Math 2110Q – Multivariable Calculus (Fall 2020)

Course Coordinator (Storrs): Katie Hall

Description

Two- and three-dimensional vector algebra, calculus of functions of several variables, vector differential calculus, line and surface integrals.

Prerequisites

MATH 1132Q or a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Calculus BC exam. Recommended preparation: a grade of C- or better in MATH1132Q. Not open for credit to students who have passed MATH 2130Q or 2143Q.

Text

The textbook for the course is Multivariable Calculus by James Stewart (8th Edition), which is bundled with a WebAssign code for doing online homework. This book consists of Chapters 10-17 of Calculus: Early Transcendentals (8th Edition), so if you already have that version from Math 1131Q and/or 1132Q, then you are all set (specifically you will need Chapters 12-16). Please see the link below for textbook purchasing options and prices, especially if you are also taking or considering taking Math 2410Q (Elementary Differential Equations). MATH 2110 Textbook Options

Lecture

You have three options for lectures. They are:

  • Anthony Rizzie’s Lecture Videos developed through eCampus
  • Alyssa Genschaw’s Lecture Videos
  • Katie Hall’s Lecture Videos offered synchronously TuTh 11:00-12:15. These will also be recorded and posted.

You can find information about all of these on the lecture section of HuskyCT.

WebAssign Homework, Piazza Posts and Worksheets

WebAssign Homework

To access the homework you will have to go through Husky CT. In your account you will find a link to do your homework using WebAssign. There will be homework assignments for each section of the text. Each assignment will be made available on WebAssign at the beginning of the semester. WebAssign homework is due on Tuesdays at 11:59pm.

You will get five attempts for each question that is not multiple choice and fewer than five attempts for each multiple-choice question; the exact number of attempts will depend on the number of choices. After each attempt, you will be told whether your answer is correct or not. If you are not able to get the correct answer after your initial attempts, we recommend that you seek help from your instructor, the Q-Center, a tutor, or another student before attempting to answer the problem again.

Life happens. If you have a day where you forgot about an assignment on WebAssign being due, you have exactly one week from the deadline to request an automatic extension. These extensions are automatically granted and will allow you two more days (48 hours) to complete the assignment at a penalty of 20% off anything completed past the deadline.

Questions on WebAssign will not necessarily be covered in lecture or discussion. This is a 2000-level math course, and you are expected to use resources like your instructor’s office hours and the textbook to help discover answers to new, more involved questions. This will be particularly true of questions on the worksheets.

Warning: When accessing your online homework, use Firefox or Chrome as your browser; there are problems that can occur if you use Internet Explorer or Safari. Useful tips on using WebAssign can be found here.

Worksheets

There are weekly worksheets due every Wednesday starting week 2.  These cover the topics covered during the previous week. Each worksheet will have 10 problems.  Some will need to be submitted and some are just for practice. You will find these worksheets on HuskyCT and need to submit the problems (as indicated on the worksheet) to the HuskyCT page for your discussion section. Work submitted must reflect your own understanding of the problem. Problems will be graded for both completion and correctness.  

Synchronous Problem Session

You are encouraged to attend a synchronous problem session with a TA where you will be put into a small group to work on the worksheet together.  This is a great opportunity to work through problems with your classmates which is an effective study strategy.  

Additional Practice Worksheets

Additional Practice Worksheets are provided under the Outline tab above and in HuskyCT.   These are intended to help you practice and master both the concepts and calculations for this course. Additional Practice Worksheets are not graded, but, problems from worksheets may show up on  exams. You may work on the worksheets by yourself or with other students in the course. If you have a good understanding of the worksheet questions and can explain them to a friend (try it, it’s harder than you think), then you are likely doing well in the class.

Piazza Posts

Each week, you will be assigned to either write a solution to or referee a solution of a worksheet problem. (You will alternate between writing and refereeing). See HuskyCT for instructions on determining what you need to write or referee each week. If you are posting, you should post your solution to Piazza by Wednesday. If you are refereeing, you should referee by Friday. The writer has a chance to fix their solution by the following Monday. 

You will be graded as follows:  Writer: Correctness of original solution (1 pt), Correctness of final solution (4 pts).  Clear explanations and proper mathematical notation. (5 pts)  Referee: Correctly identifying a correct solution or pointing out errors in an incorrect one and suggesting corrections (5 pts). Clear explanation and feedback. (5 pts).  If no solution was posted, then you should post your own.  

