ANNOUNCEMENTS
MTH 255H — Winter 2009

3/20/09

Course grades have been submitted.

They should show up online tomorrow — email me if you can't wait.

3/19/09

I will submit grades as soon as I can, but may not be able to get to it until the weekend.

You should be able to see your course grade online the day after I submit them.

Feel free to drop in next term to pick up your exam, or just to chat.

3/15/09

I expect to be in my office on Monday from 9–11 AM and from 1:30–3 PM, and on Tuesday from 9–10 AM, from 11–11:45 AM, and from 1–2 PM. These times are approximate and subject to change; watch the website for updates and/or double-check with me via email or by phone.

3/13/09

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

Sound familiar? Look below.

3/11/09

The figure drawn at the end of today's activity is available here.

3/10/09

The final will be Thursday 3/19/09 from 9:30–11:20 AM in StAg 233 (our regular classroom).

• The final will be slightly less than twice as long as the midterm, and will cover material from the entire course.
• The old material is described below in the midterm announcement.
• The new material emphasizes Lessons 8–13 (surface integrals and applications) in the Study Guide, as well as the related material in Lesson 14.
• The relevant sections in the text are Chapters 19 and 20. Please bear in mind that the presentation in class differed somewhat from that in the text; we covered topics in class that are not in the text, and there is material in the text which we did not cover.
• If you are looking for extra problems to practice on, the Review Exercises and Check your Understanding questions at the end of each chapter are especially good.
• You may bring two 3″×5″ index cards (both sides) of handwritten notes, or the equivalent, as well as the handout containing the formulas for divergence and curl in spherical and cylindrical coordinates.
• Other rules are as announced below for the midterm.

Here are some suggestions for review:

• Make sure to look through the Check your Understanding problems at the end of each chapter.
• Make sure you understand each piece of the bathtub problem (§20.4:34) from the last homework, and preferably multiple ways of approaching each part.
• See if you can set up dA (the vector area element) on a paraboloid. For instance, try doing the second question on the Stokes' Theorem lab (Lab 8) for a paraboloid, and make sure you get the same answer as for the other integrals in that lab.
• Go over the midterm!
• Try some of the Excercises and Problems in §16.7 on change of variables.

3/9/09

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.

2/28/09

There will be an Integration Bee on Tuesday, 3/3/09, at 6 PM in Weniger 151.

Further details will hopefully be available soon, but both contestants and spectators are welcome.

2/27/09

The software I demonstrated in class today can be found here.

2/26/09

The (edited) movie version of yesterday's onscreen presentation is available here.

The final screen shot of the presentation is available here.

2/18/09

Following up on today's discussion, information about careers in mathematics can be found here and here.

2/13/09

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.

2/12/09

As mentioned in class yesterday, graphs of some important vector fields can be found here.

2/11/09

The slide I showed in class today, which illustrates how to relate mathematical text, equations, and pictures, can be found here.

2/9/09

More information about using planimeters to measure area is available at the websites listed below.

• This site has a nice photo of a real planimeter, together with a detailed explanation of how they work.
• An applet which simulates a planimeter is available here.
  The counter won't start until you pass through "Start" (the first time — it will stop the second time), so you'll first need to load one of the shapes from the menu at the left, although there is no need to trace that shape. You can reset the counter by clicking on the number in the top left corner. (This planimeter is programmed to give a nonnegative answer, that is, it corrects for the direction in which you start.)
• Finally, a general page with links to further information can be found here

2/8/09

My office hour for Wednesday 2/11/09 is canceled.

I should be available Tuesday (and most likely also Wednesday) after 2 PM.
To be sure to catch me, arrange an appointment by email.

2/6/09

Below are the answers to the midterm; an answer key is available in my office.

1. e⁵−1

2. 61/3

3. 76/3

4. 1+e+π²/4

5. Figures 2 & 3 are conservative; Figures 1 & 4 are not.

6. 18 grams

7. (a) zero (b) positive (c) zero

(My original answer to the pretzel problem was incorrect.)

1/29/09

The midterm will be Friday 2/6/09 in class.

