University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Math 250, Fall 2011
12/1/11: Best Wishes for all your finals! Let's do something special on the Final for this class! :-) :-)
12/1/11: As mentioned in class, here is the solution to problem 7 on Exam 3. (Just click on "here" to view it.) Feel free to print this.
11/30/11 Hwk: (Please note that these problems are fairly easy, given all the examples (especially the last few) that we did in class today. So, considering the examples that we did in class today, I hope that these problems are fairly quick to go over.) 7.3: 4 (note: 3 = 3x^0, so 3x is an antiderivative of 3), 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16.
11/28/11 Hwk: (you're responsible for this material on the final exam) 5.3: 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 18bc; study what's in the blue box on page 261 (it's fine to ignore the word "continuous" and the last two lines); note the first blue box on page 301; 7.1: (the following use the last formula given
in class today; we will do examples of this kind of problem on Wednesday) 4, 5, 14 (hint: g(z) = z^{1/2} = "z to the 1/2").
11/21/11 Hwk: (you're responsible for this homework on Wednesday's exam (which is Nov. 23rd);
you do not turn today's hwk assignment in; there will be more hwk next week and you're responsible for it on the Final, but you do not turn it in; so the hwk that you turn in on Wednesday (from 11/14 and 11/16 only) will be the last hwk that you turn in, in this course) 5.2: 7bd, do 12a with n=10 and a LHS or a RHS, do 15a with n=10 and a LHS or a RHS, 17c; 5.3: write down (but do not compute or estimate) a definite integral whose value is equal to the area described in #1, write down (but do not compute or estimate) a definite integral whose value is equal to the area described in #2, 18a.
11/16/11 Hwk: Note: near the end of class today, we used a left-hand sum to approximate the definite integral of the function y = t^2 ("t squared") over a certain interval. 5.2: 2, 3, 4, 7ac, 9, 11, 19, do 30ab for left-hand sums (not "right sums"). In the 25 minutes of new material in Monday's class, we will study right-hand sums (RHS's) and how they can be used to define the definite integral. You will be responsible for that new material on Wednesday's Exam 3 (that's the Wednesday just before Thanksgiving).
11/16/11 Another quick comment: if you weren't comfortable with some aspects of today's presentation, please try to keep the following perspective in mind: the definite integral, a beast with legendary powers, is really just a tool that is based on a very pretty picture ... that picture is a little on the complicated side to understand (like excellent artwork), but it's a very rich picture. That pretty picture is the picture that we were studying in today's class.
11/16/11 Quick comment: please don't be intimidated by the fact that we're skipping a few sections in Chapter 4 and are now in Chapter 5. I've taught this course a number of times, and I really believe that this makes things
easier, instead of more difficult (it's something new! fresh! --it's not something that involves a lot of tricky work with solving equations).
11/14/11 Hwk: 4.2: first sentence of 10; the last 9 words of sentence one for 14, 16, 18; 23, 25, 35ac. Show that f(x) = x^6 ("x to the 6th") does not have an inflection point when x = 0.
11/9/11 Hwk: 4.1: 16 (read carefully :-) ), 17, 18, 27, 30, 31. The key tool: master Figure 4.6 on page 172 (you've probably mastered it if you can go over it in your head in a relaxed way when you take a walk after dinner).
11/7/11 Hwk: 3.3: 44, 46; 3.4: 6, 10, 19, 21, 22, 28; page 168: 33, 43, 46, 58, 60.
11/2/11 Hwk: 3.2: 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 24, 26, 27; 3.3: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 20, 22, 26, 28. There are a number of problems here, but please notice that most of them are fairly quick and are easier than the examples done in class.
10/31/11: Exam Two was today.
10/26/11 Hwk: (due Monday; responsible for on the exam) 3.1: 40, 41, 52b; page 161: 77a; page 162: 8, 9.
10/24/11 Hwk: (due Monday; responsible for on the exam) 3.1: 4, 5, 9, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 46, 49, 50a. Do, but don't turn in: 12, 38, 39, 51.
