| In
this course, we will discuss the basic ideas of the Calculus.
There
are surprisingly few, and the subjects presented in the course follow easily from them.
The
notion of a limit is basic. The Calculus is based on two important
limits: the derivative and the integral. Once they are understood, all
follows from these notions rather easily. You will be surprised
how
much material follows from them. Math 201 is a "freshman seminar" class limited to about 15 students. The prerequisite is a score of "5" on the AP Calculus (BC) Exam. This score indicates that a student is ready for work in Calculus III (Math 233). Most of such students probably should enroll in the standard Calculus III course (Math 233). This is especially true for students just taking Calculus III because "it's required" for a certain major or minor program. A smaller number of such students will want to consider Math 201 instead. Math 201 covers much of the material in Calculus III, and much more. It is a 4-credit "honors" course meeting MTTF 11-12. It uses lecture notes from the instructor instead of a textbook, and with more emphasis on mathematical thinking, rigor and proof. Students who sign up should really like mathematics for its own sake and be willing to work hard. The material really is "a cut above" the level of 233 in difficulty, but generally students who have completed this course think it was worth the effort. Applications of the calculus are also discussed. If you think you might like Math 201 but are hesitant about the idea of a "honors course," then notice that there's a regular section of Math 233 that meets at more-or-less the same time: MWF 11-12. If after a few classes you think that you should have chosen Math 233 instead, you can probably make the switch without disrupting the rest of your schedule. For purposes of math requirements or a requirement for "Calculus III" in another department, Math 201 is an acceptable substitute. The instructor for Math 201, fall 2012, is Professor Guido Weiss. You should feel free to contact him by e-mail or in his office (Cupples I, room 214, 935-6711) if you need more information or advice. For comparison, you can also look at a fairly typical syllabus for Math 233 (Calculus III, spring 2011). Although the Math 233 text might be different in Fall 2012, the topics covered will be about the same. If you're planning to major or minor in math, then the instructor might recommend that, after 201, you can skip the required intermediate level course 318 although, in that case, you'd need to add another upper level math elective to the major instead of 318. More about Professor Weiss Registration Information: The College Office has not yet confirmed exactly how the registration process for 201 will work, but we expect it will be like previous years: the enrollment limit for the course (actually = 15) will be set to "0" in the online registration system. Therefore every student who registers will have to put herself/himself on the "wait-list." Professor Weiss will be in touch with students on the wait list and will approve their registration for the course or encourage them to take Math 233 instead. |