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 A CSC topic begins with the statement of a background situation
that comes from a field
outside
of mathematics such as biology or physics, and that involves real data. Our topic
this term
will be population modeling. We will break down the problem into smaller pieces
that we
will present in chapters. This will result in your being able to report on them in
manageable blocks of time. In each chapter, you will be learning to set up a
mathematical
expression that addresses some of the issues. You will also get experience
exploring
mathematical ideas by drawing graphs, or generating numbers, or doing
algebra, or
applying
calculus. Finally, you will be learning to report on what has been learned and
what
relevance the mathematical outcome has to the original situation. Indeed, the
completed report on the CSC will be a discussion of mathematical modeling
and the
scientific
method. The CSC is intended to illustrate the power of calculus as a modeling
tool in a
variety of contexts.
Guidelines for your work:
1.On the
two hour-exams and the multiple-choice part of the final examination you will work
individually, guided by the Dartmouth Academic Honor Principle.
2.On the daily homework
exercises and on the CSC homework, you will turn in assignments
individually, although you are encouraged to work collaboratively. As usual,
collaboration
does not
include copying someone else's work--a clear violation of the Honor Principle.
Moreover, because the exams will consist of problems like those in the
regular and the
CSC
homework assignments, you would be rather foolish not to attain a thorough grasp
of
all the
issues addressed in the homework. Remember: When it is time to write up work for
submission, make it your own by doing it yourself and in your own words.
Especially on
the CSC
reports, where written expression is important, take care that all of the words are
your
own even though you may have formulated the ideas in cooperation with other
students
in a group.
Twice-weekly Homework Exercises: Careful attention to the
regular (as opposed to the
CSC
assignments) homework is one of the most effective ways for you to do well in the
exams.
These exercises provide you with essential practice on calculus techniques that will
be tested
in the hour-exams and the final examination. The homework you turn in will be
read and
commented on by an undergraduate assistant who will keep a record of scores.
Submitting the homework for marking has two main purposes: first, to give
you, the
student,
feedback on how well you are understanding and mastering the material; and
second,
to provide us, the instructors, with a report on your daily and weekly progress and
work
habits. The scoring will be according to the following scale:
ScoreMeaning
3substantially correct and complete
2contains some errors or
omissions, but we know that you know your stuff
1contains major errors or
omissions, and we are not sure that you know your stuff
0shows little or no effort, and
you need to get help
Late
homework will notbe accepted without an excuse. When you are doing the
homework, you should routinely ask yourself questions such as: "Could I
have tackled this
problem
out of context?" "How would I recognize it three weeks later on an exam or next
term in a
physics course?" Be wary that you are not simply blindly following the paradigm
of
problems illustrated in the text or in class. Reflect on each problem after you have
solved
it, and
satisfy yourself that you could be a "self-starter" on problems of a similar type.
There
will be 20 regular-homework assignments this term. Your homework score for the
term will
be determined by dividing your homework total by 3. Thus, the maximum score
you can
earn is 20.
Case Studies in Calculus Assignments: The reports on the first four
chapters of the CSC
will be
due on the four days of the term whose dates are indicated in the daily schedule;
they will
be worth 10 points each. The completed report on the CSC will be due at the final
exam.
Worth 40 points, it will be the culmination of the continuing project and will
contain
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