MATH 112 - Syllabus


Instructor

Samuel P. Wilcock, PhD

Professor of Statistics; Dept. of Computing, Mathematics, and Physics
  • Contact Information
    •     Office: F328
    •     E-mail: SWilcock@Messiah.edu
    •     Phone: x7092
  • Education
    •     Garden Spot High School, New Holland, PA
    •     B.A., Messiah College, Major: Mathematics (minor: Statistics)
    •     M.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Major: Statistics
    •     Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Major: Statistics
  • Personal
    •     Married, 5 Children (Ages 5-15)
    •     English and Jewish ancestry
    •     Straight, Cis, He/His


Textbook

Larson, Hostetler, and Edwards, Calculus, Ninth Edition (Chapters 7-10)

  • This text can serve as a valuable resource for you throughout this course, and beyond. I strongly suggest you read through the sections in the book as we go to insure that you are understanding what I cover in class. Also, once you are out of the course, the text, along with your notes, can serve as a reference for you to look back to when needed in future courses.


Attendance Policy

Class attendance is not required, but is strongly encouraged whether in person or any synchoronous online meetings. Active participation with any class session or material will aid you in learning the material that we are covering, and is therefore encouraged. In addition, you should come to class prepared with any material you have been told to bring along and have completed any assigned readings or practice and watched any suggested videos. This may include having physical or electronic access to handouts, tables, calculators, etc. Late graded material will only be accepted with a medical excuse. You should also be aware that an announcement made in Canvas will be considered sufficient warning about any changes to the course including deadlines and assignments. It is your responsibility to check email and Canvas regularly to be aware of any changes that have been made. I will not reteach material during my office hours that has already been covered in another venue, but will gladly halp you apply the material.

Proviso

The instructor reserves the right to penalize a student if excessive absences from in person classes or synchronous class meetings are noted. If such a situation should arise, the student will receive one warning via email or Canvas message, after which continued absences may result in a lowering of the overall course average by up to one percent per occurence of unexcused absences. It is expected that this proviso will rarely be invoked.


Office Hours

My office hours will be by appointment only. You may feel free to come and ask any questions about course material or anything else you may need help with. There is no limit to how many times you may use my office hours, but I ask that you sign up for one slot at a time. I would rather you use these times frequently and ask questions, than not use this resource and therefore do poorly in the class. Please email with some time for me to see and reply as well as several options that work for you since I may have other commitments that affect my availability. Please do not email requesting a meeting in just a few minutes as I may not be able to be that flexible. Check Canvas for more information about my expected availability and links to sign up for times (regular semester only).

Before Coming

Before coming to my office hours, whether in person on virtually, please take the time to adaquately prepare. You should organize your specific questions for me. Also, make sure that your notes, text, handouts, or any provided resources (videos, Canvas posts, etc.) do not already answer your question(s). This implies that you should already have read the sections of the text that correspond to the topics about which you have questions when you come to my office. I will assume that you have done this already. Your work with the text should include reading through the examples in the text, and possibly even working some of the problems from the section/chapter.


Course Objectives

To build on the basic methods discussed in Calculus I. We will use the basic ideas of differentiation and integration, as well as the concept of limits, and expand the student's abilities to handle problems of interest.
 
To stress the applicability of Calculus to a variety of fields. Often the natural application of calculus to engineering and physics is stressed. I will endeavor this semester to show how the topics discussed can be more broadly applied in other fields, such as biology and computer science.
 
To enable students to see a variety of ways of looking at a problem. By the end of the course, we will see that there is often more than one way to look at a problem, and therefore, more than one way of finding a solution. We will discuss the process of deciding which way to attempt to solve the problem, and note that sometimes we can learn interesting things about the setting through solving the problem different ways. While each may yield the same solution, one process may reveal nuances to the problem that another may not.
 
To continue to develop the student's ability to use Maple as a tool to aid in obtaining a solution to a problem. We will use Maple, especially during lab periods, to aid our ability to solve, and visualize, a problem we are working with. We will stress the importance of understanding what it is we are asking Derive to do, so that we can be sure that answers obtained are reasonable. This will help to alert us to possible mistakes in the way the problem has been entered, so that these errors can be corrected, and useful results obtained.
 
To prepare students well for Calculus III and other courses in mathematics, computer science, engineering, and the sciences. When you are finished this course, a good grade should indicate that you know the material and are ready for any course for which Calculus II is a prerequisite or the topics and ideas learned here are useful.
 

Course Content


Chapter 7 - Applications of Integration
Sections 1 - 7
Topics: Disk method, shell method, area between two curves, arc length and surfaces of revolution, work, moments, center of mass and centroids, fluid pressure
 
Chapter 8 - Integration Techniques
Sections 2 - 5, 7, & 8
Topics: Integration by parts, trig functions and products of trig functions, partial fractions, improper integrals
 
Chapter 9 - Infinite Series
Sections 1 - 10
Topics: Sequences, series, convergence, special types of series, Taylor polynomials, power series, Taylor and Maclaurin series
 
Chapter 10 - Conics, Parametric Equations, Polar Coordinates
Sections 2 - 5
Topics: Conics, parametric equations, polar coordinates, area and arc length in polar coordinates


Class Preparation

Each day in class Dr. Wilcock will be introducing a new section (the only exception are days set aside for review or exams). You should look over the coming section to get the main idea of the section we will be looking at that day. Dr. Wilcock will breifly summarize the main idea or problem type, and the important theorems and definitions from the section. Then we will turn our attention to using these tools to solve example problems. You may find it helpful to go back and reread the section more carefully after class to better understand the topic(s). Dr. Wilcock will not be using the examples from the text, so the examples you read in the text will augment the lecture examples and help you better understand the topics that will be covered in the homework. During the assigned class periods, you should be prepared to focus exclusively on this course. It is also your responsibility to find the time between class sessions to come to class prepared for the day's learning.


