Math 240 Fall 2007

'He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever'.
--Chinese Proverb

My Office: 3C13
Office Phone: 215 898 2949
Email:

Office Hours:
Tuesday: 10a.m.-11a.m.
Friday: 10a.m.-11a.m.
By appointment.

Recitations:

Section 211: Monday 9:00a.m. - 10:00a.m. in 3C2.

Section 212: Monday 10:00a.m. - 11:00a.m. in 2C2.

Section 213: Wednesday 9:00a.m. - 10:00a.m. in 3C2.

Section 214: Wednesday 10:00a.m. - 11:00a.m. in 2C2.

Your homework assignment can be found here.

General Information

The lectures take place in DRL A8 on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10:30 and noon and are held by Prof. Krieger. There is a weekly homework assignment given by Prof. Krieger and graded by me. There will be a monthly quiz, which will be taken at the end of recitation and is also graded by me. There are two midterm exams and a final exam (dates to be decided). The exams, the quizzes, the homework assignments and participation in the recitations contribute to your final course grade (see below).

Email

I will send out general organizational information by email, so make sure you check your inbox at least once a week (shouldn't be hard!).

I will answer questions received by email twice a week, Wednesday at 11:00a.m.-11:30a.m. and Saturday at 10:00a.m.-10:30a.m. You can ask about anything you want, I will reserve the right to ask you to come to office hours, or address the question in the next recitation. In particular, I will NOT answer mathematical questions by email, so don't bother asking. This does not mean that I do not want to answer them, I will be happy to, just not by email. Also, questions about the exam should be directed at Prof. Krieger, not at me.

Homework

Deadline

Homework is due Friday at 3p.m. You put it in my mail box in the front office (4W1). If extraordinary circumstances make it impossible for you to hand in the homework in person, you can email it to me if this has been agreed on by me beforehand. No late homework is accepted for any reason.

Homework Grading

The homework is graded in the following way: Every week I grade two problems from the homework assignment. A correct and nicely written up solution is worth three points, whereas a completely unacceptable solution will give zero points. If I choose to grade a problem you haven't done, I will also give you zero points for that particular problem (see below). If you have an issue with how I graded a particular problem, come see me during office hours, but unless it's something obviously dumb on my part, I will not change your grade. The problems I choose to grade will be problems I find relevant for the material covered in the lectures (i.e. uses the main ideas you have learned in the lectures) and which have the right level of difficulty. I will NOT grade for completeness! I will, however, in order to calculate the final homework grade, drop the two lowest homework grades obtained thoughout the semester; see the 'Grade Breakdown' section below.

Group Work

Working with other people on mathematics is not only allowable, but is highly encouraged and fun. You may work with anyone (other students in your section, in the course, not in the course, bums on the street) on your homework problems. If done right, you'll learn the material better and more efficiently working in groups.

The golden rule is:
You may work with anyone on solving your homework problems, but you must write up your final draft by yourself.

Writing up the final draft is as important a process as figuring out the problems on scratch paper with your friends. Mathematical writing is very idiosyncratic - I will be able to tell if papers have been copied - just don't do it! You will not learn by copying solutions from others! Also, if you work with people on a particular assignment, please list your collaborators somewhere on the top of the paper. Make the process fun, transparent, and honest.

Presentation

Homework must be stapled, with your name and recitation number clearly written on the top. Consider the pieces of paper you turn in as a final copy: written neatly and straight across the page, on clean paper, with nice margins and lots of space, and well organized. If I can't read it, I won't grade it. If it looks like scratch paper, I will dock points. On the other hand, I highly recommend that you get into the habit of working out all your solutions on scratch paper, and then writing up your final copy. This way you can avoid erasing whole pages. If your handwriting is illegible, then type up your papers, as you would for your English class. Write in paragraphs, complete sentences, and English words (you may also write in German and Danish, if this if more convenient for you), complete with punctuation and transitional words and phrases to clearly delineate your argument and flow of idea. Mathematical writing has its own style, so notice how the textbook presents worked examples and how I present solutions in recitations. Strive for clarity.

Religious Holidays

We are not allowed to have homework due on a religious holiday. Let me know within the first two weeks of class if any of your religious holidays coincides with a due date for the homework asignments, and I will reassign it for a later date.

