Seth Case, PhD student, UW Madison Math Department

Department of Mathematics
Van Vleck Hall, Room 818
480 Lincoln Drive
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706
USA
case@[domainname],where [domainname] is math(d0t)wisc(doot)edu

In Fall 2009 I am teaching Sections 3 and 7 of Math 112. There is relevant information at the official Math 112 webpage. See the university timetable for times and locations. The last time I checked, both sections were scheduled for B211 Van Vleck. Floor B2 is below B1 and above B3. Do not use the elevator.

In section

You are expected to attend class. If you know that you will be missing class talk to me beforehand about what you will be missing. If you miss a class for any reason, it is your responsibility to find out what happened in class. I will attempt to give a brief description of each day here.

Please remember that the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask. You should feel free to ask me questions at the beginning and end of class. You may also ask any germane questions during lecture.

Review Session/handouts: If I host a review session information will be posted here.

These are not intended to be a substitute for regular studying. The problems distributed are generally ones that I have written, the exam writer had no direct input. Additionally all course handouts will be posted here.

Solutions to Assorted problems: Solutions may contain mistakes or ambiguity. Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions.

Office Hours

Currently, 11-12 Monday and 12-1 Friday. I usually assign two hours during the week that I will always be available in my office to speak with students. You do not need an appointment for these. If those times do not work with your schedule, email me a list of times that you have conflicts and we can try to negotiate an appointment. Please understand that my own schedule is somewhat limiting.

Your Grade

Exams will account for 75 percent (750/1000 points) of the course grade. However, they are much much more important than that. I have taught this course multiple times in the past and typically the course grades are curved to emphasize exam points. Furthermore the students doing well in section tend to be the same as the ones doing well on exams.

There will be 3 midterms, and one final exam. Midterms are worth 150 points each and the final is worth 300 points. (Actually, I'm guessing as to the actual point values, I know the proportion of your grade that the exams represent and the point totals discussed here have been used in the past.) The final exam is cumulative. I will not be the one writing your exams! I do communicate regularly with the man writing the exams, but you should be aware that different people tend to emphasize different aspects of core material when they teach. It is vital that you familiarize yourself with all course assignments.

As a study aid, I recommend that each day you read the text before coming to class and that after class you attempt to fill in the corresponding noteshells. I will not be directly lecturing from these, and so do not require you to bring them to class (or even purchase/print them). However, we will be covering essentially the same topics and in more or less the same order.

Exam times and locations: It was not my idea, but all exams in this course are given at night.

Midterm 1: ?:??pm Thursday Oct 2^nd 2008. Location TBA.

Midterm 2: ?:??pm Tuesday Oct 28^th 2008. Location TBA.

Please note that the drop deadline is Friday Oct 31^st.

Midterm 3: ?:??pm Thursday Nov 20^th. Location TBA.

The final exam will be held at 7:25pm Friday Dec 19^th 2008 in some random building on campus. Do not expect to travel before this date. Travel plans are not considered grounds for an alternate exam.

Section Grade: This will determine 25 percent (250/1000 points) of your numerical grade. It will be determined as follows:

150 points WEBWORK

(precise points to be determined at the end of the semester, in a natural way) and

100 pointsdaily assignments.

Note that Webwork assignments must be completed by the appropriate deadline (see webwork system). Deadlines will not be extended unless the math department experiences significant server outages. The daily assignments will be posted online (here). Note that Daily Assignment 1 is due by the second lecture, Daily Assignment 7 will be due on the eighth lecture, and so on (unless otherwise noted). Frequently this will involve writing something or performing numerical work to be turned in during the next class period, but occasionally these will involve other simple tasks related to the course. Some assignments may require email submission or other form of submission. Daily assignments will be equally weighted at 3 points a piece and then scaled down proportionally at the end of the semester (we will meet more than 33 times this year). This is similar to the way I will assign points to webwork assignments.

Final Grade: Grades will be curved to minimize the differences in section grades (to compensate for differences in instructor policy). It is your responsibility to know where you stand in this course. Your grade will not be maintained at an accessible electronic medium, and no grades will be communicated via email or phone. At the end of the semester final grades will be posted on my.wisc.