Homework

In each section of your text, there are homework questions. I would suggest that you look over the questions to make sure you understand the material. After each section is covered in class a new assignment will be made available online on our WebAssign course site. You will have from 12:30 on the day of class until 11:00 on the next day of lecture. For example: the first day I will introduce Section 7.1. Homework 7.1 will be available online at 12:30 once lecture ends Monday. You will have until 11:00 on Wednesday to complete that homework. Each part of each problem is assigned a point value. You may resubmit the assignment up to 5 times if you do not get it completely correct on your first attempt. Since the assignment will close, you will want to take good notes of your work so that you can use them to study when it comes time for the exam on that material. Your homework average will be the total points you earned divided by the total available points.

Your homework average will count 10% toward your overall course grade

Labs/Projects

Each Tuesday we will meet in the computer lab to learn how to use Maple to answer the types of questions we are solving in class MWF. We will use the computer as a tool to explore further the concept we discuss in class. My philosophy is that the computer should be viewed as a tool to enable us to more deeply consider the topics that we are studying, but should never be a substitute for our knowledge. Each week there will be an exercise that should be completed by the end of the hour. These labs will be collected and graded. The labs will be worth 10 points each.

Your average on labs will count as 10% of your overall course grade

Exams

Four midterm exams will be given, and then there will be a comprehensive final at the end of the term. Each exam will be given in class, and no makeup exams will be given. For each exam, you may turn in the exam and leave when you are finished. The coverage and point of each exam will be as follows:

  • Exam 1 - Chapter 7: 15%
  • Exam 2 - Chapter 8: 15%
  • Exam 3 - Chapter 9: 15%
  • Exam 4 - Chapter 10: 10%
  • Final: 25%

Grading

Graded material will fall into the categories of homework, labs/projects, your "journal", and exams. The total points earned in each section will determine your percentage for that section. Each of these section averages will factor into your overall course grade with the weight specified for that section. This overall percentage will determine your grade, using the usual convention of rounding .5 and above up. The rounded percentage will be compared to the usual table (seen below) to find the appropriate letter grade.

  • 93 - 100 = A
  • 90 - 92 = A-
  • 87 - 89 = B+
  • 83 - 86 = B
  • 80 - 82 = B-
  • 77 - 79 = C+
  • 73 - 76 = C
  • 70 - 72 = C-
  • 67 - 69 = D+
  • 60 - 66 = D
  • 0 - 59 = F

Policy Reminder

Students who plan to take MATH 210, MATH 211, MATH 261, and/or CHEM 337 should be aware that a grade of C- or better in MATH 112 is required to enroll in these courses. Please see the full policy below:
 
For any {CHEM, ENGR, MATH, PHYS, or STAT} course that has MATH 110, 111 or 112 as a prerequisite*, students must earn a grade of C- or better in the calculus prerequisite course to enroll in the subsequent course.
 
*The {CHEM, ENGR, MATH, PHYS, or STAT} courses below have MATH 110, 111 or 112 as a prerequisite.

  • CHEM 337 Physical Chemistry (3)
  • ENGR 262 Circuit Analysis (3)
  • MATH 112 Calculus II (4)
  • MATH 211 Calculus III (4)
  • MATH 210 Fundamentals of Vector Calculus (1)
  • MATH 261 Linear Algebra (3)
  • PHYS 211 General Physics I (4)
  • PHYS 212 General Physics II (4)
  • STAT 291 Statistics for Math Sciences I (3)

ADA Statement

Americans with Disabilities Act: Any student whose disability falls within ADA guidelines should inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester of any special accommodations or equipment needs necessary to complete the requirements for this course. Students must register documentation with the Office of Disability Services (Murray Library, Suite 115). If you have questions, call extension 7258. Note: It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester. The instructor will work with any student who needs accomodations as long as they are documented by the Office of Disability Services, and the instructor is informed at the beginning of the semester.

Harassment and Violence Statement

Messiah College prohibits all forms of discrimination and violence, including harassment, stalking, interpersonal violence, and sexual assault. If I learn of any potential violation of our harassment, stalking, sexual assault, and/or interpersonal violence policy by any means, I am required to notice the College. Students may request confidentiality from the institution, which I will communicate to the appropriate office or the Title IX Coordinator (Amanda Coffey). Confidential resources are available on or off campus:
Engle Center Counseling Services (x5357)
Engle Center Health Services (x6035)
Don Opitz, College Pastor (x6520)
YWCA Carlisle (1.888.727.2877)
YWCA Harrisburg (1.800.654.1211)
Confidential resources can walk students through all of their reporting options, including making a formal report to the Title IX Coordinator if and when they are ready. They can also provide students with information and assistance in accessing academic, medical, and other support services they may need. (© 2015, adapted from Victim Rights Law Center)


Academic Integrity

It is expected that you are familiar with the Academic Integrity policy of the College, found in the Student Handbook. In particular, you should be aware that any use or provision of unauthorized aids on exams or other graded material will not be tolerated. This means that it is not only a violation of the policy to obtain unauthorized aid, providing such aid to another student is also a violation of this policy. If an offense is suspected, the instructor will notify the student(s) involved by email. Students will have one week from the sending of this email to provide defense of their actions. If no defense is given, or it is found to be insufficient to the instructor, then penalties will be assessed. On the first offense, no credit will be granted for the assignment. Any further offense will result in a failing grade for the course. There will be no make-up work given to compensate for either penalty. In addition, the instructor may choose to decline signing a drop or withdrawal request if a student has violated this policy. Students should carefully read all assignments to determine what is allowed, and what is prohibited.