Fall 2008 Home Page


Welcome to the Math 208, Sections 004 and 007, Calculus III (Fall 2007) home page. You're probably here for information, so let's start with the vital statistics of the course.

Essential Information


Calculus III Course Resources


It's interesting to see how much information can be found on the WWW. Go to your favorite search engine (like the Google or Yahoo sites listed on my home page) and try searching on "vector-valued function". See how many web pages you hit and visit a few interesting looking sites.

Announcements


Notes and FAQ


Dead Week Schedule: Here's the plan of attack. As a focal point, I will work through an old unit final exam that is not available to you. After I work a queston, we'll open to floor to related questions. Loosely, we'll organize the week as follows:
  • Monday: Problems from Chapters 10 and 12.
  • Wednesday: Problems from Chapter 13 and return Exam 4.
  • Thursday: Problems from Chapter 14 and do course evaluations.
  • Friday: Chapter 14 and general questions.
Here's your assignment for the week. Study material relevant to what we are going to go over in class (e.g., your exams, homework, etc.) before class, so you know in advance what questions you need answered.

If you want to know your current grade status, email me and send the last 4 digits of your student ID. I'll email them back to you.

I'll be in my office and available for help most of Monday through Wednesday (December 17-19). Feel free to drop by or better yet, in order to ensure that I'm there to help you, email me so we can set up times to meet.

Specifics about the Fall 2007 Math 208 Unit Exam: So what else can I tell you about the upcoming final, outside of the Unit Final Exam Topics url above? This and only this, which is binding upon all instructors of Math 208:
  • No topics from Chapters 10, 12, 13, or 14 are excluded from eligibility for the final, so do not ask me a question that boils down to "Will a question like this be on the final?". I cannot answer any such question.
  • There will be no direct questions from the review sections on the final.
  • Regarding parametrized curves, you are expected to be able to parametrize (without hints) straight line segments, standard portions of circles and simple ellipses, and curves that are described by graphs of functions (e.g., y=f(x), or likewise x=g(y)) - other curves will have indications on how to parametrize, if necessary.
  • Regarding surface integrals, both flux and non-flux, you are expected to be able to handle the cases x=f(y,z), y=f(x,z), and z=f(x,y) directly (discussed in the last handout), and you should know the parametrized surface case, BUT if you need to use the parametrized surface formulas other than the formulas for those three specific cases, the parametrization that you are to use will be provided.
    (Just for the record, I prefer that you think of the formula for z=f(x,y), where (x,y) is in plane region R, as
    n dσ = ± <- fx, - fy, 1> dA, so that dσ = sqrt(fx2 + fy2 + 1) dA,
    where dA is differential area in the xy-plane. Similarly, for x = f(y,z) and y = f(x,z).)



I am in your 208H Math class, and I was wondering if I have to bring my calc book to every class, or if I could just leave it in my dorm room?

Answer: There's no need to bring it every class. If you plan on asking questions about particular problems, you might want to bring it for reference, so do it at your own discretion.


Where do I stand right now?...

Well, that's easy enough. Here's a table to help you out. This table has all the possible grades for tests and quizzes in this course. Notice there are blanks where an activity has not been completed yet. So if you are looking at this table and we've only done the exams through three, then the grade scales are based on this data alone.
Now all you need is your own scores. If you don't have them or simply want to see what grades I have recorded for you so far, email me with and give the the last 5 digits of your NUID. I will respond with the grades I have in my grade book. If you calculate your own grade remember that the quiz scale is dynamic and will vary with the number of quizzes currently finished in the course, and that two quizzes will be dropped at the end. Also note that the grade scales row gives the bottom score to attain the given grade.

Grade Scales for Math 208, Sections 004 and 007, Fall 2007

Activity: Quizzes/Writing Exam 1 Exam 2 Exam 3 Exam 4 Final Exam Grade
Points: 100 100 100 100 100   500
Count: 61 60 60 59 59   61
Minimum: 14 30 48 37 34   14
Maximum: 96; 100 99 97 100   484
Average: 75 70 76 71 71   355
StdDev: 14.5 17.2 13.9 15.2 14.5   81.5
Median: 77 74 76 72 74   362
Grade Scales:              
D- 55 48 48 48 48   247
D 58 50 50 50 50   258
D+ 62 54 54 54 54   278
C- 65 57 57 57 57   293
C 68 60 60 60 60   308
C+ 72 65 65 65 65   332
B- 74 70 70 70 70   354
B 78 75 75 75 75   378
B+ 82 79 79 79 79   398
A- 85 83 83 83 83   417
A 88 86 86 86 86   432
A+ 93 93 93 93 93   465




Class Policy

Course: Math 208, Calculus III, Sections 004, 007

Places/Times: 004: 111 Ferg, 1:30-2:20 MWRF, Fall 2007
   007: 119 AvH, 12:30-1:20 MWRF, Fall 2007.

Preq: Math 107 or equivalent.

Objectives: This is basic skills course whose goals are to help students achieve competence in these areas:

  • Understanding concepts of vector and multivariate calculus.
  • Proficiency in the mechanics of vector and multivariate calculus.
  • Use of vector and calculus concepts in mathematical modeling.
  • Expression of mathematical ideas through writing.
Instructor: Dr. Thomas Shores

Telephone: Office 472-7233 Home 489-0560

Email: tshores1@math.unl.edu

Web Home Page: http://www.math.unl.edu/~tshores1/

Office Hours: Monday 3:30-5:00, Wednesday 2:30-4:00, Thursday 9:30-11:30, Friday 9:00-10:30, and by appointment. Office: 229 AvH
Note: Circumstances may necessitate occassional changes in office hours. Consult the course home page for the most current times.

Class Attendance: Is required. If absent, it is incumbent upon the student to determine what has been missed as soon as possible. It is advisable to consult with the instructor. There will be no makeup exams.

Homework/Projects: Everyone is expected to master the syllabus homework assignments. These will generally not be graded, but at least one question on each exam and most quiz questions will come directly from these problems. Therefore, students are strongly encouraged to work them and ask questions about them in and outside of class. Current information about the course will be available through the web (via the Math 208 homepage in Blackboard or my home page.) Using the web is strongly recommended for keeping track of current activities and resources for the course.

Reading Assignment: Read the sections of the text as, or before, they are covered in class lectures. This is a standing assignment throughout the semester.

Grade: Four 50 minute exams will be given and these will account for 100 points each. The final exam will count 200 points. All exams are closed book with calculators. There will be five 20 minute quizes and two writing assignments at 20 points each. Your lowest two quiz/writing scores will be dropped for a total of 100 points. The dates of the quiz/writing assignments will be announced in class one week in advance. The final grade will be based on these 700 points.

Final Exam: Will be comprehensive. To be given on Wednesday, December 19, 6:00-8:00 pm in a room TBA.

Grades of "I", "W" or "P": These grades will be given in strict accordance with University policy. (See any Schedule of Classes for the relevant information and dates.)