Syllabus

Course Description

This is the third of a three-course sequence in calculus. Topics included vectors and vector-valued functions; partial derivatives and gradient; multivariate optimization; double and triple integrals; line and surface integrals; Green's, Stoke's, and Gauss' Theorems.

Prerequisites: A passing grade ("C" or higher) in Math 280 or equivalent

Required materials

Textbook: Calculus, Early Transcendental, 8th edition, by James Stewart 

• • • You may use older edition of the textbook. Please note that other edition of the textbook has different numbers in a few of the problems/sections so please make sure to adjust accordingly.

    • We shall cover chapters 12 to 16 of this text

    • There are also my course notes posted on Canvas

Calculator: A Scientific Calculator and/or Graphing Calculator are required.  TI-83/84 is the recommended calculator.  Students may also use the TI 85/86 calculators.  The TI-89 and TI-92 calculators are NOT allowed on exams.

• The Mathematics Department of Cuyamaca College highly recommends and supports the use of Texas Instruments Graphing Calculators such as TI-83 or TI-84 plus. 

• You can also email the library at cuyamaca.circulation@gcccd.edu to learn about the Calculator Loan Program (in case you don’t have a calculator)

  • • This program runs in collaboration with the library so students can check out a calculator for the entire semester. To be eligible, students MUST be enrolled in a Math course at Cuyamaca with their student ID number and proof of enrollment.

    • The library hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am – 7:30 pm. If you are unable to attend during the hours listed, please email or call the library to make an appointment.

Gradescope: For this class, instead of having online homework through WebAssign, we shall use Gradescope to manage the homework assignments and quizzes.

• Please go to https://www.gradescope.com/ and sign up for an account using your GCCCD student account.

• After that, use the add code XGGZED to enroll in our Gradescope page. The course title is "Math 281 Cuyamaca."

• A caveat: when prompt for the school's name, please use "UC San Diego" instead.

homework (only graded for completion)

In total, there will be eight (8) homework assignments. They are posted on Canvas and due on Gradescope at 11:59pm of every Sunday of an even-numbered week (i.e. Week 2, 4, etc.). The only exception is HW8 which is due on the Wednesday before the Final Exam. Please see the calendar for further details.

Homework papers are only graded for completion. You earn five (5) points for each assignment just by providing your solution to each and every exercises in a well-written and logically organized manner. Regardless, they should serve as a good test for your understanding of concepts discussed in the lecture as well as a great preparation for the corresponding quizzes (see below) and exams. As a result, students are advised to try their best to complete the homework problems within 1-2 days after the corresponding lecture and/or before the subsequent lecture. Furthermore, by completing and turning in your homework papers, students can accumulate points which can later be used toward the quizzes. 

Homework assignments may be done in groups of one to three students. You may change group members at any time throughout the semester. Each group only need to submit one copy of their homework to Gradescope. Please remember to indicate the names of all group members on the first page of your submission and tag your members accordingly in Gradescope.

Students are encouraged to discuss the homework exercises on with the instructor, tutors, and their fellow classmates. If working in groups, then problems should be solved together, not divided up between partners. Solution to the homework sets will be published on Canvas the Friday before the corresponding quiz.

Do not wait until the day before the deadline to start working on your homework! "Start early, start often!"

Quizzes (30% of your course grade)

Throughout the semester, there will be a total of seven (7) quizzes and they occur during the weekend of every odd-numbered week, starting from Week 3 (i.e. Week 3, 5, etc.). Again, check the calendar for further details. Essentially, for every weekend starting from Week 2, you shall either have a homework assignment due or a quiz. The quizzes are remote and open resources but you are limited to only the course materials discussed in textbook, lectures, and discussions. You have to complete the quiz on your own. You must not have your quiz questions answered by a third party (no human nor AI).  Any reference outside the course materials must be cited appropriately within your paper. 

For the quizzes, here is what we shall be doing, starting from Saturday September 07:

• At 12:00pm noon (Pacific Time) Saturday of an odd-numbered weekend, the quiz will be released on Gradescope for everyone and it will stay available there for 2.5 days (ending 11:59pm on the subsequent Monday). 

• You can work on this quiz at any time during this time window. Once you are satisfied with your work, please scan (or take picture of) the pages and upload them to Gradescope. More importantly, please note that after 11:59pm on the Monday due date, your paper will no longer be accepted.

• Please make sure to tag the answer pages on Gradescope appropriately to help me with the grading process. For quiz submission, you may do any of the following methods:

  • Download the template from Gradescope to a tablet, write your answer electronically, save and upload as a pdf file

  • Print the template from Gradescope, write your answer directly on the hard-copy pages, scan (or take picture) and upload.

  • Write your answer on separate blank papers, then scan (or take picture) and upload. However, if you are using this method, then please make sure to have different problems on different pages and clearly label the question number.

