Business Calculus I

Sample Slides

Math 115, Fall 2016, Syllabus:

Webassign related issues:

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  • Math 115 students can purchase the WebAssign code (including the eBook) for $94.00 at KU bookstore or on Webassin  or here ( This site is slightly cheaper.) 

• On-campus Tech support/ trouble shooting for Webassign Friday, 08/26: 1:30-3:30PM, Snow 308 (help room).

Help-room:

• Help Room Schedule (Snow Hall 308, starting from Wednesday Aug 24) 

Doing homework is an important part of learning mathematics. Assignments are generally due every day that your class meets. Paper assignments are due on Mondays for MWF sections and on Tuesday for TR sections. Webassignments are due on Wednesdays and Fridays for MWF sections and on Tuesdays and Thursdays for TR sections. Any changes to due dates will be announced on blackboard.

Important Information:

1. Coordinator:

  Dr. Jila Niknejad (Office:  , Phone: , Email: jilaniknejad.teaching@gmail.com, Office hours: by appointment.) 

Course Web Page:http://www.math.ku.edu/~jnik/Math115-Coordinator-material/Math115syllabus-Fall2016.html

2. Prerequisite: MATH 101 or MATH 104, or two years of high school algebra and a score of 26 or higher on ACT mathematics, or a qualifying score on the mathematics placement test.

Textbook: Applied Calculus by S. T. Tan (9th Edition) with WebAssign access (Required). We will cover most of Chapters 2 through 6.

Calculator: TI-84 plus Graphing Calculator or equivalent. (Highly recommended)

3. Important dates:

4. Grading: Your grade in the course will be determined by the points you have earned. A maximum of 1000 points is possible.

5.Grading Scheme:

The exact cut-off for each letter grade will not be determined until the end of the semester. The following represent the initial cut-offs for each letter grade.

Note: that there are no plus/minus grades in the calculus sequence. Following the midterm exam and the final exam, the course grade cut-offs may be curved downward; once lowered, the letter grade cut-offs will not increase.

6. Schedule for Help Room -- Room 308 Snow Hall: (Available starting 8/24/2016)

Detailed Schedule

Office Hours;

7. Common Exams:

The common exams will be multiple-choice. They are worth 500 of possible 1000 points. They are not given during the class time. Their schedules are given above in the list of important dates. The common midterm covers Chapters 2-3 and section 4.1-4.2. The final is comprehensive and covers Chapters 2 through 6.

Room assignments will be available about a week before the exams, announced in classes, and posted outside the math office (405 Snow). Graphing calculators (TI-83 plus is recommended) will be helpful for some problems. You will mark your answers on bubble sheets. You are considered responsible to bring a #2 pencil and a calculator to the common exams. Pencils will not be provided for you, and interchanging calculators will not be allowed during the exams.

Sample versions of the exams will be made available a week or so before the exams are given.

Policy for make-up common exams: Students who miss the common exams should gather evidences and bring them to the coordinator immediately after the exams are given to get the permission for taking make-up exams. Make-up exams are only available in case of dire emergencies or unexpected, serious scheduling conflicts. Airline tickets will not be considered as a valid excuse for a make-up exam. The place and schedule for makeup exams will be announced later. Sorry, there are no early makeups for common exams.

8. In-class exams, projects, and quizzes:

Your instructor will award you 200 points for in-class exams. To find out about the dates of your in-class exams, refer to your section's syllabus.  

Dates and other information about quizzes and projects will be announced in your section.

9. Gateway Exam:

  Read the Gateway Exam Webpage about the Math 115 Gateway Exam. It provides deadlines, lab hours, the list of all 100 problems, old exams, and other information you need to pass the exam.

You have the access to the online exam starting on day 1 of the semester till Friday, October 21, 2016. Generally speaking, you will need knowledge of differentiation techniques up to Section 3.3 (Chain Rule) to pass the exam. It is recommended that you start taking the online exam in the second week of September.

Given the number of Math 115 students, different groups are going to have access to the lab at different times and each group will have a week to visit the lab (to take the in-lab gateway exam), with a deadline at the end of that week. Testing periods can fill up quickly -- they are handed out on a first come, first served basis. That is another reason to start taking the Online Exam early. It also means you should sign-up the in-lab exam as soon as you can.

Note:The average student does not pass until the third attempt and some students need many more attempts. There will be no make-up exam available after the due date is passed. Start early to take the exam.

10. Check your KU email account regularly and expect blackboard announcements.

Messages from the University, Schools, and Departments, including the gateway administrator, may only be sent to your KU email account.

11. Others.

Grade Dispute: Graded exams are returned during class to the student. If a student wishes to discuss the exam grade, it must be done within two weeks following the date of the exam. Under some circumstances you may be asked to explain your complaint in writing.

Drop Policy: The University Drop Policy can be found at http://www.registrar.ku.edu/adddrop-class

Students With Disabilities: The Office of Disability Resources (DR), 22 Strong Hall, 785-864-2620 (v/tty), coordinates accommodations and services for KU students with disabilities. If you have a disability for which you may request accommodation in KU classes and have not contacted Disability Resources, please do so as soon as possible. Please also contact the coordinator privately in regard to the common exams. It is your responsibility to request accommodations in a timely manner well before needing them.

Religious Holidays: Any student in this course who plans to observe a religious holiday which conflicts in any way with the course schedule or requirements should contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to discuss alternative accommodations.

Academic Misconduct: According to University Senate Rules and Regulations, Section 6: "2.6.1 Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to, disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an academic setting; giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments; knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized changing of grades; unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures; falsification of research results; plagiarizing of another's work; violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects; or otherwise acting dishonestly in research."

Homework Assignments, Working in Groups, Tutors: Students may discuss the homework problems in groups, but each student is responsible for doing his/her own work and in turning in his/her individual solutions. When a student works with a tutor, it is the responsibility of both the student and the tutor to ensure that it is the student who works to arrive at the solutions of the problems. Tutors should not do students' homework for them or provide them the solutions for their instructors' assignments.

Intellectual Property: Course materials prepared by the instructors, together with the content of all lectures and review sessions presented by the instructors are the property of the instructors. Video and audio recording of lectures and review sessions without the consent of the instructor is prohibited. Permission to make such recordings may be granted by the instructor on a case by case basis, on the condition that these recordings are used only as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless explicit permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures and review sessions may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted to any other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course.

Flu Threat: Please familiarize yourself with the KU Pandemic Response Plan and the Personal Guide to Protect Against Flu. In the event of a pandemic requiring institutional measures, announcements concerning departmental and course-specific responses will be available at KU Math Department Web Page and the homework page.

General Comments:

Regular class attendance is important for success in this course. Even if you’ve taken a previous 

Calculus course, this course is likely to be taught from a more sophisticated perspective, and if you think this class will be review, you are probably mistaken.

You should expect to spend at least two hours studying outside of class for every hour spent in class. 

In contrast to most high school math classes, if you don’t understand the material being covered, you should NOT assume that your instructor will repeat material until you understand or master it. Ideally, you should ask questions at the time in class. Of course, you’ll also probably need to spend time thinking things through on your own, but if you’ve tried that and are still confused, make use of the Calculus Help Center and instructor office hours. Don’t wait! The material in this course is cumulative, so anything you don’t understand now is likely to keep giving you trouble as the semester goes on.