Math 233H is the third and final semester of the calculus sequence. It develops the extension of calculus to functions of several variables. In particular, we study vectors, partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, line integrals, and surface integrals. The culmination of the course several generalizations of the fundamental theorem of calculus: Green’s theorem, Stokes’s theorem, and the divergence theorem.
This is a four-credit course, with three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion section weekly. The pace of the course is rapid. The honors section will cover the same material as in Math 233, although the course will be more demanding.
Homeworks and the textbook are available through Cengage’s WebAssign system. You should self enroll there (you get some free days of access before you have to pay). This is the same setup used by main Math 233 course. The textbook is called Calculus: Early Transcendentals (9th Edition: Customized Hybrid Edition) by James Stewart.
The easiest way to sign up is
Go to WebAssign.
Sign up using the Class Key for our course. It is
umass 5528 0600
Here is a direct link you can use to sign up with the class key.
You can also sign up through the Canvas course, although I don’t know the details. There is some information about that here.
The grading for the course will be as follows.
Final exam 25%
Exams I and II, 20% each
Webassign HW, 15%
Recitation, 15%
Class participation, 5%
See below for information about the class participation grade.
Attendance will be required in recitation, and will be part of the recitation’s contribution to your final grade.
At the end of the term, some of your webassign scores will be dropped (at least 3). This way, if you don’t do as well on an assignment because of extra work in another course or for any reason, it shouldn’t affect your final homework grade. Extensions for HW are not granted except for documented reasons, as described in the Make-Up Exam section.
After being determined by the above algorithm, the total score will be truncated down to the nearest integer less than or equal to the total score. (Note that truncation is not the same as rounding. For example, a score of 89.75 will be truncated to 89, not rounded to 90. This is standard policy in courses offered in the Math and Stat Department.) The letter grade will then be determined by the following scale:
| A | A– | B+ | B | B– | C+ | C | C– | D+ | D | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 87 | 83 | 79 | 75 | 71 | 67 | 63 | 59 | 55 | <55 |
The final will be cumulative, with some emphasis placed on topics covered after the midterm exam. The date and time will be announced by the University. The final will only be given during the scheduled time, check SPIRE periodically to see when it is scheduled.
This course will have two evening midterm exams.
Exam I, Wednesday, 15 October, 7–9pm, location GSMN0051. Request makeup if necessary by Wednesday, 1 October.
Exam II, Wednesday, 5 November, 7–9pm, location GSMN0051. Request makeup if necessary by Wednesday, 22 October.
Sections covered on individual exams will be announced beforehand.
See below for the academic honesty statement about exams.
Re-taking of exams is not allowed in this course: once an exam has been taken it cannot be retaken or made up.
You are expected to take all exams, including the final exam, during their scheduled times. All students should check your travel plans and exam schedules of your courses carefully. If you have any schedule conflicts, you may log on the Spire page, go to “Student Home” and then to “Evening Exam Conflict”. This will allow you to fill out a conflict form and submit it. Then the registrar will email your instructor who needs to provide a makeup exam. Makeup exams must be requested at least two weeks before the exam.
Which case and where is the official support document for the make-up request?
(1) if you have an exam (or a class) schedule conflicts with the regular exam, you should log on the Spire page, go to “Student Home” and then to “Evening Exam Conflict”. This will allow you to fill out a conflict form and submit it. Then the registrar will email your instructor who needs to provide a makeup exam.
(2) if you have a university trip for university business during the regular exam date, like an athletic competition or academic conference etc., you should ask your supervisor or your coach to write an explanation letter including his/her phone number to your instructor as the official written document. Your instructor may verify the event by phone call.
(3) if you have a religious observance on a regular exam date and can NOT take the exam, you should write an explanation letter yourself and attach the invitation letter or relevant information as the official document.
(4) if you have a medical reason and can not take the regular exam, you should ask a medical professional’s statement including his/her phone number which indicates that you were unable for medical reason to take the scheduled exam. If the medical professional’s statement is not given before the exam, your instructor may refuse your make-up request.
I encourage you to form study groups and to work on the problem sets together. In fact you will learn a lot more about the material through discussing it with your fellow students. However, there are a few guidelines to follow:
Remember that ultimately you’ll be taking exams by yourself, so if you choose to work with others, make sure that you’re understanding what’s going on.
