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I've grouped the class meetings into seven blocks of two weeks each. Generally, a homework (HW) will be due towards the end of each block and will be returned to you within a few days, before the next exam. The HW lists below are intended to be the minimal required to get by. You should do at least 50 per cent more, by choosing similar questions for yourself until you have mastered each section. The exams fall at the ends of blocks 2, 4 and 6. Each exam covers the previous 2 HWs, the recent lectures (usually thru Monday), and a few other topics to be listed below, such as textbook proofs.

You can print this page if you like, but I will add to it and change it as we go, so check back regularly. I will also announce major changes in class.

How to read the schedule: If anything is unclear, please ask. Mainly, you need to keep up with the HW and hand in the correct problems on time. For example, note that the first HW is due on the 5th day, Wednesday Jan 15. It includes all the listed problems from Chs 0.4, 0.5, 1.1 and 1.2. As you see in row 1 of block 1, I suggest working the Ch 0 problems on Jan 6, soon after class, so that you don't fall behind, but I won't collect them unti Jan 15. HW2 is due Jan 27, and includes Chs 1.3 thru 1.5. The other HW items are similar.

Notice that Exam 1 is scheduled for Jan 31, probably to last half of our 100 minute Friday period. I've provided some study advice in the "Weeks 3-4" section. I may update these remarks at any time, so check back a few days before each Exam. I usually provide a short list of textbook proofs to learn for each test, but I do not provide sample exam questions [your HW is your best exam preparation]. Also, I will not hold "review days", unless we are ahead of schedule, though your LA may do so. You can find lots of my old exams on the exam page. Your exam will probably be of similar difficulty, but may contain very different questions, and may be shorter, to fit into approx 50 minutes.

Weeks 1-2

Read Ch 0, the Appendix (as needed) and Ch 1.1 thru 1.4. Review precalculus as needed. Look over this website including the syllabus, my policies and the exam page. If you need special treatment (a certified disability, a religious holiday conflict, you don't want your HW graded, tech issues, etc) see me ASAP. If there is a good reason why you can't be in class at normal times, bring me a written explanation. 

I have posted some True-False practice quizzes on the exam page (partly because older editions of our book gave very little practice with this). There may be problems like these on any of my exams, and students tell me that my practice quizzes help with them. If you are having any problems, this would be a good time to start visiting me or your LA, or even sending us email questions. If you find an error on this website or make a similar contribution, I may give a little extra credit. Include your name on any email you send me.

Probably starting in the 2nd week, you should meet with your Learning Assistant (LA), Justin, for questions and special presentations. Hours: MW 12pm-1pm and MWF 3:00pm-4:00pm (in or near DM 409A). Also, the Math dept and FIU provide other tutoring help, such as the Learning Center, and online tutoring (see my Help pages, the Math Dept site, or me if interested). The Math site has a web page for Calc I-II including an online solution manual for our textbook. Answer the required HW exercises by yourself. I do encourage you to form or join a study group and to get help from Justin on similar questions. If you use a solutions manual, just use it to check your work.  You are not required to own a graphing calculator or CSA and can skip any steps that ask you to use those. These may be helpful for HW, and I recommend MathGV (free download) to experiment with graphs. But calculators are not allowed on exams. Note that pg A23 is in Appendix B (a review of trig), near the end of your book.

I will give a quiz on PreCalculus (algebra, trig identities, word problems, etc) on Friday. The poorly-prepared students may have to do remedial work to stay in the class (see the bottom of this page). You can look on my exam page for 2 quizzes from approx 2007. [I will probably be updating the exam page on 1/9/14 - if some links 404ed, you may want to recheck them].

Weeks 3-4

Many people find Ch 1.4 difficult at first, so don't despair. We will cover it step-by-step, and the remaining topics are probably not as hard.

Most of the problems on Exam 1 will resemble problems from HW 1 and 2, so I suggest you study mainly from those, and related problems. But I also want to check that you are keeping up with the class, so there may be a few easy questions based on my lectures through Jan 27. Those "recent lecture topics" [eg Ch 1.6 or so] might appear on both Exam 1 (easy problems) and Exam 2 (normal problems) and this remark goes for later exams as well. Proofs to know for Exam I - a) The Main Trig Limit and b) proofs from the HW (mainly from Chs 1.4 and 1.5). Also, prepare for problems like 1.1-17 with explanation (these are almost like proofs).