Each quiz is 20 points. In total, students can earn a maximum of 180 points from the quizzes and homework assignments (7x20 from quizzes + 8x5 from HWs). You only need 150 points total from the quizzes and homework to earn the full 30%. Any point beyond 150 will not be carried over to other categories.

Exams (70% of your course grade)

There will be three in-class midterms (total 50% of your grade) and one in-class Final Exam (20% of your grade). Students are allowed one page of handwritten notes (standard 8.5x11'' size, both sides)  and a calculator. Beyond these, no textbook, notes, or any other electronic devices will be allowed during the exam. The exams will take place on campus, in the regular classroom, during of regular lecture times. 

• The first midterm will be held on Thursday, September 26 (Week 6), covering topics from Sections 12.1 - 12.6, 13.1 - 13.3

• The second midterm will be held on Thursday, October 24 (Week 10), covering topics from Sections 14.1 - 14.6

• The third midterm will be held on Thursday, November 21 (Week 14), covering topics from Sections 14.7, 15.1 - 15.7

• The final exam will be held on Thursday, December 12 (Week 17), covering ALL materials from the course.

There is no make-up exam. If you are unable to attend the exams during their scheduled time, then please reach out to your instructor at least two days before the exam. We may be able to reschedule your exam to a day before or after the actual exam date. 

Each midterm is out of 40 points so in total, students can earn a maximum of 120 from the three midterms. However, you only need 100 points total from the midterms to earn the full 50%. Any point beyond 100 will not be carried over to other categories.

Attendance and participation

While this is a HyFlex class, I expect everyone to attend in-person class regularly. In fact, please make an effort to come to the in-person class for the first week of lectures so that I can have a good count of how many students are enrolled. The lectures will be recorded but they should only be used for review purpose only and should not be used to substitute your learning experience.

Regular attendance and class participation are vital to your understanding of the course materials. Your presence will be counted not only by taking attendance in class but also by your regular contributions to discussions and activities. Attendance on any course is determined by participation in academically related activities. You will be considered present if there is evidence of your participation in required course activities including, but not limited to, taking a quiz, or participating in a discussion on canvas. You will be considered absent if there is no evidence of your participation in the academic activities of this course.

If you cannot make it to an in-person class, then you need to join us over Zoom (link is available under the "Techconnect Zoom" tab on Canvas). Please also actively engage with us throughout the lecture and have your camera on for the entire duration of the class.

Students who are absent (i.e. not actively participating) for more than 3 class meetings on this 16-week course may be dropped. However, if you choose to drop the course you will need to do so officially through Admissions and then notify your instructor.

Grade Policy

Your grade will be based on the scores of the quizzes, midterm, and the final exam.  It will be calculated as:

30% Quizzes + 50% Midterm + 20% Final

The letter grade you receive at the end of the course will be based on the following scale, which is the standard rubric at Cuyamaca College:

A = 90 - 100%; B = 80 - 89.99%; C = 70 - 79.99%; D = 60 - 69.99%; F = below 60%

According to Cuyamaca Math Department standard policy, to pass the course, students are required to

• Earn an overall grade of "C" or better AND

• A grade of "D" or better on the Final Exam OR an average of a "C" or better on all exams which includes the final assessment(s) without dropping any exam score 

Regrade Policy

We shall grade your exams using Gradescope. All graded materials will be posted on Gradescope. If you find an error/inconsistency on any graded material, you must immediately request a regrade through Gradescope. All regrade issues should be resolved within 24-30 HOURS after the score is published. Once the regrade period is over, the score will become final and any late requests may not be considered.

Academic Honesty and Attendance Policy 

• As a student of Cuyamaca College, you have agreed to abide by the institute’s academic honesty policy. Academic integrity violations will be taken seriously and reported immediately. Violation of such policy may result in failing the class, suspension, and even expulsion from the university. Further information regarding Academic Integrity policy are available under the "Links" button above. You should make yourself aware of what is and is not acceptable by reading this document. Ignorance of the rules will not excuse you from any violations. 

Key facts about academic integrity related to our course:

• You must work alone on the exams. You may not post the exam questions online where they can be answered by someone other than the instructor or tutor. 

• You may consult other students, the instructor, or tutors while formulating your ideas on homework problems. However, you must complete your final homework solutions by yourself, based on your own understanding. 

• You may not copy or paraphrase solutions from another student or from any other source. If you consult any sources other than your textbook or discuss the problems with anyone other than the instructor or tutors, you must acknowledge this on your homework/exam.

• You may not post your homework answers online where they could be found by future students of this course. If your instructor posts homework solutions, you may not show those solutions to future students of this course, or post them online.

• You are the person accessing and completing the assignments for this course and will not share your username and password information with others.