Midterm Exams

There will be three midterm exams (dates below). Each exam will have two parts – a multiple choice component and a free response component. You have 35 minutes to complete the Multiple choice component and an additional 35 minutes to complete the free response component. These must be completed either from 10am-12pm or 3-5pm. You can complete the components during the same time slot or one during each. Each component will require Lockdown Browser with Monitor (which requires a WebCam). You’ll also need access to a high speed internet connection and the ability to scan in handwritten work. A scanning app like TinyScanner, CamScanner or Dropbox works well. 

Final Portfolio

The final portfolio assignment is in lieu of a final exam.  You will be asked to explain several different concepts in your own terms as well as solve a variety of problems.  This should be worked on individually.  The work you submit should reflect your individual understanding. The assignment will be given before Thanksgiving break and is due at the end of the reading week.  Most of the work should be typed but can include several images of handwritten work.  These images should be clear and easy to read.  More details will be provided later in the course. 

Late Work Policy

Late work will not be accepted. Exceptions will only be made in University-approved absences. Please notify your instructor of any planned absences well in advance if at all possible. Do not wait until the last week of the course to discuss grade issues! If you are sick, please make every effort possible to tell your instructor BEFORE an exam or due date. If this is not possible, make contact as soon as possible, even just to say you are sick and will get in touch as soon as you feel better. Extra Credit: There is NO extra credit in this course.

Grading

Homework WebAssign   10%
Weekly Worksheets HuskyCT   10%
Piazza Posts Piazza 5%
Exam 1: (Sept 25) HuskyCT with Lockdown Browser and Monitor   20%
Exam 2: (Oct 23) HuskyCT with Lockdown Browser and Monitor   20%
Exam 3: (Nov 20) HuskyCT with Lockdown Browser and Monitor   20%
Final Portfolio: (due Dec 11) HuskyCT with Turnitin   15%

Note: If you are in the Honors discussion section, then your grading in the Piazza category for the course works slightly differently. You will complete Honors Engagement Activities instead of Piazza Posts. More details will be provided in HuskyCT. However, if you do not complete at least 70% of the activities at an acceptable level,  your final grade for the class will be at most a 79.99% (letter grade of C), which means you will fail to earn Honors credit for the course.

Grade Letter Grade GPA
93-100 A 4.0
90-92.99 A- 3.7
87-89.99 B+ 3.3
83-86.99 B 3.0
80-82.99 B- 2.7
77-79.99 C+ 2.3
73-76.99 C 2.0
70-72.99 C- 1.7
67-69.99 D+ 1.3
63-66.99 D 1.0
60-62.99 D- 0.7
<60 F 0.0

How to Study for This Course:

  1. Attend synchronous lecture or watch the pre-recorded videos on a set schedule.  Be actively engaged.
  2. Attend your TAs problem sessions.
  3. Read the explanations and examples in the textbook.
  4. Do the online homework in a timely manner. Don’t start it late and rush through it; you may not finish it, and you won’t learn much this way.
  5. Ask questions. Attend office hours. Reach out if you need help, early and as often as needed!
  6. Watch supplementary videos on the material to see and work with more examples. These can be found on the Learning Activities tab.
  7. Use technology as an interactive tool to learn and explore the properties of surfaces and vector fields. A few helpful links can be found on the Learning Activities tab.
  8. Do problems that you have not previously done and/or do problems without knowing what section they came from. For example, if you do a problem from Section 15.8, then you already know that it would be a good idea to use spherical coordinates. If you are instead given a triple integral to set up or evaluate without any knowledge of the section it came from, you have to decide if you should use Cartesian, cylindrical, or spherical coordinates, which is significantly better for your studying and mastery of the topics.

Calculator Policy:

Calculators are NOT allowed during exams.  You are welcome to use calculators while working on worksheets or WebAssign assignments. Using a calculator on a quiz or exam will result in a warning or a penalty, which could include a score of zero on that quiz or exam and being reported to Community Standards for academic misconduct.

Academic Integrity

“A fundamental tenet of all educational institutions is academic honesty. Academic work depends upon respect for and acknowledgement of the research and ideas of others. Misrepresenting someone else’s work as one’s own is a serious offense in any academic setting and it will not be condoned.” A student who knowingly assists another student in committing an act of academic misconduct shall be equally accountable for the violation, and both shall be subject to the sanctions and other remedies. See the Uconn Student Code, Appendix A.

