ANNOUNCEMENTS
MTH 251 — Fall 2006

12/10/06

Final grades have been submitted, and should be available online tomorrow (Monday).

You can examine your final in my office, but not easily before next term.

I will email your final exam score to you upon request; please use a campus email account.

12/8/06

Below are the answers to the final. Full solutions can be seen in my office.

1. 3/cos²(3θ), 18sin(3θ)/cos³(3θ)

2. y=−4x+5

3. max: π (not 3.25!), min: 0

4. (a) False (b) False (c) False (d) False

5. a=7e/2, b=1/2

6. (a) 7s (v=0) (b) 7s (c) 2≤t≤9 (d) 180 ft/s (e) 75 ft/s (−75 ft/s also OK)

7. (a) 200 million cars (b) 50/3 million cars per year (c) 21 years (d) 3/50 years/million cars

8. (a) 3<x<6 (b) max: x=6, min: x=3 (c) 0<x<1, 2.2<x<4.8, 7.2<x<8 (d) x=1, x=2.2, x=4.8, x=7.2

9. 120 ft × 240 ft

10. (a) 2/5 3^1/2 km/min (b) 2/5 rad/min

11. max: circular piece = 1 m, min: circular piece = π/(π+4) m

12/2/06

Office hours during finals week are posted below.
Instructors are entitled to give their own students priority, but all MTH 251 students are welcome.

Review session
Mo 7-9 PM	Henry Gillow-Wiles	Weniger 149
Office Hours
Mo 9:30-10:30 AM	Lea Murphy	Kidder 352
Mo 10-11:30 AM	Scott Peterson	Kidder 108B
Tu 9-11 AM	Aniruth Phon-On	Kidder 108E
Tu 10 AM - 12 PM	Nicholas Stanford	Kidder 360
Tu 12-3 PM	Scott Peterson	Kidder 108B
We 12-3 PM	Aaron Wood	Kidder 360
We 2-3 PM	Lea Murphy	Kidder 352
We 2-4 PM	Henry Gillow-Wiles	Kidder 258
Th 8:30-10:30 AM	Dianne Hart	Kidder 346
Th 9-11 AM	Scott Peterson	Kidder 108B
Th 10-12 AM	Tevian Dray	Kidder 298A
Th 12-1 PM	Nicholas Stanford	CLC

11/30/06

The final will be Thursday 12/7/06 in Gilb 124.

• The final will be slightly less than twice as long as the midterms.
• Roughly 50% of the final will cover new material.
• The remainder of the final will consist of questions which could have been on one of the midterms.
• We covered most of §1–§4 of the text.
  We did not cover §1.7–§1.8, §2.6, §3.8–§3.10, §4.4, or §4.7–§4.8.
• A list of the most important derivative rules (written using differentials) can be found here.
• You may bring three 3″×5″ index cards (both sides) of handwritten notes.
  Equivalently, you may use one 8½″×11″ piece of paper (one side).
• Other rules and suggestions for the final are the same as for the first midterm.
• Friday's class will be devoted to review. Come prepared to ask questions!

11/27/06

Aaron will hold office hours next week on Wednesday, 12/6, from 12-3 PM in his office.

You can collect your graded homework and the makeup skills test from him at this time.

11/21/06

The makeup skills test will be offered on Tuesday, 11/28/06, at 6 PM, in Kidder 364 (our regular classroom).

• Sample tests are available under the Course Materials link in Blackboard.
  You must login to Blackboard to access these materials.
• If you have an unavoidable conflict with the makeup time, talk to me about scheduling options.
• If you had a conflict with the original skills test which you previously discussed with me, talk to me about scheduling options.

11/14/06

Here is the way the skills test will be graded:

• Each of the 10 problems will be worth 10 points.
• You do not need to simplify your answers.
• No points will be given if there are any differentiation errors.
• No points will be given if there are significant algebra errors.
• Minor algebra errors will result in a score of 8 points.
• No other partial credit is possible.
• A score of 80 or above will be recorded as 100.
• Scores below 80 will be be recorded as 0.

There will be one opportunity to retake the test outside of class (most likely Tu eve 11/28/06).

11/12/06

Instead of a lab, there will be a skills test this week in recitation.

• The skills test is completely closed book; no notes, no calculators.
• Expect roughly 10 problems comparable to those from last week's lab.
• No partial credit will be given!
• Grading details will be announced later in the week, but will likely be on an "all or nothing" basis.

11/10/06

This week's lab was copied directly from the Review Exercises for Chapter 3 on pages 159–160 of the text. Answers to the odd-numbered problems can be found in the back of the text; answers to the even-numbered problems can be checked with either Aaron or me.

