Math 222, Spring 2005 1:20 MWF, B102 Van Vleck Lecture 4, Wilson

Welcome to Math 222! Here some details about the course. Check the course web site, http://outreach.math.wisc.edu/local/Courses/Math222/222spr05/math_222.htm, for the latest information.

· Grading: There will be two midterm exams and a final exam, and you will also get a grade from your discussion section. Each midterm exam will count for 100 points, the final for 200, and the discussion grade another 100. Your final grade will be based on your total score out of those 500 possible points. We will give you a “curve” for each exam along the way, saying what point scores correspond to an A, etc., for feedback to tell you how you did compared to others on that exam. Those letters should be consistent with the final grade curve, but the final curve will not be produced just by combining the individual exam curves.

· Exams: Midterm exams will take place in the evenings, so you can have more time and more room than in the regular class. Since you know the exam schedule now you should try to clear these times well in advance rather than waiting until the last minute! Midterm exams are scheduled for 5:30-7:00 PM on Tuesdays, February 15 and April 12. Rooms for those exams (and for the final) have not yet been assigned. The final exam time, Wednesday, May 11, at 7:25 PM, is the time given in the UW timetable: There should be no conflicts with that time. Requests for alternate final exam times will not be normally granted and, in keeping with UW policy, will never be granted for times earlier than the official time.

· On a separate sheet you can find the course schedule. The reading assignments should be read before we reach that point in class. The problems suggested are intended to let you test your own understanding of what you learned from each section. They are not going to be taken up for grading: As the saying goes, “Mathematics is not a spectator sport.” You only learn it by doing it. If a day does not have an assignment shown that does not mean we have no class!
NOTE: We are going on with new material just before each midterm, so you have a few days to absorb all the material that will be on the exam. This is not an invitation to cut class: We will not be going back over that new material!

· You are not required to have a calculator for this course. A scientific calculator might be helpful, if you are used to using it : Some of the assigned problems require you to do a significant amount of arithmetic. On quizzes and exams you will be allowed to use calculators, but the questions will be designed to be fair to those not using calculators.

· While the main goal of this class is the ability to understand and solve problems using the tools of calculus, that understanding may needs a theoretical base. We will definitely cover some theoretical material which you may be expected to answer questions on. If all you can do is calculate, a computer or calculator can beat you every time.

· The text for this course is Calculus, 8^th edition, by Varberg, Purcell, and Rigdon. This is probably the same text you used for Math 221. I think it is a pretty good book, but in some places it might be nice to have a greater variety of problems. There are many supplementary books available to help you, if you want something more. Some people get copies of the solutions book showing worked out answers to odd-numbered problems: This can be helpful if you consult it after you have worked a problem, to see how valid your process was, but can be quite harmful if you use it to find out how to do the problems.

· I will post general announcements, sample problems, etc. at the course web site, which is http://outreach.math.wisc.edu/local/Courses/Math222/222spr05/math_222.htm . In addition I will send email messages to the class: Make sure your email address is correctly entered through MyUW. The university maintains the email list based on your email address on record with the registrar and the professor cannot change your registered email address.

· My schedule, including office hours, is posted at my web site, http://www.math.wisc.edu/~wilson. My office is 411 Van Vleck Hall, where the telephone is (608) 263-5944. My email address is wilson@math.wisc.edu.