Penn State University - University Park

MATH 231 - Calculus of Several Variables

Fall 2008 Syllabus


CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Analytic geometry in space; partial differentiation and application.

PREREQUISITE: MATH 141. Students who have passed MATH 230 may not schedule this course.

TEXT BOOK: James Stewart, Calculus, sixth Edition, published by Thomson (Brooks/Cole). An electronic version of the textbook is available chapter by chapter at: pennstate.ichapterssites.com

COURSE FORMAT: There are two 50-minute lectures each week. The sections covered in these lectures are listed below.

CALCULATORS: No calculators are allowed on the midterm and final examinations.

HOMEWORK/QUIZZES: The section instructor will provide his/her policy as a supplement to this syllabus.

MIDTERM EXAMINATION: One 75-minute evening examination will be given during the semester. NO books, notes, or calculators may be used on the examinations. Cellphones or any electronic device must be turned off during the exams. You must bring your University ID card to all exams.

Midterm Examination I: October 21, 2008 from 6:30 to 7:45 PM.

Rooms for the examinations will be announced by your instructor at a later date.

Conflict Exam: For the midterm examination, there is a conflict examination from 5:05 to 6:20 PM on the same night as the regular examination. 

Who may take the Conflict Exam?  If you have a valid conflict with the regular examination time, such as a class or other scheduled activity, you may sign up for the conflict exam.

Students are responsible for knowing the room and time of the conflict examination.  Students must bring their University ID to the conflict examination. The ID will be checked by the proctor. Although the conflict examination will end at 6:20 PM, no student will be permitted to leave the examination room before 6:25 PM. Any student who leaves before 6:25 PM will receive a grade of zero on the examination and will not be allowed to retake it.

How and when to sign up for the Conflict Exam.  Students must sign up for the Conflict Exam in class, with your instructor, on a pink form.  The student is responsible for knowing the room and time of the conflict examination.  This information is on  top of the pink form. Your instructor must turn in the pink form 2 class days prior to the examination date. If you have not signed up with your instructor, you will not be allowed to take the conflict exam. 

Makeup Exam:  A makeup exam will be given from 6:30 to 7:45PM, within one week after the regular midterm exam. The exact date will be announced later.

Who may take the makeup exam?  Students who have a valid documented reason, such as a class conflict or illness, during both the conflict and regular examination times are permitted to schedule a makeup examination with no penalty. Students who do not have a valid reason for missing the examination, such as forgetting the date, time, or room of an examination, are  permitted to schedule the makeup, but 30 points will be deducted from their score. Students who have taken either the regularly scheduled examination or conflict examination are not permitted to take the makeup examination. Students who have not signed up for the makeup with their instructor will not be allowed to take the exam.

How and when to sign up for the Makeup Exam.  Students must sign up for the Makeup Exam in class, with your instructor, on a yellow form, as soon as possible following the regular exam date.   The student is responsible for knowing the room and time of the makeup examination. This information is on top of the yellow form.  Your instructor must turn in the yellow form 2 class days prior to the examination date. If you have not signed up with your instructor, you will not be allowed to take the makeup exam.

Students are responsible for knowing the room and time. Students must bring their University ID to the makeup examination.  The ID will be checked by the proctor.

What if a student misses both the regularly scheduled exam and the makeup exam?  If a student misses both the regularly scheduled examination and the scheduled makeup due to a valid, verifiable reason, it maybe possible to take a makeup examination by appointment. All such makeup examinations must be scheduled through the instructor with the approval of the course coordinator and must be completed no later than ten days after the scheduled makeup  examination.

FINAL EXAMINATION: A comprehensive final examination will be given during the week, December 15-19, 2008. NO books, notes, or calculators may be used on the examination. Cellphones or any electronic device must be turned off during the exams. You must bring your University ID card to all exams.
The final examination may be scheduled on any day during the final examination period. Do not plan to leave University Park before December 20, 2008.
There are two types of conflict examinations, direct and overload. Direct conflicts are two examinations scheduled at the same time. Overload examinations are three or more examinations scheduled within a fifteen hour period, from the beginning of the first examination to the beginning of the third examination. Students may elect to take the three or more examinations on the same day if they wish or request a conflict final examination. Students may access their final exam schedule on Monday, September 29, 2008 through their e-lion account.  Notification of conflicts is given on the student's final exam schedule.   Students must take action to request a conflict exam through e-lion between September 29 and October 19, if needed.  Conflict final examinations cannot be scheduled through mathematics department, and there will be no sign up sheet in 104 McAllister for the final conflict examination.

