Vector Analysis--MAS 4156/5157
Spring 1999--MWF 4th period
Syllabus

Professor David Groisser
418 Little Hall
392-0281 extension 261
groisser@math.ufl.edu
Dr. Groisser's home page (http://www.math.ufl.edu/~groisser)

Office Hours: Tentatively Monday 7th period, Tuesday 4th period, Wednesday 7th period. Please come early in the period or let me know to expect you later. See my schedule for updates. You can also see me by appointment any weekday except Thursday.

Text: Davis and Snider, Introduction to Vector Analysis, 7th edition (1995).

Grading: Your final grade will be determined by

I reserve the right to adjust the percentages above in individual cases if I feel that circumstances warrant.

See more about grading below for additional information.

Quizzes and Homework. Most weeks there will be a quiz, usually on Wednesday, covering recent homework.

Attendance bonus: If your attendance is good enough, I will drop your worst quiz. To qualify for this drop, you have to have no more than two absences for the whole semester. If you have more than two absences, but can document that ALL of these were for valid reasons, such as illness, I'll excuse your absences and drop your worst quiz. If you have more than two absences, and ANY of them is unexcused, I won't drop a quiz.

For further information, see Attendance: frequently asked questions . I will not discuss my attendance policies with you (e.g. why I marked you absent if you were only a little late) until you have visited this website and read the all the information there.

Miscellaneous:

More about grading

I don't have a predetermined grade curve or predetermined percentages for letter grades. I decide the grade scale for each exam and homework according to the philosophy A = excellent, B = good, C = satisfactory, D = unsatisfactory but passing. At the end of the semester, I use the cutoffs from the exams and homework and to determine the final grade cutoffs on a 1000-point scale. For example if the cutoff for a B is 80% on the quizzes and homework, 72% on the first hour exam, 69% on the second hour exam, 76% on the third hour exam, and 74% on the final, to get a B for the course you'd need (.16 x 80% ) + .17 x (72%+69%+76%) + (.33 x 74%) = 74.1% of the total number of points in the course, i.e. 741/1000. Since I don't determine the exam-grade cutoffs ahead of time, I can't tell you in advance exactly how many points you'll need to get a particular grade for the course.


This page was last modified by D. Groisser on Jan. 3, 1999.