Goshen College > Mathematics

Math 213
Multivariate Calculus

Syllabus, Mayterm (2018-)2019

tentatively at 8:00-9:30 am and 10:30-noon
in Newcomer Center NC 12

Prerequisite: Math 211 (Calculus I) completed with a grade of C or better.

Professor Paul Meyer Reimer
Sci 011   ·   +1.574.535.7318 (ofc)
paulmr@goshen.edu   ·   +1.574.533.3995 (cell)

I don't have fixed office hours. You are welcome to stop by my office (SC 011) any time!

Here's my teaching schedule this term,

If you are off campus and want to make sure I'm available before coming to campus You may e-mail or text me to make a time to get together.

Do not worry that you're "bothering me" when you stop by! Every time a student stops by it makes a good impression on me, and I think "Oh, they are taking charge of their own learning, and are taking the class seriously!".

Paul Meyer Reimer
Sci 011   ·   x7318   ·   paulmr@goshen.edu
Office hours: M-F 1-2 PM and by appointment

Text / course materials

  • textbook imageTextbook: James Stewart, Multivariable Calculus: Concepts and Contexts, 4th Edition, (Cengage Learning, 2009). We will cover chapters 9-13.

    The cost of your webassign.net class section includes online access to an e-book of Stewart's textbook.

  • CoCalc Sign up for an account (with your *@goshen.edu e-mail!) on both cocalc.com and cocalc.goshen.edu! We'll use Jupyter notebooks for labs, and they're a useful calculation aid at any time! Signing up for an account is free.
  • We'll be using other software / web applications such as Desmos (2-d graphing), GeoGebra (3-d graphing), WolframAlpha [the paid WolframAlpha app is available on your GC-registered iPad for free if you go to the GC App Catalog], and perhaps others.
  • 3-ring binder to keep the handouts I'll give you. I suggest that you also keep notes that you jot in solving the webassign problems together.
  • Homework: webassign.net, class key: goshen 2202 5237.
  • Class website: with a general schedule, course documents, lecture notes. Follow the link and then bookmark (on your iPad) the site at people.goshen.edu:
  • Grades and reading questions: on moodle.goshen.edu.

Course Objectives

The core concepts / techniques of multivariate calculus include: vectors and vector operations, vector-valued functions, functions of several variables, partial differentiation, double- and triple-integration, vector fields, line and surface integration, and vector analysis.

You will be able to:

  • describe and use the core in analytic, numeric, graphic, and verbal contexts.
  • solve pure and applied problems.
  • use computer software to investigate and visualize the core, and solve multivariate calculus problems.
  • learn mathematics effectively by reading a textbook, completing exercises, collaborating with peers, and interacting with an instructor.
  • communicate mathematics effectively in writing and conversation.

Class activities, attendance, study

To get an *average* grade in a 4-credit hour course, you should expect:

semester May term
54 hours in class + 108 hrs out =162 = 47 hrs in class + 115 hrs out

Our class is *very* concentrated: Spreading this out over the May term, each day we'll meet for 3 hours, and you should count on spending 7 hours out of class on reading, assignments, and study. That's a lot of Calculus! That's a full time job! Make sure you take some breaks, and use weekends both for some study and some relaxation.

You are expected to attend class every day and to actively participate in class activities. You are expected to come prepared. This means that you should have read the book and be prepared to ask questions about the reading and the problems you are asked to do. You should be prepared to do problems and take part in class discussions and in class problem solving. Attendance is reflected in the 'participation' part of your semester grade.

See the page on Math-do, The way of math for more concrete suggestions.

Grades

homework 25%
exams 24%$\times$3=72%
participation 3%

minimum grade outcomes:

    A/A- 93%/90
    B+/B/B- 87%/83/80
    C+/C/C- 77%/73/70
    D+/D 67%/60
    F < 60%

I may adjust this scheme down a bit (e.g. 89% might end up being good enough for an A), but I certainly won't adjust it up.

Grades are intended to reflect the degree to which the mathematical content has been mastered - not the performance of one student in relation to others.

If you have reason to drop this course, be sure to check the deadline for doing so. If you think you need to receive the "I" (incomplete) grade, you must see me to discuss this option. An incomplete will not be automatically given.

Exams

The three exams are cumulative in the sense that material in later sections assumes understanding and knowledge gained from previous sections. Exams can only be rescheduled or made up under very unusual circumstances. You'll need written documentation and should let your instructor know ahead of time or as soon as possible thereafter.

Collaboration

You are encouraged to use all available resources in order to learn the concepts and techniques discussed in this course. In particular, conversations with other students and the instructor can be an effective learning method. Reading other books and web pages can be another effective learning method. However, copying someone else's work subverts the learning process.

For assignments, look at and discuss each other's work. But see if you can hide all such work and still work solutions on your own. You can't do this on webassign, but on other written work developed during collaboration with another student, give them a shout out, writing a brief acknowledgement (just as you should cite any sources you use in all your written work at college).