10/19/11 Hwk: 2.4: 2, 5, 6, 7, 9bc, 16, 18; 3.1: 1, 2, 8, 36.
10/18/11: Exam Two will be on Monday, October 31st.
10/17/11 Hwk: 2.3: 8 (ignore the last 4 words of the last sentence), 12a, 15b, 22a, 24ab, 25, 26; do 29b after changing 145 to 140.6; do 30ab after changing the numbers 21 and 30 in part (b) to 20.003 and 20.12, respectively; 37, 41.
10/12/11 Hwk: 2.2: (Note: "graph" means give a reasonably good sketch that is justified by the details that you write down; "match" means match with justification; for these problems, remember to use only the tools that we have learned so far) 2, 4, 7, 15, 16, 17 (interesting!), 21, 24 (neato!), 30.
10/10/11 Hwk: 2.2: in Example 4 on page 97, give two good estimates for c'(.3) and two good estimates for c'(.6); 21 (why?), 22 (why?), 23 (why?), 25, do 28a for f '(3) and f '(5) only, 29.
10/5/11 Hwk: (due on Monday) page 132: 25, 26. 2.1: 10a, 11, 12, 13, 19. 2.2: 1.
10/3/11 Comments: It was not at all my intention for today's exam to be too hard! In my Math 250 classes in the past, the pattern has been that the class average is at least 15 percentage points higher on Exam Two than on Exam One: maybe this means that students often find Exam Two easier than Exam One! If you have any worries or concerns about the course and how you are doing in it, please talk to me and ask me any questions that you have.
9/28/11 Hwk: (not on Exam One; due on Oct. 10th) page 131: 1, 2. 2.1: 6 (Hint: apply carefully today's new material and have fun with secant lines), 20abc, 21c.
9/26/11 Hwk: Note: (a) you are responsible for today's hwk on Exam One; (b) today's hwk is due at the beginning of class on Monday; (c) today we studied limits and these appear in Section 2.1 on, for example, page 89, near the blue boxes. 1.8: 1ac, 2ab, 3c, 5d, 15, 17; on page 129: Do Example 3 after changing both of the following two things: (a) change the 3 to a 6, (b) change the 9 to a 36; Do Example 4 after changing both of the following two things: (a) change the 3 to a 7, (b) change the 9 to a 49; on page 130: Evaluate the expression (a limit) that is two lines above Example 5 in the cases (a) when f(x) = (x+4)^2; (b) when f(x) = (x-2)^2; (c) when f(x) = x^2 + 12.
9/21/11 Remark: Here's a little more detail about a comment I made in class. Some of my hopes and expectations for this course are: I want you to have a good understanding of the concepts, tools, and techniques, instead of just memorizing them. I want everyone to do really well in the course. I firmly believe that you have more mathematical skill than what you might think that you do, and I want this course to help you find that skill that you already have. Any student in the course, no matter your background, who puts forth an earnest and solid effort in the course should certainly get at least a C in the course, and I'm quite confident that the vast majority of you can do much better than that.
9/21/11 Hwk: (Note: "45^3" means 45*45*45 and 60^5 means 60*60*60*60*60.) (You are responsible for the following hwk problems on the exam.) Let P_0 = 25,000 and r = 8%. What is (1+(r/4))^4 to 6 decimals? What is (1+ (r/104))^104 to 6 decimals? What is (1+(r/365.24))^365.24 to 6 decimals? What is (1+(r/25,000))^25,000 to 6 decimals? To get the symbol for infinity to appear in their papers, many mathematicians spell "infinity" as "\infty" so that the software knows to produce the special symbol for infinity. (You are not responsible for the following hwk problems on the exam.) Let's be courageous and bold, and believe that (1+(r/\infty))^\infty exists as a number. What number should this be to 4 decimals? Write a quality paragraph consisting of 4 or 5 sentences that gives a pretty good definition of the meaning of (1+(r/\infty))^\infty. What is (1+(.20/1000))^1000 to 6 decimals? What number should (1+(.20/\infty))^\infty be to 4 decimals? What is e^.08 to 6 decimals? What is e^.20 to 6 decimals? What is the wonderful relationship between your last two answers and some of your other recent previous answers?
