Math 2720

This class will be run as a "Partially Synchronous Online Course." All lectures will be delivered as recorded lectures that will be on e-learning in the content section. The notes from these lectures and the Maple files will also be posted on e-learning. There will be twice a week synchronous sessions from 10:00 to 10:50 AM (for the 10 AM section) and 1:00 to 1:50 PM (for the afternoon section) on Tuesdays and Thursdays using WebEx meetings, sometimes at https://wmich.webex.com/meet/jay.treiman. You will usually be e-mailed a link before the class starts. The session recording may be link to elearning, but the writing and Maple work done there will be posted in the content section of e-learning. The files containing the writing will be in a format for Xournal++. There may be quizzes and problems to be done during these sessions.

The prerequisite for this class is calculus II, Math 1230 or Math 1710 at WMU. It will also be helpful for this section if you have had a physics class. We will try to include a good number of applications from science and engineering in this class.

You are responsible for all material in the text and all material presented in the lectures. This includes any material not in the text presented in the lectures or synchronous sessions and all material in the text that was not presented in lectures.  A list of topics is available. This course will mostly follow the order of materials in the book draft.

It is expected that you will spend at least 3 to 4 hours working on Math 2720 for every credit hour in class. Even though roll will not be taken, you are encouraged to check in with the synchronous sessions.

A list of expectations may be available.

You are expected to follow all university conduct policies.

There are some other university policies. you should be aware of.

The last day to withdraw is March 22, 2021. A tentative schedule may be available.

 

Since we will be working on-line you may use Maple as your primary computation tool. If you want to use a calculator, a TI-89 or TI-Nspire CAS graphing calculator is highly recommended. Many of the extra features of these calculators will be used in our work, including their symbolic computation abilities. The TI-Nspire CAS does almost everything that the TI-89 does, however, its use will not be supported by the instructor in this class

 

A good portion of your grade will come from homework and quizzes. Even though most of the lectures will be based on my draft for a book, I do not have a much of a problem set yet. Therefore most of the problems will come from the book by Barr. A list of problems to work from Barr will be on this web site. Although only some of this homework will be collected, you are responsible for all of the problems. If you have any questions about problems, please ask them in the problem sessions, via e-mail or by making an appointment.

All written homework will be submitted as a PDF file through a dropbox in e-learning. Submit all written assignments as a single PDF file containing the solutions to all of the assigned problems. The problems must be legible and in order of section and the numerical order, e.g. section 2.1 problem 1, section 2.1 problem 5, section 2.2 problem 2,... All pages in your PDF must be the same size. If a signed statement is require for the assignment it is to be the first page of your submission with a written, not typed, signature. Do not submit a zip file. Your name must be in the name of the file. Make certain that you have clicked the submit button for the dropbox in e-learning.

 

There will be on-line homework. Access to the on-line homework will be through elearning. For almost all problem Maple syntax is required/usable for the on-line homework. Unless otherwise requested, give exact answers for all problems. Last minute questions about formatting or what is going wrong may be left unanswered. Professors also need to sleep.

The on-line homework is not worth a large portion of your grade. Please do not spend too much time on it. The problems may require a lot of computation, but they are only the basics of what you should learn.

 

There will be assignments using Maple, a computer algebra system. These assignemnts will be in drop boxes on WMU's e-learning system. All assignments must be turned in through e-learning. Do not submit a zip file. More details will be available later.

 

Three exams will be given. The tentative dates are on the tentative schedule.

 

A final exam will be given. The tentative dates are on the tentative schedule. More information about timing will come later.

 

All exams will following the following outline: 50% of the questions are things you must be able to do, 25-30% of the problems are things you should be able to do, and 20-25% of the questions are more difficult. It is not uncommon for averages to be around 60% or lower.

To pass this class with a "C" you must demonstrate that you can do all the required material. Since I do not have much experience teaching without proctored exams, I do not know how to set a reasonable grading scale. A starting scale is: A 85%+; BA 78+; B 72+; CB 66+; C 58+; DC 52+; and D 46+.

The distribution of points for calculating grades is as follows. The final exam is worth 30%, each in term exam is worth 15%, and the homework, Maple, and other assignments are worth 25% of your grade. The on-line homework is worth at most 5% of your grade.