COURSE SYLLABUS – UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH (CHS) CALCULUS – 2014/2015 SCHOOL YEAR Teacher: Mr. Mills Classroom: Room 79 Class Meeting Time(s): Early Bird, 5th & 8th Period Contact Info: mills@freeport.k12.pa.us (Email) @MrMillsFHS (Twitter) Office Hours: 3rd Period – Audion/Room 79 7th Period – Room 79 Before School By Appointment Only After School By Appointment Only Text(s) Used in this Course: Calculus, 7th Edition | Stewart Calculus of a Single Variable, 10th Edition | Larson, Hostetler & Edwards Calculus, 9th Edition | Thomas & Finney Required Notebook: 3-Ring Binder (1.5” or 2”) Required Calculator: Either “TI-84 Plus” or “TI-84 Plus C” Graphing Calculator COURSE DESCRIPTION CHS University of Pittsburgh Calculus is designed for the student who is academically talented in mathematics. This course emphasizes the numerical, analytical, and graphical aspects of calculus, and it uses technology to solve problems, experiment, interpret results, and verify conclusions. Differential and integral calculus topics will be studied as well as the application of these topics. Students are expected to be able to work with functions both graphically and numerically by using both methods to find domains, roots/intercepts, and intervals of interest. Calculus presents the students with a variety of new vocabulary and notation, so the students will be required to explain problems and solutions orally as well as in written sentences while using these new terms. Students will have the unique opportunity to register for credit through the University of Pittsburgh (MATH 0220). All students will be required to take the University of Pittsburgh issued exams regardless of whether a student is completing the course for college credit or is opting out of the college credit. Passing the course will allow the student to earn 4 credits through the University of Pittsburgh. CLASSROOM POLICIES Classroom Expectations You will be expected to be prepared for class every day. I expect you to bring your binder & notes, completed assignments, and a writing utensil every day. You may NOT use a pen on any graded assignment. I expect you to also arrive to class either on time or early, and to be in your assigned seat, have your needed materials on your desk and be prepared to begin once the bell rings. If you repeatedly come to class late or unprepared you will lose percentage points off of your final 9-weeks grade. At the end of each class, please do not begin to pack up until I am finished teaching; the bell does not end class, I do. Leaving Your Seat You are allowed to leave your seat during classroom instruction to take care of any “internal” needs. These needs include, but are not limited to, sharpening a pencil, getting a tissue, getting a pencil-top eraser, getting notebook paper, etc. However, if you need to take care of any “external” needs that would require you to leave the classroom, you must have an emergency or a valid reason. Any student leaving this classroom must raise their hand to ask permission and must sign out the pass in the back of the room. Failure to comply means failure to leave the room. Classroom Etiquette Because Room 79 is my “home” each day, I ask that you respect this room as such. You may not use the phone, write on the white boards or be behind my desk unless given permission. Don’t write on the desks and do not store your things in my room overnight. Having respect each other’s personal space is expected. Use of foul language or inappropriate conversations won’t be tolerated. You are allowed to have food and drink and chew gum in this classroom as long it is not a distraction for yourself or others. If I determine that this privilege is being abused in any way, it will quickly disappear. Cell Phone Policy Appropriate use of a cell phone is allowed during instruction in my classroom. You may use your cell phone during instruction to look up facts about a current topic being covered, do more research, or use a math application. However, use of a cell phone during instruction for social media, gaming, music, or any use of the camera is NOT allowed. If you are caught using your phone inappropriately during instruciton, I will send you directly to the office for insubordination. This is a zero tolerance policy. ***All other rules outlined in the Student Handbook will also be enforced (including the dress code and backpack policies). ACADEMIC POLICIES Grading Policy I will use the grading scale established by the Freeport Area School District: A B C D F FASD Grading Scale = 91% − 100%........................ Expert Knowledge Shown = 81% − 90% ..................... Proficient Knowledge Shown = 70% − 80% ..................... Sufficient Knowledge Shown = 60% − 69% ....................... Limited Knowledge Shown = 59% & Below ........................... No Knowledge Shown Grades will be calculated each nine weeks by a weighted system of grading. (Please see below) The year-end grade will be the average of your four 9-weeks grades. Grading Weights Homework ......................... 