If you are concerned about which answers need to be simplified, etc, see my grading policies, but that's not required reading. 

Always check this page a few days before each exam for updates. This info is generally more complete [and accurate] than my remarks in class, and much more accurate than the rumors I sometimes hear about my upcoming exams. You can find links to old exams, and TF practice, on my exam page, though many of those were written for a different book, different time period, or a different schedule. If you really want to get off to a good start, you can also look over my help pages, explore links there, visit me and our LAs, and email me with questions.

A couple of students have recommended the Khan Academy web site for extra help with the material. Feedback on that and other suggestions are welcomed.

NOTE: The PreCalc HW is due Jan 29 (unless you passed the PreTest with at least a 50 / 100). You must contact Justin for your problem list by Wed Jan 22.

Weeks 5-6

FIU has an active Math Club which welcomes new people. See the math dept web page (or  me) if you are interested. Also - please feel free to ask me about other math courses, about our actuarial program, etc. There is a new "Study Hall" for students in various math courses like ours [not sure about Spr 2014 yet]. See the Math Dept web site for more info.

Note (Jan 20 / etc): I have updated the HW numbers below for the new edition of our text. If you printed out this web page befpre Jan 20, be sure to use the new numbers !

Weeks 7-8

Exam 2 will mainly cover HWs 3 and 4, Chs 1.6 to 3.6, and the lectures thru Feb 24. It overlaps slightly with both Exam I and Exam III.

One focal point is the definition of derivative and how to use it. There will also be calculation problems in which you can use shortcuts such as the power rule or just memorization.  Know the proofs of the Product Rule and the Power Rule and of the continuity of sin and cos. Know the derivatives of the basic functions (including trig, square root, 1/x, ln(x), exp(x) and inverse trig) and be able to justify them with the limit definition, or by other methods as done in class.

Remember that some old exams and True-False are posted on my exam page. Also, remember that FIU offers you several ways of getting math help outside of class [See the math dept web page, or my help pages] If you try these services, I'd like to hear whether they worked well for you.

On some previous Exam 2's, the lowest scores were on problems directly from the textbook exercises (see my old exam keys for examples). I suggest you study more from textbook exercises than from old exams, and study the final sections (3.4 to 3.6) at least much as the early ones. Justin has offered to hold a review session. Probably it will be on Thurs from 1pm to 3pm near DM 409A (we can discuss this in class Wed 2/26).

Weeks 9-10

I think the drop deadline is 3/17, but you should check this yourself. See me if you need advice. Spring Break is Mar 10 to 15. Enjoy !

Note: Class cancelled for Friday March 7 ! See you again on March 17. Also, I moved HW 5 to March 21 to allow a little more time with Ch 4.4.

Weeks 11-12

Note: On Mar 30, I removed 3.4 from Exam 3, and listed some 4.8 proofs to know. Exam 3 will cover HWs 5 and 6, and Chs 3.5 - 4.8,  including my lectures through 3/31. We may have some time for review on 4/2, especially if you will suggest topics that need it (email works). 

Practice True-False questions on all these sections. Be able to explain (and use) the main LLA formulas. In previous semesters, many students scored poorly on L'Hopital problems - so practice those! Practice graphing as in Chs 4.1-4.3, with great care. A common problem is to get the math mostly right and then fail to "connect the dots". Practice Max-Min, especially setting-up word problems as in 4.5. Study the proofs of Rolle's Thm, the M.V. Thm and the f ' >0 thm. As usual, check this page for updates a few days before the exam.

Also suggested - check on Panthersoft that you are registered for the course, while there is still time to sort out problems.

Extra Credit projects (completely optional of course) are due 4/11. One option is to learn about Newton's Method by reading it yourself; then do approx half the exercises, to show me you have learned it well. Work alone. I will try to give you a fair amount of credit, probably about the same value as a HW assignment, but it depends on the work you give me. Check with me before you start any project.

Weeks 13-14

Extra Credit projects are due 4/11. Several people have asked about this just recently. While I have few hard rules about what you must do, a typical project might go like this - 1) Read Ch 4.7. 2) Do at least 10 exercises on your own to show you have learned the section. Perhaps numbers 4, 8, 12, 16 .... 40, for example, though I would prefer that every student chooses a different list and works independently. If you do more problems, I will give you more credit, but this is subjective and not necessarily proportional. For example, doing 20 problems would not get double the credit (but it might be worth 50% more).

