, please staple them together in the upper left corner.)
On some occasions, instead of collecting homework, I will give an
unannounced quiz comprised of one or two of the homework problems. These
will take at most five minutes, and will be graded on the same 5-point scale as a
homework assignment.
3. Mid-term Tests – 50%. Every Friday there will be a half-period test. These will
be concentrated on the material from earlier that week, but might also include
material from earlier in the semester. The dates for these tests are September 5,
12, 19, 26; October 3, 10, 24, 31; November 7, 14, 21; and December 5. Because
there are 12 dates, two Fridays (I don’t know which ones yet) will not have tests.
That will reduce the number of tests to 10, each of which will be worth 5% of the
course grade.
4. Final Exam – 20%. This will be a departmental exam, meaning that all 111
students will take the same exam at the same time, which is Thursday, December
11, from 9a to noon. The exam will cover the entire course.
Your letter grade for the course is based on the first digit of your course average: 9 = A, 8
= B, and so on. The + and – part of your grade is reflected in the second digit of your
course average: 0, 1, and 2 = - ; 3, 4, 5, and 6 = no + or - ; and 7, 8, and 9 = +. The only
exceptions are that there is no A+, and that with F’s, it hardly matters.
How to get a good grade in this course?
This is any easy question: attend every class meeting, and do all of your homework. The
more interesting question is what to do when you don’t know how to do the homework.
There are several options. The first is to study the relevant examples in the textbook, and
continue struggling on your own to figure out the material. This is the best method, but it
is often not the most efficient. Once you have given it your best shot, you need a Plan B.
As with most other services, I would be skeptical regarding unqualified assistance. You
could ask a friend, roommate, or a guy down the hall in the dorm who took Calculus last
year. A better option, though, is the Math Center. This is a free, walk-in, first-come firstserve clinic staffed by math graduate students and undergraduate majors. I’ll give you the
location and hours as soon as I get them.
Your final option, and one I hope all of you will use frequently, is me. Since typing
mathematical notation is tedious, I won’t be able to help you very much by e-mail. But
I’ve tried to schedule my office hours to avoid conflicts with your other classes, and I
strongly encourage all of you to take full advantage of them.
Miscellaneous Course Policies
1. Attendance – I know from long experience there is a strong correlation between
attendance and grades. For that reason, I’m always tempted to impose a
mandatory attendance policy in which grades are lowered for unexcused
absences. But a more powerful temptation is to treat university students as
independent adults. Therefore, my attendance policy is indirect: you will receive a
0 for the homework, quiz, or test that you miss. This ties in to the make-up policy.
2. Make-up policy – Other than for serious and well-documented cases, there will
be no make-ups of any assignments under any circumstances. If you’re not sure
about the “seriousness” part (job interviews, athletics, etc.) ask me.
3. Academic dishonesty – Cheating is wrong. Don’t cheat. The Honor Code is
taken very seriously by the Wake Forest University administration, and by me.
Violations will be punished in accordance with the code, which is available on the
WFU website and, I presume, in the Student Handbook.
4. Etiquette – Eating, drinking, and smoking are not permitted in Manchester Hall
classrooms. Mobile phones and laptops are not permitted in my classroom. Please
turn them off and keep them out of sight. Equally important, do not talk when
anyone else is talking. This applies not only when I’m speaking, but also when
one of your classmates is asking a question. If you have a question or comment,
please raise your hand.