MAC 3474 Calculus 3 Groisser - University of Florida Honors Program

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on that page. Of course, exam-date changes will also be announced in class wellin advance, and more than once.However, if you are unaware of a changed exam date because youweren't in class when it was changed and you didn't check thehomework page for several days, and this causes you to miss an examor do poorly on it, that grade (0 if you miss the exam) will still beaveraged into your final grade according to the percentages above.On most days I won't answer homework questions in class; you should see me inoffice hours for homework questions (and any other questions you didn't get toask in class). However, as long as we're on pace to get through the syllabus,roughly once a week I will devote the entire period to going over homework andanswering any other left-over questions. The class day before an exam willalways be used for Q&A.Workload: On average, in order to receive a satisfactory grade (C or C+),students with good preparation for this class should expect to spend eight totwelve hours per week studying and doing homework for this class. This estimateis an average, not a maximum—some students will require more time, some less;some weeks the workload will be heavier, some lighter. Some circumstances thatmay increase your workload are: You did not study a similar amount in your previous classes. You cannot do algebra quickly and accurately without a calculator (thismay be the case if you did not do a large number of exercises in yourcalculus or pre-calculus classes, or have relied heavily on calculators inthe past). You want to get an A.Attendance policy. Barring valid reasons such as illness, weddings, funerals,family emergencies, and team activities, I expect students to be in class every dayand on time, paying attention for all 50 minutes of the period. Coming late to classis disruptive to both your instructor and your classmates.If another time commitment (e.g. a class the previous period in adistant location) will force you to be late on a regular basis, youshould try to switch to another section.Currently I plan to take attendance but not to factor it into your grade directly.However, students who choose not to regularly attend class (not counting validreasons such as those mentioned above) should not expect the same considerationin office hours that students with good attendance will receive. Be aware that theUniversity of Florida Attendance Policies contains the following paragraph:
The university recognizes the right of the individual professor tomake attendance mandatory. After due warning, professors mayprohibit further attendance and subsequently assign a failing gradefor excessive absences.Students with a contagious illness are asked to exercise good judgment and tobe considerate of their classmates and instructor when deciding whether tocome to class. Coughing and sneezing in an enclosed space like a classroomor office is a wonderful way to spread germs.Calculator Policy: Calculators are not allowed on exams, and generally shouldnot be used for homework, although occasionally a homework problem may beassigned that requires a calculator.More about exams. Most exam problems will be similar to homework, but onmost exams I try to put at least one problem that you won't have seen a clone ofbefore. Such problems will involve no new concepts, but may, for example,combine concepts from different parts of the syllabus. I do this to see whetheryou've gone beyond memorizing a bunch of formulas and rules, and haveachieved a real understanding of the material---which you'll need for an A.I will give you a copy of an old exam a week prior to your exam, as a sample ofthe type and number of questions I have asked in the past. Do not expect thequestions on your exam to be just minor variations of questions on thesample exam,although this may be the case for a small number of questions.More about grading. The grades that UF currently allows instructors to assignare A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, and E. (For grade-pointequivalencies of these grades, see this catalog page.) All of these are grades I willconsider assigning, except possibly the D–. Be aware that for many requirementsat UF, courses that you've taken count only if you get a C or higher; a C– will notmeet such requirements.I don't have a predetermined grade curve or predetermined percentages forletter grades. I decide the grade scale for each exam and homeworkaccording to the philosophy A = excellent, B = good, C = satisfactory, D =unsatisfactory but passing. At the end of the semester, I use the cutoffsfrom the exams and homework and to determine the final grade cutoffs ona 1000-point scale. For example if the cutoff for a B is 72% on the firsthour exam, 69% on the second hour exam, 76% on the third hour exam,and 74% on the final, to get a B for the course you'd need .20 x(72%+69%+76%) + (.40 x 74%) = 73% of the total number of points inthe course, i.e. 730/1000.In my approach to assigning minus-grades (the same as the approach usedby my professors when I was in college), a B–, for example, is not the
Page 1 and 2: SyllabusMAC 3474--Section 3129 (Gro
Page 3: Cumulative final exam, counting 40%
Page 7: Miscellaneous:Unless I say otherwis

MAC 3474 Calculus 3 Groisser - University of Florida Honors Program

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