Math 2200L and Math 2210L - General Information

The Calculus Lab has been designed to give you an opportunity to investigate problems in greater depth than is possible in a standard lecture course. It also allows you to do investigations in your own creative way. Finally, the lab helps you develop expository technical writing skills - a very valuable asset in today's market. In the Calculus Lab you will work on projects and write reports on your investigations with the aid of Maple 8, a modern computer algebra system, which helps with lengthy calculations. Maple 8 also creates interesting graphic displays, and serves as a word processor for your reports. You are not expected to have had any prior experience with Maple 8. You will learn the basics of Maple as you work on projects. The syntax used by Maple is very similar to that used by many of today's hand-held graphing calculators (for example the TI-83).

You should read over the lab you will be working on before coming to class. The labs can be readily accessed from the Calculus Lab Homepage. It may be useful to jot down some formulas you will use in the project or some tools that you will use in the project. Even though you will be using a computer, there are some calculations that are easier to do by hand. One skill you should try to develop during the semester is that of knowing when to do a calculation by hand and when to do it on the computer. Most projects run for either one or two class periods. Your instructor will decide which projects you are to complete and when they ard due. When beginning a new project, your instructor will present a brief introduction to the project and discuss the main mathematical ideas in the project. The instructor will also tell you about any new Maple commands that you might need in the project. The instructor will not "solve" the project for you but instead will provide guidance and direction to you as you work the project. You are encouraged to work in small groups with other members of your lab class. Working in teams is becoming the norm in today's economy. However, you must write up your final lab report by yourself. You should feel free to ask your regular calculus instructor any questions relating to the mathematids involved with any lab. Questions specifically about Maple should be directed to your lab instructor or the instructor in one of the open labs scheduled for general help. Explanations of results and summary paragraphs must be your own and not merely a paraphrase of some else's work. You must sign an academic honesty statement at the end of each report giving credit to others with whom you worked on the project and stating that you wrote your own report.

Your final lab report must be written by yourself. It is unacceptable to copy another individual's Maple file and merely change some phrases throughout the report. Cases in which students are suspected of copying other student files will be turned over to the University Judiciary Council. You can find out more about the University policies on academic honesty by clicking here. You should also learn to protect your work on a computer just as you do with a credit card. Do not leave files on computers that are not your own. Do not leave floppy discs in computers that are not your own. When you have finished working on a worksheet and have saved it either to your floppy disc or the disktop, close Maple and/or shut down the machine if possible so that no student using the machine after you is tempted to copy your work.

The projects are of various types and change from semester to semester. Some projects are graphical in nature while others are numerical; some are theoretical and some are applied. You are expected to learn the syntax of the most common commands in Maple. You should also become familiar with using the Help screens provided in Maple. When a new important command is being used for the first time in a project, the command will be discussed at the beginning of the class. Most projects begin with a presentation or illustration of the main ideas from calculus that are being used in the project. Some instructors may require that you turn in the introduction as well as the project. It is wise to work the material in the introduction or tutorial of the project before starting the actual project itself. To create your project report, you should start with a clean Maple worksheet. It is often convenient to have both the project worksheet and your report worksheet opened together in Maple. You can split the screen so that both worksheets are visible and accessible simultaneously. Some projects have Extra Credit components that let you further than that which is required in the basic project. Each instructor will indicate how Extra Credit sections will be used in grading.

Your report for a project should be a clear and complete presentation of the project topic, the steps in your investigation of the topic and the results of your investivation. A good report will have an introductory paragraph and a concluding summary paragraph. The summary paragraph should discuss the main results of your investigation as well as ideas and concepts that you learned through your investigation. The summary paragraph should not merely be a rehashing of the steps of the project. You should write your report as if you were explaining your project and results to a fellow student with the same mathematical background as yours but who has not worked on the project. Your report should have Maple commands and output as well as paragraphs of text interspersed between the Maple commands. All text should be complete sentences written in good English with correct spelling. As you work through the project, comment about the result(s) produced by a Maple command or a sequence of Maple commands. Was the result expected? Did the result illustrate an important idea or concept? Answering questions such as theses will make your report much more valuable and interesting than just giving a verbal description of each step. You will develop the skills for writing interesting reports as the semester progresses and you get feedback on your early reports. Your instructor will make comments and suggestions for improvement on your earlier reports. Before you hand in your report, proofread it correcting spelling, grammar and syntax. Hand in work that you are proud to claim as your own.

You are expected to attend each class and work an additional hour during the week outside of class. Your individual instructor will give you her/his explicit policy on attendance. Maple is available at various EITS locations on campus. Personal copies of Maple 8 are available at the University Bookstore. You are not required to have your own personal copy of Maple. Various Math Department labs will be open during various hours each week and staffed with strong undergraduates, graduate students or faculty who can help you both with Maple and mathematics. Click here to see the Open Lab Schedule. The open labs will be open starting with the second week of the semester. It is wise to work on your lab report continuously rather than leaving it to the night before it is due. Your lab instructor will be available to consult with you both in the lab and during office. Many students waste considerable time working on calculus lab projects because they do not understand the mathematics involved in the project or because they do not have an overview of what the project is attempting to accomplish. One suggestion is to write up a brief outline of what you are supposed to do in the project. Decide which parts of the project require the computing power of the computer. Write down any formulas that you are going to need in the project ( e.g. if the project involves tangent lines, write down the form of the equation of the tangent line you will use). Just sitting in front of the computer without having thought about the project or what you want the computer to do will generally waste lots of time while accomplishing very little. The labs have been designed so that the can be reasonably worked in two hours per week if you approach them as suggested above.

In addition to the lab reports instructors may base part of your grade on short quizzes or tests during the semester. You may be tested on the most basic Maple commands as well as on some of the basic ideas from Calculus. You should not think of the lab and your regular calculus class as separate entities. You are expected to apply ideas from your regular class in the lab.

The calculus lab is a different kind of mathematics course - one in which the goal of obtaining the correct answer is less important than the journey you take to reach that answer. It is a course that encourages your own investigations and use of creativity. It is a course that exposes you to modern technology and develops many valuable skills for today's economy. If you approach the calculus labs with confidence and enthusiasm and take pride in the product that you are producing, the calculus labs will serve you well.

The calculus labs Math 2200L and Math 2210L are co-requisites for Math 2200 and Math 2210 respectively. Students who withdraw from one of the lab courses must also withdraw from the regular course. Early on in the semester each student will be asked to turn in a signed form stating that s/he is aware of this policy. Students withdrawing from the regular calculus course late in the semester may be permitted to complete the lab. Such cases will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the lab instructor in consultation with the student and the regular course instructor.