21-118: Calculus of Approximation
Spring 2002 Mini4 Session
Important: Do not make travel plans which require you to
leave campus before noon on Tuesday, May 14.
Our university-designated Final Exam slot will be used for Retests (see
below).
Hence you should make
your travel plans under the assumption that you will have to be here, or
wait until you know for sure.
If your parents will
be making reservations for you, please keep them informed so that they do
not make conflicting plans for you.
No one will be permitted to take Retests early.
Preliminary Suggestions
This is a five-day-per-week course. You are responsible for everything
which occurs in every lecture and every recitation. The course will go
most smoothly for you if you commit yourself now to the following habits:
(i) Decide that you will attend evey lecture and every recitation unless
something absolutely unavoidable happens. Resist the temptation to tune
out if we are covering topics to which you have been exposed in previous
courses, because as you listen you may make conceptual connections which had
not occurred to you before. (ii) Later on the same day of a lecture, take
a few minutes to review what we covered, to identify quickly any points on
which you are confused. Seek immediate assistance through the professor,
your TA, or one of your chums in the class. (iii) Recognize that the
exams will cover concepts emphasized in lecture; the emphasis given in your text to particular topics
may be somewhat different. View the lecture as your primary source and the
text and recitations as a supplementary resource. (iv) Spread your work
on assignments over a week, rather than working on the problems all in one
day. (v) Always pause for a moment after working a problem, not so
much to check accuracy, but to look over your work in search of ways to
simpify what you did, or argue differently, or ask if the method you used
is applicable in more general contexts than the one from the problem you
just did. (vi) Recognize that your professor is a really nice guy; he
just doesn't like people talking during class, because it's inconsiderate
to other students. It can be especially problematic in a course like this,
with such large lecture enrollments. We are all adults and we have business
to conduct, so please help to contribute to a more pleasant environment
by remaining quiet during lecture -- unless you have a question or comment;
in that case by all means contribute.
So are you ready? Let's have a great course!
Textbook
The text for this course is Calculus: Early Transcendentals,
Fourth Edition, by James Stewart.
Instructor
Dr. John Tolle
Office: Wean Hall 6124
e-mail: tolle+@andrew.cmu.edu
Telephone: 268-8419
Office Hours: MWF 11:30-12:30, from March 11 to May 3.
I am also happy to make appointments if this time slot is not
convenient.
Exceptions to office hours: Spring Break (April 1 - 5) and Spring Carnival (April 19)
Office hours for Final Exam period:
Monday, May 6 9:00 - 11:00 AM
Wednesday, May 8 8:00 - 9:45 AM and 12:30 - 1:45 PM
(I will be out of town May 9 - 12)
Monday, May 13 9:00 - 11:00 AM