It is expressly forbidden to use means that do not represent your own work (such as, but not limited to, generative AI and copying solutions from online forums) to complete problem sets. (See the academic honesty statement below for more info.)
Successful completion of the problem sets is essential to help you monitor your progress in the course. They are the main way to make sure you are properly preparing for exams. Please don’t postpone working on the problems; try to take a look at them shortly after the material is covered in class.
According to the syllabus, 5% of your grade will come from class participation. This will be done using quick in-class problems:
A short problem will be written on the board. Such problems will be simple exercises from the class material, not longer more involved problems that typically appear in HW and on exams.
You will quickly work it out on paper and then submit it.
The problem will then be graded, with an emphasis on participation, not correctness. The problems will not be returned to you.
The whole process should take just a few minutes. A few further points:
When I say simple, I mean it. If this were Math 131, it would be things on the order of Graph y=x2 + 1, Compute the derivative of x3 + x2 + 3, etc. Of course Math 233H is more difficult, but this is really about participation.
Despite the emphasis on participation, you should really try to get these right. They should be pedagogically helpful.
This won’t happen every lecture, but randomly during the term (when the urge strikes me). Note that otherwise attendance is not taken.
These problems will only appear in lecture. No record of them will be kept otherwise.
It is not possible to make up or redo these assignments for any reason. At the end of the term I will drop a few scores (number to be determined). If you happen to miss a few lectures your grade should not suffer.
I try to answer as many questions as possible during lecture. If you have a question, don’t be afraid to ask. Chances are other students also have the same question. I also usually stick around a few minutes after class to answer quick questions (such as questions about parts of the lecture, a homework problem you’ve tried, etc.). Most students find this to be a good way to clear up confusion.
You should also make full use of your discussion section. In particular the teaching assistant is there to help you with your questions and to support your work in the course. Take advantage of this opportunity!
Outside of class, the best way to get help is through my office hours, the teaching assistant’s office hours, and the CTC (Calculus Tutoring Center, LGRT 140). Sometimes only a little bit of consultation is all that’s needed to deal with difficulties. One thing to remember is that you will get much more out of office hours/CTC if you make a serious effort to do the problem on your own first.
There is also some drop-in tutoring and supplemental instruction offered during the term at WEB DuBois library through the Learning Resource Center. Please see their website for more details. This is an excellent resource that is often under-utilized. Many students have found this helpful.
Although I like to get a lot of questions from students, it is not possible to answer mathematical questions by email. Please don’t be offended if you ask me a mathematical question by email and I don’t respond. I’ve found in the past that trying to discuss mathematics by email rarely helps anyone, and usually only causes more confusion. It’s much more effective to ask me such questions during class or office hours.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please register with Disability Services (161 Whitmore Administration building; phone 413–545–0892), meet with an Access Coordinator and send an accommodation letter to your faculty. Information on services and materials for registering are also available on the website www.umass.edu/disability.
Special accommodation request: new disability students should be certified by Umass disability service center (DSC) at first, then you should ask DSC to send the special accommodation documents to your instructor at least two weeks before exam 1 or exam 2, after that you may contact DSC,
Trisha Link
Exam Proctoring Coordinator
examsaccess@admin.umass.edu
413-545-0892
169A Whitmore
directly to schedule an appointment, DSC will notify you when and where to take the exam in a few days before the exam . For the documented disability students, DSC will notify you when you should schedule the final exam in DSC.
Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent. For more information see the website of Dean of Students Office.
Expectations for our course as as follows:
For homework, as discussed above, you will be allowed to work with other students collaboratively. In fact, I encourage you to form study groups to work together. However, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are learning the material and to submit your own solutions.
The work you do must be original. The use of online or other sources for solutions, or the use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce solutions will be considered a violation of academic honesty. Generative AI usage for other means related to the course (like as a study partner, sounding board, etc.) is not considered a violation, but it is the responsibility of the student to verify the accuracy of any content used in that context. (You’re much better off just reading something written by a reputable source, or collaborating with other students in the course, in my opinion.)
All exams will be done in-person and are closed book: no supplemental materials such as the textbook or notes may be used. Devices such as phones, watches, calculators, and computers, are not allowed to be used during exams. Of course no communication between students in any form is allowed during exams. Use of any unauthorized resources will be considered a violation of academic honesty and will be handled accordingly.