• The primary focus of the midterm is Lessons 5–7 (line integrals) in the Study Guide, which however incorporate material from the previous lessons; everything in the first 7 lessons is fair game.
• The most relevant sections in the text (MHG) are §17.3 and §18.1–§18.3. Please bear in mind that the presentation in class differed somewhat from that in the text; we covered topics in class that are not in the text, and there is material in the text which we did not cover.
  A table of the relevant sections in the text can be found on the inside front cover of the study guide.
• 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, and calculators may not 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).

1/28/09

Interactive plots of several vector fields, including the one from today's lab, can be found here.

Today's slides can be found here.

1/26/09

Some comments on this week's homework assignment have been posted on the page.

Note in particular the slight change in the assignment, indicated in green.
We will discuss the extra piece of this problem in class.

1/25/09

The (edited) movie version of Friday's onscreen presentation is available here.

This version is in MPEG4 format (mp4), rather than Flash (flv).
Previous movies are also available in this format here and here.

The final screen shot of the presentation is available here.

1/24/09

A nice example of a vector field is provided by the current wind patterns in the San Francisco Bay, which you can find here; take a look at the "Streakline" and "Archive" links.

An alternate server is available here.

1/23/09

Here are some slides showing the relationship between level curves and the gradient. In each case, the first picture shows the (3-d!) graph of a function z = f(x,y), and the second shows the combined (2-d!) graph of the level curves and gradient of f.

1/15/09

The (edited) movie version of Wednesday's onscreen presentation is available here.

This file is only a couple of MB. A similarly small version of the previous movie is available here.

The final screen shot of today's onscreen presentation is available here.

1/14/09

Here belatedly are the comments about writing I made in class a few days ago.

• Use complete sentences (most of the time).
• Show (the essential parts of) your calculations.
• Do use displayed equations — which should nonetheless be grammatically correct parts of sentences.
• Do restate the problem (preferably in your own words).
• Yes, it's a "lab report", but no, the goal is not to record every step you took. ("First, we did …") Rather, the goal is to present a clear discussion of your calculations and conclusions.
• Include pictures!

1/13/09

Homework guidelines are listed at the top of the HW page.

The rules are similar for both lab writeups and assigned problems. However, labs typically consist of several connect pieces, and this coherence should be reflected in your presentation. But this is not a writing course — you do not need to impress me with your creative writing skills. The primary goal is clarity of communication.

The worksheet we did in class yesterday on the vector differential dr does not need to be written up.

1/12/09

The material we are currently covering is not in the textbook.

The study guide may help!

1/8/09

The final will be on Thursday, 3/19, at 9:30 AM.

The time given in the CD version of the study guide is for the regular class, not ours.

1/7/09

Ouch — wrote the wrong password on the board — omit the MTH at the beginning …

1/6/09

The (edited) movie version of Monday's onscreen presentation is available here.

WARNING: This smaller file is still 34 MB.

A higher-resolution copy of the final screen shot has been posted here.

1/5/09

After class today, my department gave me copies of the Study Guide on CD.

I will distribute copies Wednesday in class; if you can't wait, stop by my office.

The final screen shot of today's onscreen presentation is available here.

The movie version is a bit long; an abridged version may be posted later.

You can use this website to determine the magnetic deviation (angle between true north and magnetic north) for any location. You will need to know the latitude and longitude — or the zip code. (Enter a zip code, press the button labeled "Get Location", then press the button labeled "Compute".)

You can find out more about magnetic declination at this site. Especially interesting are the links to online maps available in the section on determining the declination. (Search for "On-line Isogonic charts".)

12/2/08

If you already have the complete Calculus text by Hughes Hallett et al (not merely their Single Variable text), you do not need to purchase the McCallum et al text; for our purposes, these books are identical.

You have the full book if it includes Chapters 17–20; the Single Variable book ends with Chapter 11.

My standard grading scheme is outlined here. I reserve the right to make small changes to these rules.

The criteria I will use to evaluate written work can be found here.

Please read the guidelines on the homework page, which also apply to the writeups for the group activities.

A rough schedule for MTH 255 can be found here. Please use this as a guide only.

This schedule assumes Thursday recitations, which we don't have. You won't be far off if you assume that those activities will occur in our class on the preceding Wednesday.

You are encouraged to browse the website of the closely related Vector Calculus Bridge Project.