Fall, 1995 (MWF 10:00 in Physics L1, with recitations TTh)

Primary instructor: Evans Harrell, Skiles 134, 853 9121, harrell@math.gatech.edu

office hours: MWF 1:00. Note: Due to Olympic construction, the office location will change during the term.

Assistants: Conseil, Dixon, Murali, Baker, Vugalter

Your assistant is: meeting room:

TA office hours and contact information:

Required texts:

S. Grossman, Calculus, published by Saunders College Publishing, and A.D. Andrew et al., Calculus projects using Mathematica published by McGraw-Hill

Description: This is an advanced course on vector calculus. You are expected to be familiar with partial derivatives, the gradient, and maxima and minima in more than one variable before starting. We shall study constrained maxima and minima, Newton's method in two variables, volume and surface integrals, vector fields, and the theorems of Stokes, Gauß, and Green.

Grading and requirements: There will be four tests, on 10 October, 24 October, 7 November, and 21 November, and a final exam. Homework is required and will be collected every Thursday. Normally, the teaching assistant will grade one randomly chosen assignment in detail and check to make sure you did the rest. Some of the homework problems or close variants will appear on the tests, but other problems will not just be clones of the homework.

Computer projects: There will be two computer projects, one on Lagrange multipliers, due 16 October, and one on multiple integration, due 27 November. These must be done in teams of at least two, and your team must be registered (in writing or by e-mail) with Prof. Harrell at least 10 days in advance.

Determination of your grade. The weighting for the final grade is: each test 15%, computer projects 15%, final exam 30%, and recitation 10%, except that one test (15%) will be dropped from your average as an efficient way to cope with absences, illness, etc. (The computer will automatically determine the most favorable 15% contribution to your grade to drop, taking into account possible different test medians, etc.) There will be no make-up exams! If you mess up once, you will have no insurance against illness or personal problems. For the recitation grade you need to hand in the homework and work problems at the board. The median grade in calculus classes has historically been a high C, and Professor Harrell has always been in line with the rest of the School of Mathematics. To get a B you need to be somewhat better than the historical average and to get an A you need to clearly excel. D denotes poor performance. We do not adhere to a rigid numerical scale or a rigid quota for a given letter grade. We take a great deal of care in drawing the lines between numerical grades based on a review of performance on actual exams and asking, "How good is this?" You will have an opportunity to review your current standing before the drop date.

Calculators and tests. No restrictions will be placed on the use of calculators that do elementary mathematics on the tests. Calculators that can store formulae or do calculus symbolically shall not be brought to tests. No credit will be given on tests for a correct answer without the intermediate steps.

Readings. The schedule will be roughly as follows:

First test          13.10-13.12, 14.1-14.2
Second test         14.3-14.6
Third test          15.1-15.4
later lectures      15.5-15.9

Help. Please do not wait until late in the term before seeking help if you need it. Although the lectures are large and anonymous, the instructors and teaching assistants re available for individual help and consultation. After the first week or two of the term, the Math Lab will begin operation in the afternoons, offering help on a walk-in basis. There are also several tutorial programs on campus.

There will also be a computer newsgroup on Georgia Tech's ACME, called (probably) git.math.class.2507bc. Professors Harrell and Carlen and the TA's will check this newsgroup regularly and will dispense help and advice and make announcements. We also hope that students will give each other advice and share suggestions about possible improvements in the class. There are several ways to read the network news, and the best way to learn is probably to sit down at a terminal with another student who already knows how to do it.

Return to Eric Carlen's 2507 home page.

Return to Evans Harrell's home page.