Tests

Quizzes: There will be a monthly quiz taking place at the end of recitation, usually it is based on a problem from a previous homework set. It will be returned the next recitation. I will announce quizzes two weeks in advance by email.

Midterm exams: There will be two midterm exams spaced throughout the semester. The tests will be written by Prof. Krieger. Any questions about the tests should be directed at Prof. Krieger.

Final Exam: The final course exam takes place December ??th and is written by a committee of Math 240 professors. The same exam is given to all sections of Math 240 at the same time during final week.

Grade breakdown

Percentage Table:

Midterm 1: 20%

Midterm 2: 20%

Final exam: 40%

Homework and quizzes = 20%.

Grades will be posted on Blackboard.

Your final course grade is based on the percentage table above. Notice that although exams make up 80% of your final course grade, completing your homework on a weekly basis is the most sure way to success on tests and hence to get good final grade.

Because of the certainty of religious obligations, illness, family emergencies, or just plain hang-overs during the semester, let me emphasize this now to spare you the confusion and frustration later. I will drop your two lowest homework scores when calculating your final homework and quiz grade. I hope this is a fair way to compensate for an inflexible policy.

Also, even though it seems unfair that your weekly homework grade might be based on problems you haven't done, please consider this: Your homework grade constitute 10% of your total grade. You turn in 10-12 homework sets. I grade two problems, each problems is worth three points. Let's say you have 12 homework sets, that is a total of 72 points. Let's say you are unlucky and miss four homework problems (worth 12 points) (in the sense that I grade five problems you haven't done), this amounts to 16,6%. However, homework problems only contribute 10% to the final grade, so your final score will differ by 1,6% (under the additional assumption that you had all the missed problems right!). Such a difference is not enough to make a difference in your final grade, so don't waste (your and my) time complaining. Furthermore, as mentioned above I will drop the two lowest homework grades when calculating your grade, which makes it even less significant.

The quizzes will be graded on a five point scale and returned the following recitation. If you miss a quiz (see 'makeups' below) you will get zero points. You quiz grade makes up 10% of your final course grade.

Makeups

Midterms: If you know you are going to miss a midterm exam, plese let Prof. Krieger know as soon as possible (office hours or email).

Quizzes: If you know you will miss a quiz your college advisor must notify me at least three days in advance by email; of course, there has to be a valid reason for you to miss the quiz. We will then schedule the quiz for a later date, most likely for the next recitation or office hour (The question will be different, so you get no advantage by missing a quiz). There will be NO makeup of missed quizzes where I haven't been notified at least three days in advance. This is not negotiable!

Homework: I do not accept late homework, where 'late' is defined as after the deadline (Friday at 3p.m.). Religious obligations, illness, and family emergencies are not excuses, but make sure to read the note on grading above.

Final: There is the possibility of a makeup final exam at the beginning of the next semester, but don't waste your break worrying about that! You must warn Prof. Krieger well ahead of time if you must miss the final exam.

Help Resources

It is important that you understand that our only objective is to help you understand the material better. Period. So, if you have problems, for example if you are falling behind with homework, if you have difficulties understanding what is presented in the lectures or maybe you are simply getting worn down because of the general work load, there are several things you can and should do.

(1) Email me or come see me and tell me about your problems. If I can't help you with your problems, I know of somebody who can.

(2) Go to Math/Maple center and seek help. This is an excellent way of getting help with the homework or problems you have encountered while reading the textbook.

(3) You can get online help here. Experienced TAs are available to answer questions by email every night from 9p.m. to 1a.m.

(4) Go to the Sunday review. I will be giving the Sunday review in Math 240 this semester, and it is an excellent opportunity to ask any course related question you may have. It takes place every Sunday from 7p.m. to 9p.m. in DRL A6. If I can't answers it on the spot, I will prepare an answer for you, and you can stop by during office hours and have me explain it to you.

(5) Private tutoring is an excellent way to get rid of small (or big) misunderstandings. You pay an experienced graduate student (pick one from the 'approved by the department' tutor list here to teach you the fundamentals, to help you with the problems, or whatever way you would like it. You pay for it, the average salary is 40$ an hour; I am not allowed to tutor Math 240 students.

Enjoy the Course and Good Luck!