General overview: Mathematics 112 is a second semester calculus course devoted to three subjects in single-variable calculus:
This is a hands-on course in which you will be actively involved with
mathematics in many ways and on many levels at once. About half of
classtime will be taken by your instructor communicating material to you
via lectures. This is not a time to be passive; unless you are engaged,
and ask questions when necessary, you are wasting your time (and money),
as well as your instructor's.
Textbook: Stewart, James. Calculus: Concepts and
Contexts, single variable, Second edition Brooks/Cole, 2001.
In-class activities: About half of classtime will be spent on
in-class activities in groups, as well discussions. The in-class
activities will be graded-it is part of the classroom participation
that is expected in the course.
Homework: Homework will be assigned and collected on Mondays. You
are encouraged to work with one another on these exercises, however, each
student should write up their solutions individually. Other sources of
support include (of course) your instructor's office hours, and the Math
Support Center, 256 Malott Hall. Late homework usually will NOT be
accepted.
Projects: There will be three group projects assigned during
the semester. You will work on these projects in groups of 3-4 outside
of class. Depending on the project, you will be given 2-3 weeks to
work on them. More information will be given when the projects are
assigned.
Exams:
There will be two prelims and a final exam.
Prelim 1: Tuesday, October 2, 7:30-9 p.m.
Prelim 2: Tuesday, October 30, 7:30-9 p.m.
Prelim 3: Project sections will not be taking prelim 3.
Final Exam: Thursday, December 13, 9-11:30 a.m.
Please inform your teacher as early as possible if you either have a
conflict of exams (for example, 2 at the same time), or require extra time
on exams.
CALCULATORS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON EXAMS (which will be constructed so
that the arithmetic is simple) but they may of course be useful in
homework.
Presentations: We believe that people learn mathematics best
by doing mathematics and by discussing mathematics with one another.
Therefore, each student will be asked to make a short (approx. 5 min.)
presention of a homework or activity solution at
least once during the semester.
Grading:
| First Project: | 10% | First Prelim: | 10% | Homework: | 10% | |||
| Second Project: | 10% | Second Prelim: | 10% | Activities & Presentations: | 10% | |||
| Third Project: | 15% | Final Exam: | 25% |
Incompletes are rarely given at Cornell, and then only if you have a
passing grade on a substantial amount of the course and a good
(documented) reason for being unable to complete the course.
To ensure that grades mean roughly the same thing from year to year, the
course is curved to set the median final grade at B.
Is this the right course for you?
This course is a sequel to Math 111 at Cornell, and a grade of C or
better in Math 111 is required if you took it here. If you have AP
credit for one semester of Calculus and your AB-exam score (or
AB-subscore of the BC exam) was over 3, you should have no problem
with Math 112. But if it was 3 and you need more calculus, you and
your advisor should carefully consider whether you should take that
first semester of AP credit. (A BC-exam score of 3 should be fine.)
Not everyone needs more than one semester of calculus. Math 112 is not
required for Biology Majors or to get into Medical School (with some
exceptions). An alternative second Math course for Biology Majors is
Math 105 (Finite Mathematics for Biologists), which offers noncalculus
topics such as matrices and introduction to Probability and
Statistics. [Math 106 does not qualify if you already have taken Math
111 or one semester AP credit; they overlap too much.] There are a few
Medical Schools that want two semesters of Calculus; check the Medical
School Admission Requirements manual in the Career Center in Barnes
Hall if you have a particular school in mind.
There are many other courses than Math 112, both inside and outside
the Math Department, which can be used for the Arts College
Mathematics Distribution Requirement after one has Math 111 (see
catalog). The introductory Statistics course Math 171 may be of
interest, as may Math 103 (Mathematical Explorations) or Math 150
(From Space to Geometry).
Also, if you are strong in Math, say you want to become a Math
Major, Math 122 may be a better choice than Math 112 since it has a
slightly more theoretical slant. Intended Physics Majors should
consider Math 122 or Math 192.
This is a special Projects section of 112. If you would like to work in
groups, solve real world problems, and improve your technical writing, or
you prefer classes having less pressure of prelims, you should take one of
these special sections (02, 07, and 08).
There are also multiple regular sections, in which 90% of a student's grade is based on the 4 exams, and there is no group work. If you feel you would be more comfortable in a regular section, you may want to switch sections.