Elementary Calculus at the University of Kentucky
This course is an introduction to differential and integral calculus, with applications to business and the biological and physical sciences. We cover differentiation of rational, radical, and exponential functions, integration as area, and using the fundamental theorem of calculus to integrate certain elementary functions. We cover applications to increasing and decreasing functions, concavity, optimization, marginal cost, and others.
This course will emphasize computational and modeling aspects of mathematics. The course will also require you to effectively communicate your solutions. This means that by the end of the semester you should be able to: setup application or word problems, explain the result of a computation, interpret formulas or processes, and clearly communicate your solution process, in addition to getting the "right" answer.
The web homework is only capable of testing your computational ability. Discussion questions, recommended readings, and other provided materials will help develop your modeling and mathematical communication skills.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to
Students will improve with regard to the following mathematical practices.
Course policy regarding supportive discourse. Students are not allowed to make negative comments about themselves or their mathematical ability, at any time, for any reason. Here are example statements that are banned, along with acceptable replacement phrases.
You will need a calculator for the homework and exams. We allow the same calculators as the ACT allows. You may not use any machine (carbon-based life form or silicon-based) that has symbolic manipulation capabilities of any sort on any exam. This precludes the use of TI-89, TI-Nspire CAS, HP 48, TI 92, Voyage 200, Casio Classpad or laptop computer. Also, you may not use your mobile phone, iPhone or Blackberry on any exam even if you forget your regular calculator. If it runs Android, GEOS, iOS, Linux, MacOS, PalmOS, Ubuntu, Unix, Windows, or similar operating systems, you cannot use it on the exams. Answers that are simply the output of a calculator routine or a single numerical or symbolic expression that has no supporting work will receive no credit on exams.
EXAM POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Exams are offered on campus throughout the semester. As this is an online course, you may need to take the exam at an off-campus site. Refer to the exam information page for information on approved testing centers and intructions for exam proctors.
Make-Up Work. Students missing any graded work due to an excused absence are responsible: for informing the Instructor of Record about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence (except where prior notification is required); and for making up the missed work. The instructor must give the student an opportunity to make up the work and/or the exams missed due to the excused absence, and shall do so, if feasible, during the semester in which the absence occurred. The instructor shall provide the student with an opportunity to make up the graded work and may not simply calculate the student's grade on the basis of the other course requirements, unless the student agrees in writing.
Students with disabilities. If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please contact your instructor as soon as possible. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide your instructor with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center. The Disability Resource Center coordinates campus disability services available to students with disabilities. It is located on the corner of Rose Street and Huguelet Drive in the Multidisciplinary Science Building, Suite 407. You can reach them via phone at (859) 257-2754 and via email at drc@uky.edu and at the DRC website.
Assignment deadlines and alternate exam policy. In order to be fair to all students, dates for exams and homework assignments are as listed on the course calendar. Missed work and exams may be made up only due to illness with medical documentation or for other unusual (documented) circumstances. If you have a university excused absence or a university-scheduled class conflict with uniform examinations please contact your instructor as soon as possible, but at least two weeks before the exam, so that an alternate exam can be arranged for you.
University Policy on Academic Integrity. Per University policy, students shall not plagiarize, cheat, or falsify or misuse academic records. Students are expected to adhere to University policy on cheating and plagiarism in all courses. The minimum penalty for a first offense is a zero on the assignment on which the offense occurred. If the offense is considered severe or the student has other academic offenses on their record, more serious penalties, up to suspension from the University may be imposed. Plagiarism and cheating are serious breaches of academic conduct. Each student is advised to become familiar with the various forms of academic dishonesty as explained in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Complete information can be found at the Ombud website. A plea of ignorance is not acceptable as a defense against the charge of academic dishonesty. It is important that you review this information as all ideas borrowed from others need to be properly credited.
Senate Rules 6.3.1 (see Senate Rules for the current set of Senate Rules) states that all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about a question of plagiarism involving their work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission. When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording, or content from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism.
Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else's work (including, but not limited to a published article, a book, a website, computer code, or a paper from a friend) without clear attribution. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work, which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone. When a student's assignment involves research in outside sources or information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she has employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization, content, and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas, which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain.
Policy regarding collaboration. Mathematics is an inherently collaborative and social activity. Students are encouraged to work together to understand a problem and to develop a solution. However, the solution you submit for credit must be your own work. In particular, you should prepare your solutions to the written assignments independently and you should submit your answers for web homework independently. Copying on exams and usage of books, notes, or communication devices during examinations is not allowed. Cheating or plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated. Students are responsible for knowing the University policy on academic dishonesty.
