MAT 131 Syllabus

MAT 131 Exams

MAT 131 Grades

• Prerequisites

  In order to take MAT 131, you must have either

  • passed MAT 123 or MAT 130 with a C or better, or
  • received a score of 5 or better on the mathematics placement examination.

  See the document first year mathematics at Stony Brook for more information about the math placement exam and other calculus courses.

• Lectures

  LEC I	MWF	9:35am-10:30am in Engineering 145	(Instructor: Aleksey Zinger)
  LEC II	MW	5:20pm-6:40pm in Engineering 143	(Instructor: Sylvain Bonnot)
  LEC III	TuTh	9:50am-11:10am in Engineering 145	(Instructor: Başak Gürel)

  Each of these lectures has four recitation sections: LEC I (R01,R02,R03,R04), LEC II (R06,R08,R09) and LEC III (R10,R11,R12,R13). Make sure to register for the recitation section belonging to the lecture you plan to attend.

• The textbook

  The textbook for the course is the Stony Brook Edition of the calculus book Calculus: Concepts and Contexts, Third Edition by James Stewart (Brooks/Cole 2005, ISBN 0-495-08145-0).

  This book is available both at the campus bookstore and at Stony Books for a reduced price. You can also use the 3rd edition of Stewart's Calculus: Concepts and Contexts, though this will probably cost you about $25 more to buy new. If you are buying a used book, be aware that the 2nd edition (used in previous semesters and currently in MAT126, MAT127, and MAT132) has subtle differences; used copies of the 3rd edition will be hard to find.

• Course material

  Sections 1.1 through 5.5 from the textbook will be covered in this course. You should read the assigned sections before the lectures. See the syllabus for a (tentative) week by week list of the sections covered.

• Homework

  See the syllabus for the list of assigned exercises. Homework will be due the week after we cover the relevant material, for example, HW 1 is due the 2nd week. It will be collected by your TA, in general, during the second of the weekly recitation sections. Similarly, graded homework will be returned to you by your TA each week in the recitation sections. You should always first work on the problems by yourself before asking for help, but you are also encouraged to discuss the problems with your classmates. Late homework will not be accepted under any circumstances. Any other questions regarding homework or the recitations should be directed to your TA.

• Exams

  There are four common exams in MAT 131: an early exam, two evening midterms, and a comprehensive final exam. The dates for these exams are:

  Early Exam	September 1, Thursday at 8:30-10:00pm
  Midterm I	October 10, Monday at 8:30-10:00pm
  Midterm II	November 7, Monday at 8:30-10:00pm
  Final Exam	December 21, Wednesday, Time: 11:00am - 1:30pm

  Please note that exam dates and times are not flexible and there will be no make-up exams. It is your responsibility to arrange your schedule to be able to take the exams at the scheduled times. Absences from exams due to illness or personal crisis must be adequately documented, in which case the average of the remaining exam scores will replace the score of an exam missed.

  Calculators

  No calculators will be permitted during the exams. For a few of the homework problems, however, you may need to use a calculator. Otherwise, we strongly recommend you to do your homework without using a calculator.

  Important Dates

  Last Day for Add-Drop: September 12, Monday

  Last Day to switch from MAT 131, 125 and 141 to a lower numbered MAP or MAT course: October 21, Friday

  Grading Policy

  Final course grade will be determined by the following breakdown:

  Early Exam	5%
  Midterm I	20%
  Midterm II	25%
  Final Exam	40%
  Recitation	10%

  A grade of C or better in MAT 131 is required to take MAT 132.

  Extra help

  Math Learning Center:

  The Math Learning Center is located in Room S-240A in the Mathematics Building, Floor S. MLC hours are MTuW 10-9, Th 10-6, F 10-2. It is staffed by experienced mathematics tutors, including professors, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students. Students may drop in, without an appointment. Your recitation instructor will hold at least one office hour per week at the Math Learning Center. Check out the Math Learning Center website for more information.

  Office hours:

  The lecturers and the recitation instructors will hold three office hours per week. The specific times of these office hours will be announced by the lecturers and the recitation instructors.