Math 10A Fall 2023

Location and Times

Pimentel 1, 1-2pm Monday Wednesday Friday

Office hours: Evans 971 Wednesday 2:30-4:30

Email: norman.sheu@berkeley.edu

Due to the large amount of emails I receive, I do not respond to questions that are already explained clearly in this document, in particular topics related to enrollment, make-up exams, exam drops, how to calculate final grades, and grade distributions.

Course Description 

The sequence Math 10A, Math 10B is intended for majors in the life sciences. Introduction to differential and integral calculus of functions of one variable, ordinary differential equations, and matrix algebra and systems of linear equations. 

Prerequisites

Three and one-half years of high school math, including trigonometry and analytic geometry. Consult the Mathematics Department for details. Students who have not had calculus in high school are strongly advised to take the Student Learning Center’s Math 98 adjunct course for Math 10A; contact the SLC for more information.

Textbook 

Biocalculus: Calculus, Probability, and Statistics for the Life Sciences (custom UC Berkeley Edition) by Stewart

Enrollment

The enrollment is entirely done online. I have no control of the enrollment process. If you have any question about enrollment, first check the website:

https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/enrollment/enrollment-scheduling 

For other enrollment questions, please email:

enrollment@math.berkeley.edu

Grading policy  

Homework: 20%

Midterm 1: 25%

Midterm 2: 25%

Final: 30%

If your final percentage score is higher than one of your midterm percentage scores, then the midterm with a lower percentage score will be replaced by the final percentage score, i.e. at most one midterm can be replaced by the final. 

If you miss any midterm, your final exam percentage score replace the missed midterm's percentage score. Your final exam score CANNOT replace both midterm scores, regardless if you took both exams or if you took one and missed the other. If you miss both midterms or the final, you will fail the class. This is regardless of the performance for your other items for this course. 

There is also extra credit for discussion attendance. Please read the Extra Credit section for more details. 

The class grade distribution will be based on what is recommended by the math department.  

Homework

Homework will be collected once a week in section on Thursday. You must submit a physical copy. Do not email your homework assignments to your GSI. Five problems wil be chosen at random to be graded for completion. No credit is given for homework turned in after the due date. Three of the lowest homework scores will be dropped. Working with others is encouraged, but you must write your solutions on your own and write the names of your collaborators at the top of the assignment. 

Exams

There will be two midterms and one final. All midterms will be held in lecture during regular class hours. Midterms and finals will not be conducted remotely under any circumstances. There are no make-up midterms or final. 

The first midterm will be held on Friday, 9/22.

The second midterm will be held on Friday, 11/3. 

The time and location of the final exam can be found on CalCentral. 

All exams are cumulative.

No calculators or cheat sheets are allowed in exams. 

There is no regrading, unless there is a clear error on the part of the grader, such as adding up marks incorrectly or forgetting to grade a question. If you write a correct answer for a problem but your reasoning is incorrect or nonexistent then you will not get credit for it. 

If you don't understand why you lost points on a question, please ask; but the number of points deducted cannot be changed, because we grade all the exams together according to the same standards, so regrading individual exams would be unfair to everyone else. 

The general difficulty for the exam is Midterm 1 <= Midterm 2 <= Final. There is no point to “strategically” miss any exam.

Extra Credit

If you attend all discussions in a week that has two discussion sections, you will receive extra credit that will add 0.375% to your final grade. A maximum of 3% can be added this way, which is equivalent to attending all the discussions in any eight weeks that have two discussion sections. How attendance is taken is up to the discretion of your GSI, which can range from simply checking in to participating in some way in disucssion. Extra credit is applied after a grade distribution is determined. 

Academic Integrity

Cheating is unacceptable. Students found cheating on homework or midterm will receive a score of 0 on that homework or midterm. Final exam scores will not replace midterm scores given a 0 as a result of cheating. Students found cheating on the final exam will receive an automatic F in the course. Any student caught cheating will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and Student Community Standards, and if found responsible for academic misconduct may receive sanctions ranging up to suspension or dismissal from the university. 

DSP

Students with disabilities requiring accomodations for exams must submit a letter of accomodation from the Disabled Students Program and contact me at least two weeks in advance of any exam so that we can make the necessary arrangements. Requests may not be accomodated if this deadline is not met. 

Incomplete Grades

Grades of Incomplete will be granted only for direct medical or personal emergencies that cause you to miss the final, and only if you have completed the majority of the coursework and your work up to that point is of passing quality.

Information for incomplete grades can be found here. 

Discussions and GSI Office Hours

You must attend the discussion you are enrolled in. You may go to any GSI's office hours. 

GSI Contact Information and Office Hours

Jordan Brown, lc_brown@berkeley.edu

Boyan Xu, boxu@berkeley.edu 

Robert Schütz, rschuetz@berkeley.edu

Seewoo Lee, seewoo5@berkeley.edu 

Weekly Lecture Schedule

This is a rough outline of when and what topics will be covered. 

8/23, 8/25: 8.1, 8.2

8/28, 8/30, 9/1: 8.3, 8.4, 8.5

9/6, 9/8: 8.5, 8.6

9/11, 9/13, 9/15: 8.7, 8.8

9/18, 9/20: 1.1-5

9/22: Midterm 1 (Covers through Chapter 8)

9/25, 9/27, 9/29: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5

10/2, 10/4, 10/6: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4

10/9, 10/11, 10/13: 3.5, 3.7, 3,8

10/16, 10/18, 10/20: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

10/23, 10/25, 10/27: 4.4, 4.6, 5.1 

10/30, 11/1: 5.2, 5.3

11/3: Midterm 2 (Covers through Chapter 4) 

11/6, 11/8: 5.4, 5.5

11/13, 11/15, 11/17: 5.5, 5.6, 5.8

11/20: 6.1

11/27, 11/29, 12/1: 6.1, 6.2, 6.4