All students shall act in accordance with the Student Code at the University of Connecticut, which states that: “Academic misconduct is dishonest or unethical academic behavior that includes, but is not limited to, misrepresenting mastery in an academic area (e.g., cheating), failing to properly credit information, research, or ideas to their rightful originators or representing such information, research, or ideas as your own (e.g., plagiarism).” In particular, this means that any work you submit in this course should be your own.

It is expected that you will struggle with various aspects of this course, and you are encouraged to seek help from me, your peers, the Q Center, and other sources in understanding the concepts and computations. However, you are expected to turn in work that reflects your own understanding of the topics and ideas. Therefore, your work should not bear resemblance to that of any other student in the course or to any other sources used, and any ideas used for which any other party had a share in developing should be cited as such.

For example, it is a good idea to look at examples in the text, notes, or online for problems similar to the one you are stuck on, and looking for ways to adapt the ideas and methods to your current problem. In the interest of both your learning and academic honesty, I do not recommend searching for solutions to the specific problem you are stuck on. However, if you search for solutions to a specific assigned problem, you will need to carefully cite your source and also write up a solution that is completely in your own words and honestly reflects your own understanding of the ideas (i.e., without looking at the solution, or possibly even at any notes you took while viewing the solution).

[(added 10/16/2020) Note: While you may look online for help, as clearly stated on each Worksheet, you may not view solutions to specific Worksheet problems (or small variations to these problems) on paid sites like Chegg or Bartleby. You may still use (with proper citations) Piazza, Problem Sessions, Office Hours, and other free outside resources like Khan Academy and YouTube. This means that if you use these allowed resources, even just for a push in the right direction, you should mention that you used them and then still write the solution in our own words to reflect your own understanding.]

Consequences of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to, a zero on the assignment or exam and/or a grade of F in the course. If you are unsure that what you are doing to complete the work of this course is acceptable, contact the instructor for helpful tips and advice on how to protect your work and ensure that you are not violating the academic integrity policies of the instructor, the course, or the university. More details of the Academic Integrity Policy for the course are available on HuskyCT,

Student Support Services

  • Dean of Students 486-3426 The office serves as an advocate for students and as a centralized resource for connectingstudents with appropriate university and community programs, offices and individuals. The office supports students in resolving educational, personal and other university concerns that affect the quality of their academic or community life and personal goals.
  • Center for Students with Disabilities  486-2020 (voice),  486-2077 (TDD) The Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at UConn provides accommodations andservices for qualified students with disabilities. If you have a documented disability for which you wish to request academic accommodations and have not contacted the CSD, please do so as soon as possible.

Additional Course and Course Support Information

Feedback and Grades

We will make every effort to provide feedback and grades within a week of your submissions. To keep track of your performance in the course, refer to My Grades in HuskyCT and WebAssign.

Weekly Time Commitment

You should expect to dedicate 12 to 14 hours a week to this course. This expectation is based on the various course activities, assignments, and assessments and the University of Connecticut’s policy regarding credit hours. (More information related to hours per week per credit can be accessed at the Online Student website).

Student Authentication and Verification

The University of Connecticut is required to verify the identity of students who participate in online courses and to establish that students who register in an online course are the same students who participate in and complete the course activities and assessments and receive academic credit. Verification and authentication of student identity in this course will include:

  1. Secure access to the learning management system using your unique UConn NetID and password.
  2. Midterm Exams proctored using Lockdown Browser with Monitor – see Exam Page for details

Husky Study Groups 

Are you interested in forming a study group with other students in the class?  There is a study group application in Nexus that can help you get started. Check out this video wand go here (https://nexus.uconn.edu/secure_per/studygroups/index.php) for more information.

Resources for Students Experiencing Distress

The University of Connecticut is committed to supporting students in their mental health, their psychological and social well-being, and their connection to their academic experience and overall wellness. The university believes that academic, personal, and professional development can flourish only when each member of our community is assured equitable access to mental health services. The university aims to make access to mental health attainable while fostering a community reflecting equity and diversity and understands that good mental health may lead to personal and professional growth, greater self-awareness, increased social engagement, enhanced academic success, and campus and community involvement.  Students who feel they may benefit from speaking with a mental health professional can find support and resources through the Student Health and Wellness-Mental Health (SHaW-MH) office. Through SHaW-MH, students can make an appointment with a mental health professional and engage in confidential conversations or seek recommendations or referrals for any mental health or psychological concern.  Mental health services are included as part of the university’s student health insurance plan and also partially funded through university fees. If you do not have UConn’s student health insurance plan, most major insurance plans are also accepted. Students can visit the Student Health and Wellness-Mental Health located in Storrs on the main campus in the Arjona Building, 4th Floor, or contact the office at (860) 486-4705, or https://studenthealth.uconn.edu/ for services or questions.

