21-120 Final Wrapup

Well, the semester has drawn to a close. Here are the final statistics for the course. You can see that the final grade cutoffs are

A 74.32
B 62.95
C 52.95
D 41.25

I don't use Blackboard to compute grades, but your final average, unless you have late homeworks, will be the same as your "weighted average" from the blackboard site. At least they ought to be. Until a few moments ago, Exam #3 was categorized as an "assignment" rather than an "exam", which threw off the calculation. I've corrected that though, so now, you should be able to compare your "weighted average" to the cutoffs above to determine your grade. As long as you don't have any late homeworks, that is.

Course Statistics and Graded Homework

Here is a page of statistics for the course so far. You can see (revised (downward)) grade ctuoffs for the three midterm exams, and the computed cutoffs for your cumulative averages. The final grade cutoffs may change somewhat after the final has been graded, but probably not too much.You can compare your "weighted average" from the blackboard site to the Cumulative Average grade cutoffs to see where you stand going into the final.

I think all of you uncollected graded homework is in a box outside my office door (WEH 6214). I think it includes HW#15 for sections A and B, but I'm not sure about Section C.

Finals Week Schedule

Our Final Exam is, of course, at 5:30 on Friday, May 9.

I'm trying to schedule a review session for 1:00-2:30 on Wednesday, May 7. That is a reading day, so most of you should be available.

I'll hold office hours most day's this week. The schedule is:

Monday: 11:30-1:00
Tuesday: 11:30-12:15
Wednesday: Review Session, 1:00-2:30 (tentatively)
Thursday: 11:30-1:00
Friday: 11:30-1:00

Final Exam

Our final exam will be held on Friday, May 9 from 5:30 to 8:30 in the evening. I will provide more information about the final, and review materials as the date gets closer.

Assignment for Week #15

Well the last assignment has been posted. Get it while it's hot!

Assignment for Week #14

Better late than never.

The reading and homework assignmet for Week #14 are now available. It's a bit late, but I've tried to keep it short and sweet.

UPDATE: The assignment from Section 5.1 originally read Section 5.1 #, 4, 16. It has been updated to Section 5.1 #2, 4, 16.

Office hours by request only

I can't hold my normal hours tomorrow, and since there's only one more week of classes after this one, I just might as well not hold regular hours anymore. I'll still be available by email to work out alternate meetings, and I'll probably hold a review thing before the final.

Office hours canceled for this week

Due to Carnival coming up, and the fact that the test is Monday / tomorrow, I will not be able to hold my normal office hours this week. If you wish to meet with me outside of recitation, email me. If you want to pick up your old work and haven't yet, it's in the box outside Prof. Handron's office. -Klipper

Small correction

On Sunday from 6 to 8, it's not a review session per se, but more like office hours. I would suggest that people coming bring questions they would like to go over. I will not prepare a set agenda for the session.

Exam #3

Well, it's about that time. Time for Exam #3, that is. It will be given in class on Monday (April 14). I've posted a Review Page, including all the sections covered, and sample problems from each one. I've also posted solutions to a selection of the review problems on the Blackboard site (under "Course Documents").

The solutions to HW#11 are available on the Blackboard site, and the solutions to HW#12 are scheduled to appear at 12:05 Saturday afternoon.

I will hold a review session on Sunday afternoon, from 1:00 to 2:30 in WEH 5302. Michael Klipper will hold a review session Sunday evening in his office, from 6:00-8:00. If his office gets too crowded, he tells me he'll move to the whiteboards outside WEH 7500.

Assignment for Week #12

The reading and homework assignments for Week #12 have been posted.

Assignment for Week #11

The assignment for Week #11 has now been posted in its entirity.

Office hours for week of 3/31

I have to cancel my Tuesday office hours. I will still hold my Wednesday ones. If you wish to meet outside of the Wednesday hours, email me.

Office hours change

I am unable to make my Wednesday office hours, so I will move them to Thursday from 7pm to 8pm in the usual spot, Wean 7215. Shoot me an email if you want to come but can't make that time and I'll work something out. -Klipper

Assignment for Week #10

The reading and homework assignments for Week #10 have been posted. It is a little longer than usual, but not too much so.

Up to this point in the course, we have focused on the mechanics of computing derivatives. There have been a few motivational topics (e.g. related rates), but the focus was on the process of differentiation. Next week we begin investigating why one might want to do so. Specifically, we'll begin by looking at the information derivatives give us about a function.

Exam #2: More Calculusy Goodness

Okay, I've posted solution to some of the review problems on the Blackboard site. They are in the Course Documents section.

I've also had some requests for review problems from the chapter review section. The thinking is that you will have to think about how to approach the problem without knowing what section it belongs in. So here they are: From Chapter 2 (pp. 139-141) #13, 25, 29, 43, 49, 53, 55, 59, 69, and from Chapter 3 (pp.196-197) #5, 11, 17, 21, 23, 41, 49, 51, 57.

Exam #2 Review - Update

I've added Section 3.4 to the list on the Review page. It should have been there all along. I don't think it should change your studying too drastically, though.

Also, I've posted solultions to HW#5. They are availabe on the Blackboard site, along with all the other homework solutions, on the Course Documents page. I'll post solutions to some of the practice problems from the textbook later today as well.

Homework Solutions

I've posted the solutions to homework #6, 7 and 8 for your studying pleasure. These should have been posted week by week all along. Sorry about that. I also still need to get the solution to HW#5 put together. I'll post it as soon as I do.

Exam #2 Review

I've posted the review page for Exam #2. As before, I've included all the sections that will be covered. I've also provided an extensive list of review problems. You may have a method of studying that works for you, but if you are having trouble finding a place to begin, I would suggest the following:

Begin with a quick scan of each section, and try to do the first two or three problems listed. Then go on to the next section. Once you've been through each section, go back through and work on the next few problems. As you do this, make a note of which problems/sections give you the most difficulty. Go back and study those sections more carefully.

Also, don't forget to look over your homework assignments and class notes. Exam #2 will be basically the same format; four to six problems, most with a few parts. Exam #2 is likely to be more computational than Exam #1, but not necessarily easier.

The Rules of 69 and 72

In class on Monday, I gave an informed and eloquent description of the "Rule of 69" for determining the doubling time of an investment, whereupon a few of you took it upon yourselves to inform me that the the rule is, in fact, the "Rule of 72."

Well the happy news is that we are both (all) correct. This page explains why. The short explanation is: The Rule of 69 applies to continuously compounded interest rates, and is valid for all such rates. The Rule of 72 applies to annually compounded rates, and is a good approximation for rates close to 10%. How close is close? Well, how good is good...