For exams, of course, you may not use any resources unless a specific exception is stated by the instructor.

Participation

Come to class prepared and ready to ask questions about readings, homework and other assignments..

The participation portion of your grade will reflect unwarranted absences (more than 2), as well as your engagement with class activities.

Attendance

Go to class! Seriously, unless you are half dead, go!

- Megan Taylor, Salem College, ’15

  • Class attendance is important. Don't miss out!
  • But things will come up in the rest of your full lives. You do not need to give me an excuse if you miss class once or twice.
  • If you know ahead of time that you will miss a class, let me know ahead of time.
  • If you find yourself struggling in class, 2 absences will be too many.
  • It is always your responsibility to find out what you missed. Class notes are usually available for you to review. But you should also also ask another student who was present or ask me what you missed that may have not made it into the notes.
  • For classes I teach with a lab component: Don't lightly miss any labs! Absence from labs impacts not only you, but also your lab partner who might be waiting to start / finish an activity if you don't show. If you must miss any lab time, you must communicate with both your lab instructor and your lab partner(s) ahead of class.

Beyond 2 absences I'll expect a note explaining your unavoidable absence and/or a conversation--It's best if you've intiated the conversation!--about the barriers that you're facing to attendance, so that we can brainstorm some solutions or connect with outside resources to reduce/eliminate those barriers.

Community Activities (CA)

2% of your grade in all the classes taught through the physics department is credit for your engagement in community activities. You may earn up to an additional 2% extra credit. See the Community Activities website.

Collaboration and Academic Integrity

You are encouraged to use all available resources in order to learn the concepts, skills, and content of this course.

  • Talk with other students and the instructor!
  • Form study and homework groups!
  • Discuss with others promising approaches to problems!
  • Go to the library and find books!
  • Ask a librarian for help in finding resources!
  • Find useful web pages!

Collaboration, and building on the works of others are how almost all academic work by professors, researchers, students, writers gets done.

However, simply copying someone else's work sabotages your own learning and hides the truth about what is your work and what is the work of others. So, it must be clear in everything you write and turn in what is your work and what is someone elses.

Academic Integrity

Academic dishonesty is any act that misrepresents your academic work or interferes with the academic work of others. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following: cheating on assignments or exams, falsification of data, submission of the same or similar paper without professor consent, depriving others of academic sources, or sabotaging the work of another. Academic dishonesty also includes submitting someone else's assignment as your own or helping someone else commit academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's ideas or words (sentences, clauses, distinct phrases or calculations) without quotation or citation. you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please ask. Assignments in this course may/will be submitted to Turnitin, which detects borrowed material and generates a "similarity report", for assessment of assignment originality, along with a probability report of AI generation.

The use of artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT) to complete assignments is also considered plagiarism when it misrepresents work as a student’s own words and ideas. In some cases, professors may allow or even require the use of AI for instructional purposes. Such exceptions apply only when a professor has given explicit permission to use these tools.

In this, as in any college class, you can protect yourself from charges of plagiarism by acknowledging your sources. This can take the form of the URL of a site you found useful, or a shout out to a classmate who helped you on a particular problem.

Academic Success Center

The Academic Success Center offers tutoring and writing assistance for all students. For further information please see www.goshen.edu/studentlife/asc.

Accessibility Accommodations

Goshen College is committed to providing all students equitable access to programs and facilities. Students who need accommodations based on disability should contact the Academic Success Center (ASC). Students must register with the ASC before faculty are required to provide reasonable accommodations. For more information or to register, please contact the Director of Academic Success, Michelle Blank, Good Library 112, mblank@goshen.edu or 574-535-7526. To ensure that learning needs are met, contact the ASC the first week of classes. More information at: goshen.edu/campuslife/asc/disability-services.

Schedule & Topics

  
1 May Wednesday

First day: 9:00 am @NC12

2 May Thursday
3 May Friday
6 May Monday
7 May Tuesday
8 May Wednesday

Test 1

9 May Thursday

and 1 PM in GL102

10 May Friday

Erica Snider: 2:00 Neutrinos, 3:30 Out and About in AD28
8:15 Meet in NC12; 10:00 Deb Detwiler funeral, CMC

13 May Monday
14 May Tuesday
15 May Wednesday

Test 2

16 May Thursday
17 May Friday
20 May Monday
21 May Tuesday

Please fill out a course evaluation (before 5).

22 May Wednesday

Test 3

Spring Semester classes begin

Drop-Add period ends 5:00 pm

Martin Luther King study day - no daytime classes, but evening classes meet

Science Olympiad (signup) planning 'n pizza, 5-6:30 PM

Science Olympiad @GC. Schedule and sign-up sheet

Midterm break (all week)

Spring academic advising - to March 27

End of in-person classes due to coronavirus

Classes resume online

Good Friday (no class)

Last day of classes
Please fill out a GC course evaluation.

Reading day

Image credits

University of Montana Flight Lab