Syllabus
MAA 4211 -- Advanced Calculus 1
Fall 2001--MWF 7th period--Little Hall 233

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Professor David Groisser
418 Little Hall
392-0281 extension 261
groisser@math.ufl.edu

Office Hours: Tentatively Tuesday 4th period, Wednesday 5th period, and Friday 4th period. See my schedule for updates. Please come early in the period or let me know to expect you later. You can also see me by appointment any weekday except Thursday .

Text: Rosenlicht, Introduction to Analysis . This text, which has 10 chapters, will also be used in MAA 4212 in the spring. This semester I plan to cover Chapters 1-5 plus some supplementary topics.

Homework: There will be regular homework assignments, due at intervals of from one to two weeks. The length and frequency of assigments will vary. Please see the homework page for rules concerning homework. Assignments will be posted on this page in due course.

Exams: There will be 2 midterms and a final. All of these will be take-home exams. Probably I will give you 48 hours for the midterms and either 48 or 72 for the final. The first midterm will probably be in late September, and the second in late October or early November. There will be no make-up midterms. The first midterm will probably be handed approximately September 25, and the second midterm approximately Oct. 26. The dates are not firm yet and will depend on how quickly we get through certain material. I will allow different students to pick up the exams at different times over a one or two day stretch, as suits their schedules. For example, Jack might pick up his midterm Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. and Jill might pick up hers Wednesday at noon; Jack would then be required to return the exam by Thursday at 3:00 p.m., and Jill to return hers by noon Friday.

Grading. The system I plan to use is based on the premise that some people put their best foot forward on homework and some do it on exams. It works as follows:

1. After each homework or exam, I decide a grade scale for that item according to the philosophy ``A = excellent, B = good, C = satisfactory, D = unsatisfactory but passing''. In setting these cutoffs, I don't have a predetermined grade curve or predetermined percentages for letter grades.
2. At the end of the semester, I compute a numerical ``raw score'' for each student according to four different weighting schemes:
   • 20% each midterm (total 40%), 20% final, 40% homework;
   • 20% each midterm, 30% final, 30% homework;
   • 20% each midterm, 40% final, 20% homework;
   • 15% each midterm (total 30%), 30% final, 40% homework.
3. By applying the same weighting schemes to the cutoffs for exams and homework, I construct four different sets of raw-score grade cutoffs. The homework assignments do not all count equally; longer assignments count more than shorter assignments.
4. Using these data, I obtain four letter grades for each student. The final grade I assign is the highest of these four.

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. At any point in the semester I will be able to tell you what grade you're running up to that date, but be aware that in such a projection the homework will be overweighted compared to its final weight.

Attendance. I pace my lectures on the assumption that everyone will attend class every day, barring illness, family emergencies, and the like. The only holidays I recognize are major religious holidays and the days listed in the official UF academic calendar as holidays. For example, in general the day before a holiday is not a holiday; the day after a holiday is not a holiday; Fridays are not holidays; Mondays are not holidays; and days before, during, and after tests are not holidays. If you miss classes on days other than the holidays I recognize, or for reasons other than those of the type above, please do not slow the class down by asking questions based on material you chose to miss, or ask me to use time office-hour time to give you a private lesson on material you chose to miss. Miscellaneous:

• Unless I say otherwise, you are responsible for knowing any material I cover in class, any subject covered in homework, and all the material in the textbook chapters we are studying. You are also responsible for most of MAC 2311-12-13 or the equivalent.

• As mentioned above, my grading philosophy is that A means excellent, B means good, and C satisfactory. I don't inflate the meaning of these terms. ``Good'' is a compliment, and ``satisfactory'' does not mean unsatisfactory. Generally you will not be able to get an A without real mastery of the material. The last time I taught this course, the final grade distribution was 3 A's, 2 B+'s, 1 B, 2 C+'s, 1 C, and 3 D's (12 students total; class GPA 2.7).

• If you miss class the day I return homework or an exam, you'll have one week to pick your paper from my office, after which I may discard your paper.

• Class will meet the day before Thanksgiving. Make your travel plans early.