| ABOUT THE COURSE |
| BASIC INFORMATION |
| RESOURCES FOR HELP |
| TUTORIAL |
| TEXTBOOK |
| ASSESSMENT |
| QUIZZES |
| HOMEWORK |
| EXAMS |
| OTHER MATERIAL |
| GETTING HELP |
| CONDUCT |
NOTE 1: all course policies announced here are subject to minor change as the semester progresses!
NOTE 2: many of your other courses will use Sakai to store course material and communicate information. I only use Sakai to record grades. All course material will be posted on this site, and I will communicate information via your nd.edu email address.
About the course
Together with Math 10860 in the spring, this is officially a rigorous course on limits, differentiation, integration, and the connections between them. But you should think of it as a first course in mathematical reasoning for the strongest and most motivated incoming math majors and potential math majors. It's the course where you learn how to reason and how to prove. A major goal is to develop your ability to write arguments clearly and correctly. This is done in the context of an epsilon-delta approach to limits & calculus. Back to the top of the page Basic information
Back to the top of the page Resources for help
There are plenty of opportunities for receiving help during the semester:
Back to the top of the page Tutorial
You must be registered for one of the two Thursday tutorials, and attendance is mandatory. The tutorial, led by graduate student Sarah Petersen, speter13 at nd.edu, is an opportunity to shore up your understanding of class material, and to ask question that you didn't get around to asking/we didn't get around to answering in class. It's also an opportunity to discuss the homework, which will be due on the day after the tutorial. Most tutorials will involve a short quiz (see below). Back to the top of the page Textbook
We will mostly be using notes that I will be producing as the semester goes on, see Except for a stretch at the beginning of the course, my notes will follow very closely the material from the book Calculus, 4th Edition, by M. Spivak (Publish or Perish), ISBN-10: 0914098918, ISBN-13: 978-0914098911. I recommend that you get access to a copy of this book. There are only small changes between the 3rd and 4th editions of the book (mainly in the exercises), so having access to the 3rd edition would also work. We will (roughly) cover the first 12 chapters on Spivak in the fall, and chapters 13-24 in the spring. Back to the top of the page Assessment
Your final mark in this class will be based on a combination of homework, quiz, midterm and final exam scores. Scores will by recorded on Sakai Back to the top of the page Quizzes
Expect there to be a quiz during most tutorials, lasting 10 to 15 minutes. Quizzes will test your understanding of definitions, and will usually also involve solving fairly straightforward problems.
Back to the top of the page Homework
Homework will be assigned weekly, always due in class on Friday. Expect the homework to be tough! For the most part it will not consist of long lists of repetitive applications of the same idea; instead, most homework problems will require you to genuinely think about the definitions and theorems we encounter in class, and will challenge you to present your ideas clearly and logically. This may take some getting used to, but it is the heart of the course: while nominally this is a course in differential and integral calculus, it is in fact a course on thinking logically about complex objects, and expressing those thoughts clearly. Homework will always be posted here, and announced in class.
Back to the top of the page Exams
Here is the final exam (without solutions). Here are solutions to and comments about the second midterm. Here are solutions to the first midterm, and some comments on the exam. There will be two midterm exams:
The final exam is scheduled as follows:
Back to the top of the page Other material
Here is where I will post any material other than homework, quizzes and exams that might be relevant for the class.
Back to the top of the page Getting help
Mathematics, like all the other sciences, is not a solitary discipline. It is a collaborative, communicative affair. Your mathematical skills will thrive by practicing talking mathematics. I encourage you to take every advantage of the opportunities available to you to do this: I encourage you also to talk to each other. Share knowledge, share concerns, share questions. Back to the top of the page Conduct
Honor code: You have all taken the Honor Code pledge, to not participate in or tolerate academic dishonesty. For this course, that means that although you may (and should) discuss assignments with your colleagues, you must write the final version of each of your assignments on your own; if you use any external sources to assist you (such as other textbooks, computer programmes, etc.), you should cite them clearly; your work on the mid-semester exam and the final exam should be your own; and you will adhere to all announced exam and class policies. Class conduct: The lecture room should be a place where you should feel free to engage in lively discussion about the course topic; don't be shy! But non course related interruptions should be kept to a minimum. In particular, you should turn off or switch to silent all phones, etc., before the start of class. If for some good reason you need to have your phone on during class, please mention it to me in advance. Back to the top of the page
The Math bunker is located in the math library, in the basement of the Hayes-Healy building. It is staffed by upperclass honors math majors. It is a great place to get support for all aspects of the course. See here for an article about the bunker.
Here are some notes on what is covered in the final, together with some practice problems. In preparation for the final, I will have office hours as follows:
Mostly these will be in Hayes-Healy 132, but I may reserve a classroom for some of the later ones; I'll send out emails about changes (to times/locations) as far ahead of time as I can.