The textbook for this course is:
W. L. Briggs, L. Cochran, B. Gillett, and E. Schulz, Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 3rd ed., Pearson, 2019.
You are required to have an access code for the Pearson MyLab Math platform to complete online homework assignments. If you were previously enrolled in a calculus course that used the same book, you may already have access. In that case, check the expiration date of your access code and make sure it is no earlier than the end of this semester. A digital version of the textbook is included with MyLab Math. For a detailed instruction on MyLab Math, see the document Quick Student Guide to MyLab Math posted on Brightspace.
Recitation sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All recitation sections meet in person. Find the location and teaching assistant of your recitation section on the MA 162 course page at the Department of Mathematics.
Office hours are times when you can meet with the instructors and the TAs to discuss the material being presented in class or other related issues you have. Course-related discussions include asking for extra help, seeking clarification of material presented in class, and following up on aspects of the class you find compelling. Appointments are not needed, and attendance is not required for office hours.
Information about office hours of your instructor is available on Brightspace.
Office hours of the teaching assistants are held at the Math Resource Room. It is staffed from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm on Monday–Thursday, and from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm on Friday. You may visit Math Resource Room at any time, and you do not need to specifically attend the hours of your teaching assistant.
There are Supplemental Instruction (SI) study sessions available for this course. These study groups are open to anyone enrolled in this course who would like to stay current with the course material and understand the material better. Attendance at these sessions is voluntary, but extremely beneficial for those who attend weekly. Time and location for the study session can be found at http://www.purdue.edu/si. Students who attend these interactive sessions will find themselves working with peers as they compare notes, demonstrate and discuss pertinent problems and concepts, and share study and test taking strategies. Students are asked to arrive with their student ID card, lecture notes, and questions to these informal, peer-led study sessions.
Most of the information, announcements, and resources about the course should be accessed through the Brightspace page (Login: https://purdue.brightspace.com/). General course information, including a copy of this syllabus and a list of lecture/recitation sections and instructors, can be found on the MA 162 course page at the Department of Mathematics.
By the end of the course, you will be able to
A Daily schedule is available on the Brightspace page. You may find the lecture topics, quiz schedule, and due dates of homework assignments on the daily schedule.
Homework assignments are administered on Pearson MyLab Math. There are a total of 35 graded homework assignments. These are numbered HW01 through HW35 on MyLab Math. Their due dates are listed in the MyLab Math system and on the daily schedule page on Brightspace.
More details about MyLab Math homework assignments are available in "How to complete homework assignments" on Brightspace.
Tuesday recitation sessions are Critical Thinking Salons. You will be presented with one challenging problem and put into groups for an in-depth salon-style discussion. You will take discussion notes during the salon and submit your notes at the end for grading. Although discussions are in groups, your salon notes must be taken and submitted individually. Please refer to the Daily schedule on Brightspace for salon schedule.
More details about Critical Thinking Salons are available in "How to attend Critical Thinking Salons" on Brightspace.
There are a total of 11 quizzes during Thursday recitation sessions. As formative assessments, quizzes usually cover lecture content from the past week. Please refer to the Daily schedule on Brightspace for quiz schedule.
More details about quizzes are available in "How to attend Reflect & Assess sessions" on Brightspace.
All deadlines of homework assignments in this course are at 11:59 pm of the specified dates, unless otherwise indicated. Late homework assignments will not be accepted. Make-up quizzes or salon notes will not be administered. At the end of the semester, three (3) lowest homework scores, one (1) lowest quiz score, and one (1) lowest salon note score will be dropped to account for any possible reasons of missing individual assessments. Please note that the intention of this policy is not to boost the final average for everyone, but to cover oversight, accidents, conflicts, short-term illness or emergency, and anything else for which you are unable to obtain an absence note from the Dean of Students (ODOS). As a result, we will disregard any requests of extension or exemption due to these aforementioned reasons.
Students who have to miss class for an extended period of time should contact the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) and their lecture instructor. With an approval from the ODOS, deadlines of impacted homework assignments may be extended for a reasonable period, and missed quizzes may be exempted from the overall total. Please refer to "How to request for absence, extensions, or exemption" on Brightspace for more details.
If you switch your registration to a different recitation section, it is your responsibility to contact both your previous TA and your new TA to ensure that your scores are appropriately copied over.
There will be three (3) midterm exams in this course. The dates and times for these midterm exams are
All midterm exams are closed-book and technology-free. Questions on midterm exams are all multiple-choice format. General details about the exams are available in "How to take exams" on Brightspace. Specific information about the locations and seating arrangements of exams will be updated and announced on Brightspace as we get closer to each respective exam dates.
There will be a two-hour final exam during the final exam week. The time and location will be determined by the Office of the Registrar at a later date .
A syllabus quiz is administered on Brightspace. The syllabus quiz is intended to
The questions are straightforward: if you have read the course information and the how-to’s on Brightspace, you should have no difficulty answering them. The syllabus quiz is due on Monday, February 2.
Your final grade will be computed through a combined evaluation of homework assignments, quizzes, and exam scores.
| Graded assessments | Weight |
|---|---|
| Syllabus quiz | 1% |
| Homework assignments | 10% |
| Salon notes | 10% |
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Midterm exams | 45% |
| Final exam | 24% |
Final letter grades will be determined using the following tentative grading scale.
| If your final grade is at least | 97 | 93 | 90 | 87 | 83 | 80 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 65 | 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your letter grade will be at least | A+ | A | A- | B+ | B | B- | C+ | C | C- | D+ | D |
For each entry of the table, it is possible that a lower final grade could be enough to earn the letter grade at the end of the semester.
Calculators, and any technology that can function as a calculator, are not allowed on exams or quizzes.