Accommodations for Illness or Extended Absences 

Please stay home if you are feeling ill and please go home if you are in class and start to feel ill. (Luckily, most people can still attend class from home. Let us know if you can’t!)  If illness prevents you from attending class, it is your responsibility to notify your instructor as soon as possible. You do not need to disclose the nature of your illness, however, you will need to work with your instructor to determine how you will complete coursework during your absence. If life circumstances are affecting your ability to focus on courses and your UConn experience, students can email the Dean of Students at dos@uconn.edu to request support.  Regional campus students should email the Student Services staff at their home campus to request support and faculty notification.  COVID-19 Specific Information: People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus and can include:

  • Fever, 
  • Cough,
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Repeated shaking with chills
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • New loss of taste or smell

Additional information including what to do if you test positive or you are informed through contract tracing that you were in contact with someone who tested positive, and answers to other important questions can be found here: https://studenthealth.uconn.edu/updates-events/coronavirus/

Students with Disabilities and Special accommodations

The University of Connecticut is committed to protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities and assuring that the learning environment is accessible.  If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. Students who require accommodations should contact the Center for Students with Disabilities, Wilbur Cross Building Room 204, (860) 486-2020 or http://csd.uconn.edu/. Student Athletes and Students with Disabilities should inform your instructor of your commitments as an athlete, any special needs that you have, etc. within the first three weeks of the semester. You will be expected to bring in a letter from the Athletics Department or the Center for Students with Disabilities. The University Senate passed a motion on about religious observances which stipulated that Students anticipating such a conflict should inform their instructor in writing within the first three weeks of the semester, and prior to the anticipated absence, and should take the initiative to work out with the instructor a schedule for making up missed work. For conflicts with final examinations, students should, as usual, contact the Dean of Students. Note: We know that this transition to online classes has the chance to increase the number of students who need accommodations and the form those accommodations will take. We will work with all students to the best of our ability to ensure their specific needs are met the best we can. Please contact your instructor to discuss any needs to you.

Student Responsibilities and Resources 

As a member of the University of Connecticut student community, you are held to certain standards and academic policies. In addition, there are numerous resources available to help you succeed in your academic work. Review these important standards, policies and resources, which include:

  • The Student Code
    • Academic Integrity
    • Resources on Avoiding Cheating and Plagiarism
  • Copyrighted Materials
  • Credit Hours and Workload
  • Netiquette and Communication
  • Adding or Dropping a Course
  • Academic Calendar
  • Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment and Inappropriate Romantic Relationships
  • Sexual Assault Reporting Policy

Software/Technical Requirements (with Accessibility and Privacy Information)

The software/technical requirements for this course include:

For information on managing your privacy at the University of Connecticut, visit the University’s Privacy page. NOTE: This course has NOT been designed for use with mobile devices.

Help

Technical and Academic Help provides a guide to technical and academic assistance. This course uses the learning management platform, HuskyCT. If you have difficulty accessing HuskyCT, you have access to the in person/live person support options available during regular business hours through the Help Center.  You also have 24×7 Course Support including access to live chat, phone, and support documents.

Student Technology Training

Student technology training is now available in a new HuskyCT short course created by students for students. It will prepare you to use the IT systems and services that you will use throughout your time at UConn, whether learning online or on-campus.  It is available at https://lms.uconn.edu/ultra/courses/_80016_1/cl/outline .

Minimum Technical Skills

To be successful in this course, you will need the following technical skills:

  • Use electronic mail with attachments.
  • Save files in commonly used word processing program formats.
  • Scan handwritten work to PDFs.
  • Copy and paste text, graphics or hyperlinks.
  • Work within two or more browser windows simultaneously.
  • Open and access PDF files.

University students are expected to demonstrate competency in Computer Technology. Explore the Computer Technology Competencies page for more information..

Evaluation of Course Experience

Students will be given an opportunity to provide feedback on their course experience and instruction using the University’s standard procedures, which are administered by the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE). The University of Connecticut is dedicated to supporting and enhancing teaching effectiveness and student learning using a variety of methods. The Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) is just one tool used to help faculty enhance their teaching. The SET is used for both formative (self-improvement) and summative (evaluation) purposes. Additional informal formative surveys and other feedback instruments may be administered within the course.

Contact

The course coordinator:  Professor Katherine Hall(katie.hall@uconn.edu). Or your instructor.