11/9/06

Below are the answers to the second midterm. Full solutions can be seen in my office.

1. 4a²x³+4abx, 12a²x²+4ab, 24a²x

2. y=(5x−7)/4

3. FALSE

4. 1<u<2

5. (a) neither (b) below

6. sin(3θ)/3

7. 12/π ft³/yr

8. 9 beds every 10 months

11/8/06

We expect to return the second midterm tomorrow during recitation.

The curve probably won't be available until Friday.

11/6/06

The following problem is a rewording of §3.3:53. You are encouraged to attempt it first in the form given here, then in the form in the book, and only then to check the answer in the back of the book.

Your gross income from selling skateboards is R=pN, where N is the number of boards sold, and p the price of each one. Suppose you could sell 15,000 boards at $140, but that the number of boards sold would decrease by 100 for each dollar increase in the price. How fast is income changing as a function of price, assuming that the current price is indeed $140?

11/1/06

The second midterm will be Wednesday 11/8/06 in class.

• The second midterm covers most of Chapter 3 of the text.
  We will not cover sections §3.8–§3.10, but it wouldn't hurt to skim the first part (only) of §3.9.
• You may bring two 3″×5″ index cards (both sides) of handwritten notes.
• Other rules and suggestions for this midterm are the same as for the first midterm.

10/31/06

It is well known that the first derivative of position is velocity, and the second derivative is acceleration. Less well known is the name for the third derivative, namely the jerk.

Even less well known are the names that have been proposed for the 4th, 5th, and 6th derivatives. Curious? Read about them here

10/29/06

Two mathematicians are talking on the telephone. Both are in the continential United States. One is in a West Coast state, the other is in an East Coast state. They suddenly realize that the correct local time in both locations is the same! How is this possible?

Give up? Some hints can be found here.

10/21/06

Below are some answers from the first midterm. Full solutions can be seen in my office.

1. (a) T (b) T (c) T (d) F (e) F

3. y₁ is exponential; y₂ is neither; y₃ is linear

4. e, b, d, a, c

5. (a) 6.25 (b) 5, 2.5 (not the only possible answers)

7. (a) 8 AM (b) 1000 cars/hour

8. (b) $8.05

9. c; 10. d

10/20/06

Suggested problems above and beyond the assigned homework are now listed on the homework page.

10/16/06

A list of review topics prepared by another instructor is available here.

Please bear in mind that this is somebody else's list, not mine.

10/13/06

Strange but true: The 13th of the month is more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week!

Give up? Further information is available here.

10/12/06

The first midterm will be Wednesday 10/18/06 in class.

• The first midterm covers Chapter 1 and most of Chapter 2 of the text.
  We didn't emphasize §1.7–§1.8; you may skip these sections, but it wouldn't hurt to skim them.
  We have not yet covered §2.5, and we will not cover §2.6; these sections will not be on the exam.
• The Exercises at the end of each section in MHG are an excellent skills check, and the Check your Understanding questions at the end of each chapter are an excellent review.
• The exam is closed book; calculators may be used.
• You may bring a 3″×5″ index card (both sides) of handwritten notes.
• Please write your exams in pencil or black ink (blue ink is OK).
• Monday's class will be devoted to review. Come prepared to ask questions!

10/9/06

This week's homework has been posted; sorry for the delay.

10/5/06

We will not spend much time on §1.7–§1.8. You are encouraged to skim these sections yourself, but do not feel obliged to master all of this material, as we will talk about the most important ideas in class.

10/4/06

Additional help from TAs familiar with this course can be obtained from:

Aniruth "Ake" Phon-on	MW 10–11 AM	MLC
Dan Rockwell	W 6–8 PM	CLC
Nicholas Stanford	Tu 10 AM–12 PM	MLC
Aaron Wangberg	Th 6–8 PM	CLC
Nicole Webb	F 10 AM–12 PM	MLC
Aaron Wood	M 8–10 PM	CLC

The MLC is the Math Learning Center in Kidder 108.

The CLC is the Collaborative Learning Center in the Valley Library.

9/27/06

Office hours for both Aaron and me have been posted on the course website.

9/26/06

This week's lab will involve polynomials and rational functions. You may wish to review §1.6 beforehand.

This material will not be covered in class.

9/25/06

The problem from the book which I discussed in class today was §1.1:10.

9/22/06

Explore the course website. In particular, make sure you understand the grading policy, and be sure to find the first homework assignment.

Although you can access the website from within Blackboard, it is not a true Blackboard site. In particular, announcements can only be read by following the link on the course homepage; they will not show up automatically when logging into Blackboard.