PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE TWO SECTIONS OF MATH 18. THIS
ONE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT HAD LINEAR ALGEBRA.
This is the homepage for Math 18, Several Variable Calculus (MWF 11:30 -12:20 in Hicks 211), taught by Jim Wiseman, Fall 2001.
Office: 3 Whittier Place, Room 255, 690-5763.
Email: jwisema1@swarthmore.edu
Office hours: Monday 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. (all classes), Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (18 only)
Text book: Marsden and Tromba, Vector Calculus,fourth edition, available at the bookstore. Errata for the various printings are available at the bottom of this webpage (look at the bottom of the Library of Congress information page of your book (opposite the table of contents) to see which printing you have).
Plan: We'll cover the whole book, omitting a few of the more theoretical sections and most of the higher-dimensional material. A more detailed tentative schedule is at www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/jwisema1/math18/syllabus.html .
Homework: Working problems is vital to learning math; there will be homework assignments nearly every class day, due the first Wednesday after they were assigned. Assignments will be posted at www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/jwisema1/math18/homework.html - you are responsible for checking the assignments, as I won't give them in class. It's very important that you keep up with the homework: if you haven't figured out Monday's lecture, Wednesday's will probably be pretty frustrating.
Group work: I strongly encourage you to work on the homework
in groups. I suggest that you work on the problems by yourself first,
making a note of anything giving you trouble; then meet with your group
and work through the remaining problems together; and finally write up
the solutions by yourself.
Every group member must write up his or her own
solutions independently; just copying the group's (or the solution manual's)
answers is plagiarism and is
unacceptable.
Getting help: As Talking Barbie says, "Math class is tough."
(Unless she's the hacked version- then she says, "Eat lead, Cobra.")
Chances are that sooner or later you'll get stuck on something, so don't
get frustrated. Think hard, and if you're still stuck, do something
else for a while. (It's amazing how often that works.)
My office hours are above - these are times when
I'm guaranteed to be in my office and willing to talk. If you want
to see me at other times, the best thing to do is to set up an appointment
with me by email or after class. Of course, you're welcome to just
drop by my office, as long as you don't mind if I'm not there or don't
have time to talk.
A good resource is the Math
Clinic in Cornell Library, which runs Sunday-Thursday, 7 - 10 pm.
Finally, I can't emphasize enough that your classmates
are your best source of help.
Grading: Homework 15%, each midterm 25%, final 35%
Exam schedule:
Late work and make-ups: Late homework won't be accepted,
and you won't be allowed to make up missed exams, except under very exceptional
circumstances (e.g.,
the sasquatch attacks - and even then you should get a note from the
sasquatch). In the case of a conflict that you absolutely can't resolve,
you may arrange to take a midterm exam early.
Feedback: I'm very interested in your feedback throughout the class: what you like, what you don't, what's working for you, what isn't - anything that you think might help me make the course better. If you have any comments (and you probably should), the easiest thing to do is to talk to me (or send email) about them. If you want to remain anonymous, you can fill out the anonymous feedback form on my feedback page.
Webpage: Please check this webpage for updated information.
http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/jwisema1/math18