30% Quizzes .............................. 40% Exams ................................ 30% It should be noted that bonus does not exist in my classroom. Bonus opportunities take away your responsibility to perform at your best all year long. If you find yourself struggling at any point, make it a priority to see me for help right away. Ask for help while your feet can still touch the bottom of the pool; don’t wait until you are treading water in the deep end. Problem Sets Practicing problems and mastering mathematical processes are both important factors in your success in math and in this course. Therefore, I am going to expect you to complete problem sets for each lesson that is taught. Daily and weekend problem sets should be expected for this course. Problem sets will be categorized into two types: BLUE and GOLD. Blue problem sets will be the first problem set given after a lesson and will be graded for completion. Gold problem sets will be the second (or third, etc.) problem set given after a lesson and will be graded in a variety of ways for correctness. Problem sets will mostly likely be 10-15 problems each. I am expecting collaboration for these problem sets and I encourage PRODUCTIVE collaboration rather than cheating. If you do the problems in study hall the day that it is due or use someone else’s work to just “get it done”, I can promise that you won’t do well on quizzes or exams. Assignment Headings Please put a heading on each assignment or assessment you complete in this class. As a senior or junior in high school, I shouldn’t have to tell you to put your name, the date and your period on top of any assignment you turn in to me. Exam and Quiz Retakes During the course of the year, if a student earns a failing grade on a quiz or exam, he/she MAY be given an opportunity to retake a comparable assessment within a few days of the original or make corrections to the mistakes made on the original, per the teacher’s discretion. The new grade will either be an average of the two percentages or a specified percent of the corrections will be added to the original score, as per the teacher’s discretion. Make-Up Work If you are absent it is your responsibility to check for missed assignments and notes. My only responsibility is to know that you were absent on any given day, not to nag you for missed work. I update my twitter account (@MrMillsFHS) daily with homework updates, helpful hints, and reminders. Any note sheets or problem sets that you may have missed will be in the shelves in the front of the room and will be marked accordingly. As per school policy, you will be given the same amount of days you missed to make-up any missed work. That is, if absent for three days, you must make up any work or an exam within three days of your return. Gold problem sets that are turned in after the allotted time will not receive full credit. Blue problem sets will receive a zero if they are late. Make-up exams/quizzes will not be given during your assigned class period, so it is your responsibility to set up a time with me to make-up your exam/quiz. Please note: if you are absent only on the day of a quiz or exam, you will be required to complete the assessment on the day of your return out of fairness to your classmates. Cheating and Academic Integrity Cheating in any form is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating includes but is not restricted to: cheat sheets of any kind, wandering eyes during an exam/quiz, claiming someone else’s work as your own, and sharing exam or quiz questions. Any work that is completed through the means of cheating would be a breach of academic integrity and will be given zero credit. Calculators The required calculator for this course is the TI-84 Plus or TI-84 Plus C graphing calculator or something comparable (see Mr. Mills). We have TI-84 Plus calculators in the classroom that will only be loaned out for personal use in certain situations. We will use the calculators as much as we can and whenever it is appropriate. Some examples of calculator use in this class will include: graphing functions, finding roots of functions, finding the derivative and integral of a given function, finding area under a given curve, using the “summation()”, “NDeriv()” and “fnInt()” function, and finding minimum and maximum values of a function. Calculators will also be used to explore ideas such as the continuity of a function, derivatives and concavity. We will use calculators to verify results usually done on paper like discontinuity at a given point, investigation of inflection points and area under curves. Office Hours and Tutoring Office hours are to be used to ask for help on problem sets or preparation for a quiz or exam. Tutoring can be requested on an individual basis, but my availability may be limited. I am here to help you, not make your life miserable. See the beginning of the syllabus for when I will be available. If a certain class deems it necessary, I will be more than happy to hold a group study session on a given evening.