9/19/11 Some more detail about a comment in class today: we will cover 1.8 and 1.9, but so that we can get to the upcoming !neat! stuff more quickly, we will do refreshers on this material along the way, as it's needed.
9/19/11 Note: we will skip 1.10 entirely and its content will not come up in the course.
9/19/11 Hwk: 1.7: 3, 5 (why?), 10, 11a and do (c) in a way that flows naturally from the definition of half-life, 19c ("Estimate" here means "Give a quality estimate based on unpacking the meaning of the definition"), 23, 24, 25 (a good problem!; you're not allowed to use any part of 19, but you are allowed to use the half-life formula).
9/19/11 Note: Exam One is Oct 3rd. The material for Exam One goes through the end of class on Sept. 26th. We do 25 minutes of new material (covered by Exam Two) and 50 minutes of Review on Wednesday the 28th.
9/14/11 Hwk: 1.6: 6, 11, 14, 16, 21ab, 29, 32abc (if you think this problem is dull, feel free to change it, just don't decrease its difficulty level), 36, 39 (let the initial value be P_0; does your answer depend on P_0?); Do, but don't turn in: internalize what's in the blue box on page 52.
9/12/11 Hwk: 1.5: 1a, 4, 5, 6, 9ab, 11, 12, 19.
9/7/11 Hwk: (due next Wed., not Mon.) 1.4: 2, 4 (ignore the last 4 words of (b)), 11ade; 1.5: 1bc, 2 (ignore "and give the percent ... or ... rate"), 8bc, 13, 14 (do the last sentence, but don't turn in any work for it). Remember to study your notes and the associated part of the textbook.
9/5/11 Note: I figured out my office hours. They're Monday 11-12 and 4-5, Wednesday 11-12, and Friday 11:30-12:30. The purpose of them is to help you, so if you have questions, please come.
8/31/11 Hwk: 1.3: 1-4, 9, 10, 11, 13 (change the last sentence to "Draw the secant line whose slope is equal to the a.r.c. that you just computed."); study Example 4 on page 18 and, ignoring the last sentence of (c), come up with another example that is at least as interesting as Example 4 and solve it -- and when you solve (c) (remember to use good mathematical English), solve it geometrically in terms of secant lines, as the book does (and as done in an example in class).
8/29/11 Hwk: 1.2: 17ac, 19b, 21, 24, 28; 1.3: 12, 14 (give units, but ignore rest of last sentence), 17a, 24b (read, but don't do (a)).
8/29/11 Note: all hwk assigned this week is due the Wednesday right after Labor Day, since Monday is a holiday.
8/24/11 Hwk: 1.2: 7, 8; in problem 11, if the population P is a linear function of t, what is the slope m? (answer this question instead of doing 11 as written in the textbook; it might be helpful to recall the end of Monday's class); 15ab (in (a), don't do the last sentence), 21a. Do, but don't turn in: 3, 4. Reminder: study your notes and the associated part of the textbook :-).
8/23/11 Note regarding use of WileyPlus: (a) as mentioned in class, I do not require you to use WileyPlus; (b) if your book came with a WileyPlus code, do not throw it away, as it might be helpful to you; (c) All students, even if your textbook did not come with the code, have free access to Math 250 course materials through www.wileyplus.com for 30 days (I don't know when this 30-day period began); (c) after the 30-day period ends, the only thing you need to use WileyPlus is the student code (which sometimes comes with the textbook; if you don't have a student code, you can purchase one at www.wileyplus.com); and (d) I had mentioned in Monday's class that for you to use WileyPlus, I needed to give you a class code, but it turns out that this is not the case: as noted in (c), the only code you need is the student code.
8/22/11 Hwk: 1.1 (that is, Section 1.1): 4, 12, 18, 20. Do, but don't turn in: 1.1: 1, 3, 6, 8, 10.
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