Students who miss both the regular and conflict final examinations due to a valid and documented reason, such as illness, may be allowed to take a makeup final examination. If the student does not have a valid reason, at least a 30 point penalty will be imposed. All such makeup examinations must be scheduled through the instructor with the approval of the course coordinator and students should contact the instructor within 24 hours of the final examination. Students who have taken the original final examination are not permitted to take a makeup examination.

GRADING POLICY:  Grades for the course will be assigned on the basis of 400 points distributed as follows:
        150 points for homework and quizzes
        100 points for the midterm exam
        150 points for the final exam

The exact point requirements for each letter grade will be decided at the end of the course.  A typical distribution follows:

Grade Points
A, A- 400-360
B+, B, B- 359-320
C+, C 319-280
D 279-240
F 239-0

 NOTE: Your grade will be based EXCLUSIVELY on the midterm examinations, homework and/or quizzes and final examination. There is no "extra-credit" work.

LATE-DROP: Students may add/drop a course without academic penalty within the first ten calendar days of the semester. A student may late drop a course within the first twelve weeks of the semester but accrues late drop credits equal to the number of credits in the dropped course. A baccalaureate student is limited to 16 late drop credits. The late drop deadline for Fall 2008 is November 14, 2008.

TUTORS AND MATH CENTER:  Free mathematics tutoring is available at the Math Center located in 220 Boucke Building. For more information, go the the Math Center webpage.  If you need additional help, a (paid) tutors list is maintained by the Mathematics Department Undergraduate Office, go to  http://www.math.psu.edu/ug/PrivateTutorList.htm.  

DEFERRED GRADES: tudents who are unable to complete the course because of illness or emergency may be granted a deferred grade which will allow the student to complete the course within the first six weeks of the following semester. If the student is scheduled for Math 231 then the student must complete the course within 2 weeks of the following semester. Note that deferred grades are limited to those students who can verify and document a valid reason for not being able to take the final examination. For more information see, DF grade.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts.

Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

"Academic dishonesty includes, but is no limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, . . ., facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with academic work of other students. . . . A student charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge by the instructor. If students believe that they have been falsely accused, they should seek redress through informal discussions with the instructor, the department head, dean or campus executive officer. If the instructor believes that the infraction is sufficiently serious to warrant the referral of the case to Judicial Affairs, or if the instructor will award a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and instructor will be afforded formal due process procedures." From Policies and Rules, Student Guide to the University Policy 49-20.

Based on the University's Faculty Senate Policy 49-20, a range of academic sanctions may be taken against a student who engages in academic dishonesty.  Please see the Eberly College of Science Academic Integrity homepage for additional information and procedures.

QUESTIONS, PROBLEMS, OR COMMENTS: If you have questions or concerns about the course, please consult your instructor first. If further guidance is needed, you may contact the course coordinator.

COURSE COORDINATOR: Dr. Aissa Wade, Office: 317 McAllister . Email: wade at math dot psu dot edu

Lecture-by Lecture Class Schedule:

Week      Dates    Sections     Topics   
1 Aug. 26 13.1 Three-dimensional Coordinate Systems
1 Aug. 28 13.2 Vectors
2 Sept. 2 13.3 The Dot Product
2 Sept. 4 13.4 The Cross Product
3 Sept. 9 13.5 Equations of Lines and Planes
3 Sept. 11 13.5 Equations of Lines and Planes
4 Sept. 16 13.6 Cylinders and Quadric Surfaces
4 Sept. 18 13.6 Cylinders and Quadric Surfaces
5 Sept. 23 14.1 Vector Functions and Space Curves
5 Sept. 25 14.2 Derivatives and Integrals of Vector Functions
6 Sept. 30 14.3 Arc Length and Curvature
6 Oct. 2 14.3 Arc Length and Curvature
7 Oct. 7 14.4 Motion in Space: Velocity and Acceleration
7 Oct. 9 14.4 Motion in Space: Velocity and Acceleration
8 Oct. 14 15.1 Functions of Several Variables
8 Oct. 16 Midterm Review  
9 Oct. 21 Midterm Review  
9 Oct. 23 15.2 Limits and Continuity
10 Oct. 28 15.2 Limits and Continuity
10 Oct. 30 15.3 Partial Derivatives
11 Nov. 4 15.4 Tangent planes and Linear Approximations
11 Nov. 6 15.5 The Chain Rule
12 Nov. 11 15.5 and 15.6  
12 Nov. 13 15.6 Directional Derivatives and Gradient Vector
13 Nov. 18 15.7 Maximum and Minimum Values
13 Nov. 20 15.7 Maximum and Minimum Values
14 Nov. 25 No Class Thanksgiving
14 Nov. 27 No Class Thanksgiving
15 Dec. 2 15.8 Lagrange Multipliers
15 Dec. 4 15.8 Lagrange Multipliers
16 Dec. 9 Review for final  
16 Dec. 11 Review for final