You are allowed to use calculators, computing tools, online resources, and generative AI tools for other modules of the course, including homework assignments. The use of these technology should mean to
but NOT to
This course follows Purdue’s academic regulations regarding attendance, which states that students are expected to be present for every meeting of the classes in which they are enrolled. Attendance of lectures will not be recorded, but you are responsible for all information, announcements, course materials, and assessments during lectures and recitations.
Due to the large number of students in this course, please take the following steps in order to contact the instructional team in case you have a question.
Your teaching assistant will be able to address most of your questions. If there is an issue which your teaching assistant cannot resolve, they will forward your message to the instructor. Do not direct your inquiry to the instructor without going through your teaching assistant first.
For more information about communication, consult "How to get help with course materials" and "How to contact the right person for my inquiry" on Brightspace.
We want every single one of you to succeed in this course, and we want to help you as much as possible along the way. However, you are the owner of your learning of the materials, so take the initiative to be responsible for your own learning.
Every member of our course should be able to access, use, and learn from the materials we share. This includes all course‑related digital content that you and I share in the course. This approach helps promote equal access for everyone at Purdue and is mandated federally by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We will work together to provide this access within our Brightspace course. My part, as instructor, is to make sure all course materials shared to Brightspace, such as documents, slides, videos and audio, and images, meet accessibility guidelines and to assist you in making sure anything you share is accessible.
Purdue University strives to make learning experiences accessible to all participants. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, you are encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center at drc@purdue.edu or by phone at 765-494-1247, as soon as possible.
If the Disability Resource Center (DRC) has determined reasonable accommodations that you would like to utilize in my class, you must release your Course Accommodation Letter to me. Instructions on sharing your Course Accommodation Letter can be found by visiting: How To Use Your Course Accommodation Letter. Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to contact me as soon as possible to discuss implementation of your accommodation.
Academic integrity is one of the highest values that Purdue University holds. Individuals are encouraged to alert university officials to potential breaches of this value by either emailing integrity@purdue.edu or by calling 765-494-8778. While information may be submitted anonymously, the more information is submitted the greater the opportunity for the university to investigate the concern. More details are available on the Academic Integrity page of the Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities.
Purdue University is committed to maintaining a community that recognizes and values the inherent worth and dignity of every person; fosters tolerance, sensitivity, understanding, and mutual respect among its members; and encourages each individual to strive to reach his or her potential. See Purdue’s full Nondiscrimination Policy Statement for more details.
If you find yourself beginning to feel some stress, anxiety and/or feeling slightly overwhelmed, try Therapy Assistance Online (TAO), a web and app-based mental health resource available courtesy of Purdue Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). TAO is available to all students at any time by creating an account on the TAO Connect website, or downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play. It offers free, confidential well-being resources through a self-guided program informed by psychotherapy research and strategies that may aid in overcoming anxiety, depression and other concerns. It provides accessible and effective resources including short videos, brief exercises, and self-reflection tools.
If you need support and information about options and resources, please contact or see the Office of the Dean of Students. Call 765-494-1747. Hours of operation are M-F, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
If you find yourself struggling to find a healthy balance between academics, social life, stress, etc., sign up for free one-on-one virtual or in-person sessions in West Lafayette with a Purdue Wellness Coach at RecWell. Student coaches can help you navigate through barriers and challenges toward your goals throughout the semester. Sign up is free and can be done on BoilerConnect. Students in Indianapolis will find support services curated on the Vice Provost for Student Life website.
If you’re struggling and need mental health services: Purdue University is committed to advancing the mental health and well-being of its students. If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and/or in need of mental health support, services are available. For help, such individuals should contact Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 765-494-6995 during and after hours, on weekends and holidays, or by going to the CAPS offices in West Lafayette or Indianapolis.
If you are facing challenges securing basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, health services, or access to technology or childcare resources and believe this may affect your performance in the course, please contact the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) to help coordinate with community resources. These services vary by location. In West Lafayette, see the Basic Needs Program website, or email basicneeds@purdue.edu. To connect with a Student Support Generalist on the Indianapolis campus, contact them by phone at 765-495-7797 or email studentlifeindy@purdue.edu.
In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond the instructor’s control. Relevant changes to this course will be posted onto the course website or can be obtained by contacting the instructors or TAs via email or phone. You are expected to read your @purdue.edu email on a frequent basis.
See Purdue’s Information on Emergency Preparation and Planning. This website covers topics such as Severe Weather Guidance, Emergency Plans, and a place to sign up for the Emergency Warning Notification System. I encourage you to download and review the Emergency Preparedness for Classrooms document.
During the last two weeks of the semester, you will be provided an opportunity to evaluate this course and your instructor(s) through online course evaluations. On Monday of the 14th week of classes, you will receive an official email from evaluation administrators with a link to the online site. You will have two weeks to complete this evaluation. Your participation in this evaluation is an integral part of this course. Your feedback is vital to improving education at Purdue University. We strongly urge you to participate in the evaluation system.
Notes taken in class are generally considered to be “derivative works” of the instructor’s presentations and materials, and they are thus subject to the instructor’s copyright in such presentations and materials. No individual is permitted to sell or otherwise barter notes, either to other students or to any commercial concern, for a course without the express written permission of the course instructor. See University Senate Document 03-9, April 19, 2004.
This class or portions of this class may be recorded by the instructor for educational purposes. Your instructor will communicate how members of the class can access the recordings. Portions of the course that contain images, questions or commentary/discussion by students will be edited out of any recordings that are saved beyond the current term.
This syllabus is subject to change. You will be notified of any changes as far in advance as possible via an announcement on Brightspace. Monitor your Purdue email daily for updates.