Support. If you experience technical issues with Canvas, visit https://www.uky.edu/canvas/ for assistance or call customer service at (859) 218-4357. If you experience technical issues with WeBWork or Piazza, contact your professor.
For information on distance learning programs, visit http://www.uky.edu/ukonline/. Information on Distance Learning Library Services
For any written solutions to problems in this course, students are expected to submit work that is clear, legible, and well-written. Students should show all their work in an organized manner, using complete sentences to explain their solutions and justify their computations.
Mathematics is not a spectator sport. To understand what this means, consider how well you might learn to play football by merely watching Cristiano Ronaldo, or learn to sing by only listening to Adele. Similarly, you will not learn the material in this course by doing just enough to get the correct answer on the homework. In order to learn, you must also actively read the textbook, work a large number of problems, discuss problems with your classmates, and reflect on your work. The instructor's role is that of a coach or guide who will help you learn as much of the material as you desire. This being said, form good study skills from the start!
You may access your course grades through the Canvas system, logging in with your linkblue ID and password. Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
Activity | Percentage of Grade |
4 Exams | 17% Each |
Web Homework (WebWork) | 20% |
Eight Piazza Discussion Questions | 8%(1% each) |
Quizzes | 4%(1% each) |
Total | 100% |
Overal Percentage Range | Final Grade |
89.5%-100% | A |
79.5%-89.49% | B |
69.5%-79.49% | C |
59.5%-69.49% | D |
0%-59.49% | E |
THE GRADING SCALE IS STRICT. GRADES WILL NOT BE CURVED.
CAUTION: The old exams are not meant as comprehensive reviews. They should only be used as a reference for the content you might see on your exam. You should study the course text, homework problems, and other provided materials to completely prepare for each exam.
We will use the Webwork online homework: you can login here for Summer 2019. We will add students to the homework system until the last day to add. Your initial login will be your linkblue id in all lowercase and your student ID # without the leading 9.
Example Login: abcd123 Example Password: 12345678
See the document titled Introduction to WeBWorK for information about accessing your homework sets. The document Entering Answers in WeBWorK gives more information about how to enter mathematics to answer questions in WeBWorK. Please contact your lecturer or teaching assistant if you have difficulty logging in.
The homework score will be computed as follows. There are more than 265 homework problems in the course, but the homework grade will be based on your best 265 problems, with only 240 required for full credit. Thus, if you answer X homework problems correctly, your homework score will be X/240 times 100. If you answer more than 240 problems correctly you will earn bonus points; the maximum allowed score is 110%. (Technically, if you answer X homework problems correctly, your homework score will be (min(X,265)/240) times 100).
The due date for each of these homework assignments is given on the corresponding web page as well as in the course calendar. Please note that the homework assigments will be due by 1:00 pm on the day that the assignment is due. Occasionally, we may delay homework due dates. The due date at the WeBWorK server will be the most up-to-date information.
Late web homework will not be accepted. Shortly after the homework is due, solutions to many of the web homework problems will be made available through the WeBWorK server. We cannot allow some students to continue working on the problems after the solutions are available or delay providing solutions to students who have completed the homework on time. If you have an unusual situation that prevents you from completing web homework, please contact your instructor. However, in general students will be expected to complete web homework even if they are traveling or if they have a minor illness.
Suggestions for working web homework:
You are expected to complete eight discussion questions throughout the semester; for the due dates see the course calendar. The discussion questions will be posted to Piazza and further instructions will be given each time a new discussion questions is posted.
These discussion questions are intended to help you learn to communicate mathematics and to present clear, well-written solutions to problems. Your solutions will be graded by your instructor for mathematical correctness and for clarity of exposition. Students who wish to receive full credit should write in complete, grammatically correct sentences. You should give clear reasoning and present the steps of your solution in logical order. You will want to include figures and graphs as needed to explain your reasoning.
Discussion questions are to be completed by 11:59pm (eastern standard time) on the due date. You will have ample time to complete the discussion questions. Waiting until the last minute is not suggested. Late discussion questions answers will not be accepted.
The quizzes will be online through this Canvas course. Quizzes will be due on the dates specified in the course calendar. The quiz grades contribute to your overall course grade as described in the grading section of this website.