Hand in everything by 4/16 (late HW 7, notes from doctors, etc). Check that your grades have been recorded correctly (you can use the average written on Exam 3 to do that for your Exam scores) and that you are registered for the course. If you need me to review your HW grades for fairness, bring your package by 4/16. I may not have time for such things after that.

The final exam counts 30 points, and cannot be dropped; see my policy page about this, about incompletes, etc. Roughly half of it will be on recent topics (HW 7 and beyond). Know the proof of  Rolle's Theorem, and the MVT and of its application in the f'(x) >0 theorem. Know the proofs of the Product Rule and the famous sin (x) / x limit. Be able to do proofs like Example 1 of 2.4, and calculations like Example 1 of 3.2 (for almost any basic function, such as 1/x or square root of x, etc). Be able to explain the Substitution Rule from the Chain Rule.

Be sure to practice the topics which were weak spots on previous exams. I will try to say more soon, but would include Word problems and Limit calculations in that list. You can suggest topics for me to review (by sending an email, for example). Practice the easier 5.4 problems (roughly 1-23). If you have time, practice with 27, 29, and the harder ones, 35 and 37 (I will not require these, but they would make good bonus questions). I can give a little "group extra credit" for 5.4, easy or hard. Note: you will not hand in any problems past 5.3.10. The rest are fair game for the final, so you should practice them, and ask about any you are not quite sure of.

Final Exam : Wednesday, 4/23/14, 9:45am to 11:45am, in the usual room. It will cover the entire course, but will emphasize topics after HW6.

I hope you enjoyed the course and learned a lot ! Please let me know if anything special has affected your progress this term, for better or worse.  And please keep in touch. I am always interested to hear how my students fare in their future coursework, etc

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Pre Calculus HW, 2014

Spring 2014: By now you should have taken the PreTest (the quiz on Friday Jan 10) or a make-up. If you scored below 50, you should have contacted Justin for a list of 100 review problems, which will be due on Jan 29. These will count into your HW grade. If for some reason, you have not passed the quiz or seen Justin, you must do both by Wed, Jan 22. You should probably just ignore the rest of this page, but if you happen to own Sullivan, 7th Ed, and like it, you can see me about doing those problems instead.

As always, YOU are responsible for your own skills and preparation. If you find certain sections difficult, you should do more problems than required, until you have mastered that topic. If you need more help with PreCalculus, please visit an FIU tutoring center, or consider retaking that course.

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Pre Calculus HW, 2011

If you tried one of my Prerequisite Quizzes on my Exam Page and scored below about 40 to 50%, you should see me (or, if I give one in class and report a low grade to you). In the past, I required 100 PreCalc  HW problems, to bring your skills up to speed. Or, if you don't want to hand these in, and have the standard FIU textbook, "Algebra and Trig" by Sullivan, 7th Edition (purple), you can follow the guidelines below. If the quiz indicates that you are weak on both algebra and trig, do the "STANDARD" list below, from that book. Otherwise, you might want to emphasize whichever you feel weaker on. If you want to hand them in for credit and feedback, they are due approx 2/15.

STANDARD: Do problems 5 and 15 from every section of Chapters "R" through 7. But you can omit sections R6, 1.7, 2.6, 2.7, 3.6, 4.7, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9 and 6.8. This should be approx 100 problems - you can slightly adjust my list to make it exactly 100 if you like. If you want these graded, please write "STANDARD LIST" at the top of page one.

TRIG EMPHASIS: Do the same sections as for "Standard" but do problems 5, 11 and 15 from the sections in Chs 6-7. Do only problem 5 from those in Chs 2-4.  Please write "TRIG EMPHASIS" across the top of page one, and make a note of any adjustments you have made to the list.

ALGEBRA EMPHASIS: Do the same sections as for "Standard" but do problems 5, 11 and 15 from the sections in Chs 2-4. Do only problem 5 from those in Chs 6-7.  Please write "ALGEBRA EMPHASIS" across the top of page one, and make a note of any adjustments you have made to the list.

OTHER: If you want to use a different book, for example, bring it by my office and I'll give you an individualized list of problems. You'll have to loan the book to me later, for grading. Also, hand in the list along with the HW.

As always, YOU are responsible for your own skills and preparation. If you find certain sections difficult, you should do more problems than required, until you have mastered that topic. If you need more help with PreCalculus, please visit an FIU tutoring center, or consider retaking that course.